Continuing Mississippi Offshore Sediment Resources Inventory: Linking Late Quaternary Stratigraphic Evolution of the Mid Shelf | M21AS00569

Opportunity Information: Apply for M21AS00569

This grant opportunity, titled "Continuing Mississippi Offshore Sediment Resources Inventory: Linking Late Quaternary Stratigraphic Evolution of the Mid Shelf" (Funding Opportunity Number M21AS00569), is a Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) initiative focused on improving the understanding and mapping of offshore sand and gravel resources near Mississippi. It sits under the broader National Offshore Sand Inventory, a federal effort aimed at identifying and evaluating seabed sediment resources that can be used to reduce storm risk and support coastal resilience projects across multiple states.

The core purpose of the project is to combine newly collected data with existing geological and geophysical information from the Outer Continental Shelf to produce better assessments of sand and gravel availability. These materials are especially important for coastal restoration and beach nourishment, where compatible sediment is needed to rebuild eroding shorelines, restore barrier islands, and strengthen natural buffers that protect communities and critical infrastructure from hurricanes and other major coastal storms. A major emphasis is filling key data gaps offshore of Mississippi, particularly across inner- and mid-shelf settings, by collecting additional geophysical and geotechnical measurements. In practical terms, that means expanding offshore surveys to better characterize where sediment bodies are, how thick they are, what they are made of, and how they relate to the region's geological history.

Scientifically, the project is framed around linking sediment resources to the Late Quaternary stratigraphic evolution of the mid-shelf. This matters because the distribution and quality of sand deposits offshore are strongly controlled by past sea-level changes, shifting shorelines, river inputs, and the way sediment layers were built and reworked over thousands of years. By improving the stratigraphic and evolutionary understanding of these shelf environments, the resulting products can make nourishment planning more reliable. In other words, the work is not just about finding sand; it is about understanding the geologic context well enough to predict where suitable deposits occur, how they formed, and how confidently they can be developed for restoration without unintended impacts.

A key deliverable is data management and sharing. The datasets generated and compiled through the project will be housed in an authoritative Marine Minerals Information System and distributed to a range of end users. These include state resource agencies and federal partners such as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The intent is to ensure the information supports coordinated decision-making for coastal restoration, sediment management, and storm risk reduction, and that it is accessible to stakeholders who plan and permit projects or conduct related research.

In terms of funding structure, this is a discretionary opportunity using a cooperative agreement, meaning BOEM expects substantial collaboration with the recipient rather than a hands-off grant. The opportunity lists an award ceiling of $500,000. Eligible applicants include public and state-controlled institutions of higher education (and others), but this announcement is explicitly not an open call for proposals. Instead, it is a program announcement stating BOEM's intent to pursue a specific cooperative agreement project, described as being between the University of Southern Mississippi and BOEM, contingent on BOEM receiving an acceptable proposal. The original closing date shown is 2021-08-10, with a creation date of 2021-07-07, and the program is associated with CFDA 15.424 under an environmental activity category.

• The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management in the environment sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Continuing Mississippi Offshore Sediment Resources Inventory: Linking Late Quaternary Stratigraphic Evolution of the Mid Shelf" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.424.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2021-07-07.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-08-10. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $500,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Others.

Apply for M21AS00569

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