National Science Foundation: Ocean Acidification

by: Michael Saunders

The National Science Foundation is an independent US agency that is mainly responsible for supporting fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields associated with science and engineering.

In keeping with its goals and objectives, the National Science Foundation has recently constituted a funding opportunity entitled Ocean Acidification Program.

The Ocean Acidification Program is geared towards the acquisition of a better understanding of the potentially adverse effects of slowly acidifying oceans.

The program is designed to develop strategies and practices that will help the sustainability of ocean resources by conducting fundamental research studies on nature, extent and the impact of ocean acidification on oceanic environments.

With that, the National Science Foundation predicts that essential research studies will have to include:

a) Thorough understanding the geochemistry and biochemistry of ocean acidification

b) Thorough understanding of impact of ocean acidification on the physical and biological processes at the organism level, and how those interactions will affect the function and structure of ecosystems

c) Thorough understanding of how technology can utilize the information obtained from the earth system in acquiring better knowledge regarding the effects of ocean acidification on the present day and future oceans.

The program also encourages research projects that could identify organisms and ecosystems that are vulnerable to the changes brought about by ocean acidification, as indicated by the current trends or by the earth's geologic records.

  (continued...)

National Science Foundation: Ocean Acidification
  Page 2

About The Author Michael Saunders is an editor of TopGovernmentGrants.com one the the most comprehensive Websites offering information on government grants and federal government programs. He also maintains Websites providing resources on environmental grants and grants for youth programs.

Additional Resources

category - Environmental Grants

Water Resources Research National Competitive Grants Program
The United States Geological Survey has recently constituted the Water Resources Research National Competitive Grants Program wherein they intend to focus on water problems and issues of a regional or interstate nature beyond those that only concern a single state.

---

Urban Waters Small Grants Program
The United States Environmental Protection Agency has recently constituted the development of the Urban Waters Small Grants Program wherein it seeks to solicit project proposals from eligible applicants who wish to contribute to the improvement of water quality in urban areas.

---

National Estuarine Research Reserve System Land Acquisition and Construction Program
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has recently announced a funding opportunity amounting to $1,690,000 to support the National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS) Land Acquisition and Construction Program.

---

2012 Scallop Research Set-Aside Program
The Department of Commerce, in cooperation with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), has recently established a project entitled 2012 Scallop Research Set-Aside Program.

---