Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Great Lakes Northern Forests CESU | G20AS00091

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the funding opportunity number for this grant?

The funding opportunity number is G20AS00091.

What program or unit is this opportunity associated with?

This opportunity is associated with the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU), specifically the Great Lakes Northern Forests CESU.

Which federal agency issued the award?

The award was offered by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) through the Department of the Interior.

Which USGS office issued the opportunity?

The opportunity was issued by the USGS Powell Center.

What type of funding instrument was used?

The funding instrument type was a cooperative agreement.

What does it mean that this award was a cooperative agreement?

A cooperative agreement typically indicates substantial federal involvement or collaboration compared to a standard grant. For this opportunity, that generally implies coordination with USGS on technical direction and expectations related to data/model integration with ongoing agency efforts.

Was this a discretionary award?

Yes. The opportunity is described as a discretionary USGS award.

What was the main project focus?

The project focus was: "Improving representation of groundwater in foundational Great Lakes hydrologic and hydrodynamic models and data sets."

What practical problem in Great Lakes science was this project trying to address?

The opportunity targeted a key gap in Great Lakes water-balance science: many widely used basin models emphasize surface-water terms (such as tributary inflows, precipitation, evaporation, and outflows) while treating groundwater in a simplified way or leaving it out entirely, even though groundwater exchanges can materially affect lake levels, nearshore conditions, and basin-scale water accounting.

What kinds of research activities were supported?

The opportunity supported science and technology research aimed at strengthening how groundwater is represented in the core hydrologic and hydrodynamic models and datasets used for the Laurentian Great Lakes.

What is meant by improving groundwater representation in Great Lakes models?

In this opportunity, improving representation meant pulling together existing hydrologic models and historical datasets and integrating them with estimates of groundwater flux across the Great Lakes, so groundwater becomes a better accounted-for and explicit term in basin water-balance accounting and can be linked to lake circulation modeling.

Was the intent to create a new standalone dataset?

No. The intent was not simply to create a new dataset in isolation, but to integrate groundwater flux estimates into existing foundational models and datasets so groundwater is explicitly accounted for rather than treated as a residual or omitted term.

Why does groundwater matter for Great Lakes water balance and lake conditions?

Groundwater discharge to a lake (or recharge from the lake to surrounding aquifers) can alter local heat, nutrient, and water inputs. These subsurface exchanges can influence nearshore conditions and may affect basin-scale water accounting and lake levels.

How could groundwater potentially influence hydrodynamic behavior in the lakes?

The opportunity highlighted that groundwater inputs can potentially influence hydrodynamic behavior, especially along coasts and in areas with strong groundwater-surface water interaction, by changing localized inputs that may affect circulation, mixing, and related physical processes.

What were the three main goals described in the opportunity?

The opportunity described three main goals: (1) quantify groundwater fluxes through the Great Lakes, (2) develop groundwater accounting that fits into the established Great Lakes hydrologic cycle framework and incorporate groundwater into existing models as an explicit term, and (3) combine surface-water and groundwater flux models with lake hydrodynamic models to evaluate whether subsurface inputs have a detectable influence on lake circulation patterns.

What does it mean to quantify groundwater fluxes through the Great Lakes?

It means estimating the magnitude of groundwater entering and leaving the lakes and, potentially, describing how those fluxes vary spatially across the Great Lakes system.

What does the opportunity mean by "groundwater accounting" in the Great Lakes hydrologic cycle framework?

Groundwater accounting, as described here, refers to integrating groundwater flux as an explicit and traceable component of the Great Lakes basin hydrologic cycle, rather than leaving it out or treating it only as an assumed residual in the overall water balance.

What hydrologic cycle components were emphasized as commonly included in basin models?

The opportunity noted that many basin models emphasize surface-water components such as tributary inflows, precipitation, evaporation, and outflows.

What specific tasks were included under developing groundwater accounting?

Two specific tasks were described: (a) identifying and assembling model simulations and historical datasets for each major component of the basin hydrologic cycle, and (b) incorporating groundwater flux into existing models so it becomes an explicit, traceable part of the overall accounting.

What was the purpose of connecting groundwater flux estimates to hydrodynamic models?

The goal was to use an integrated modeling approach to test whether subsurface inputs have a detectable influence on lake circulation patterns, rather than only reporting groundwater flux estimates without evaluating implications for circulation and mixing.

What geographic area did this opportunity focus on?

The opportunity focused on the Laurentian Great Lakes.

What is the maximum award amount (award ceiling)?

The award ceiling was $100,000.

How many awards were expected?

The opportunity indicated an expectation of making a single award.

Who was eligible to apply?

The eligible applicant category was listed as "Others," with additional eligibility details referenced elsewhere in the original notice (a common approach for CESU opportunities that may be directed toward specific partner networks or require particular institutional qualifications).

When was the opportunity created?

The opportunity was created on June 15, 2020.

What was the original closing date?

The original closing date was July 27, 2020.

What CFDA number was associated with this opportunity?

The CFDA number associated with the opportunity was 15.808.

What activity category was this funding listed under?

The activity category was Science and Technology and other Research and Development.

What kinds of outputs or outcomes was the opportunity aiming to improve?

Based on the description, the opportunity aimed to improve foundational Great Lakes basin tools by making groundwater a more explicit, defensible, and operational part of water-balance accounting and by linking improved flux estimates to hydrologic and hydrodynamic modeling used to understand lake levels and lake circulation.

What is meant by making groundwater an "explicit, traceable" term in models?

In this context, it means groundwater flux should be represented directly within the modeling and accounting framework, rather than being hidden within a residual term or omitted, so it can be tracked, evaluated, and discussed as a defined component of the Great Lakes water balance.

Why did the opportunity emphasize integrating existing models and historical datasets?

The opportunity emphasized assembling existing model simulations and historical datasets to strengthen foundational, widely used Great Lakes modeling and data resources by adding groundwater flux estimates in a way that supports practical basin-scale accounting and downstream hydrodynamic evaluation.