Funding Opportunities

Hydrology Opportunities at DUSEL

Plans to establish a Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory (DUSEL) are accelerating. DUSEL is expected to be one of the major scientific investments made by our country in the next decade, and there are significant opportunities for research in hydrology at the lab. The site for DUSEL will be the former Homestake gold mine in South Dakota, an area underlain by fractured Precambrian meta-sediments and volcanics. Subsurface access is excellent, making the site well suited to a deep Critical Zone Observatory. Investigators interested in fractured rock hydrology, hydrologic interactions between the ground surface and the deep subsurface, coupling between hydrology and deformation, geochemical transport, growth and transport of microbial life in the deep subsurface, and related processes are encouraged to get involved.

An initial suite of experiments at DUSEL is being developed for a MREFC proposal, which will be submitted to NSF in 2009. If you want to get involved with this project, you should contact the leaders of appropriate working groups with your interests and ideas as soon as possible [www.lbl.gov/nsd/homestake/aprilworkinggroups.html]. You should also plan to attend a workshop in Lead, South Dakota, on April 20-26, 2008 [please visit www.lbl.gov/nsd/homestake/Workshops.html].

The ultimate goal of the working groups is to develop a credible plan for a set of experiments to be included in the comprehensive MREFC proposal (NSF 07-38, www.nsf.gov/pubs/2007/nsf0738/nsf0738.pdf) to build and commission a DUSEL. The MREFC proposal will be submitted in December 2009 and will include a complete justification of the science, and a reasoned definition for feasibility of construction and execution.

Proposed Project Timetable
2008
Pre-workshop Invite proponents, solicit initial input, plan mini-symposium agenda March 10th
  Complete initial agenda and one-page white paper April 1st
Lead ISE Workshop Craft ISE module: objectives, approach, expected results April 20
  Present strawman outline at close, plan proposal April 22
  NSF S-4 Proposal: Submit proposal for initial design of component ISE June 30th
  S-4 funding available from NSF expected Oct
Grantees Meeting Summary of design progress Dec. AGU
2009
  Preliminary Design proposals due May
Grantees Meeting Final report on ISE design for incorporation into CDR/MREFC May AGU
  Initial Suite of Experiments announced July
MREFC Assembly of MREFC and submission for funding December
2010
2011-2016 ISEs begin  
 

Endorsement/Involvement Procedures

CUAHSI will pursue open competitions in a number of ways:

  1. CUAHSI Community proposal for community facilities
  2. CUAHSI collaborative proposal. PIs request endorsement ideally 45 days prior to proposal deadline. CUAHSI will notify member universities before Executive Committee meeting where the collaboration will be discussed.
  3. CUAHSI endorsement. PIs requesting endorsement, must submit the project summary and CUAHSI's proposed role to exdir@cuahsi.org at least 30 days prior to proposal deadline. Decisions will be made by the Board of Directors on a case by case basis. Endorsed proposal titles and PIs will be posted to the CUAHSI website.

Policy on CUAHSI Participation in and Endorsement of Proposals

This policy has been developed in response to the need for CUAHSI to have a clear and open position on its role with respect to proposals where CUAHSI may be perceived to be in competition with member universities. This policy has also been developed to address questions related to the participation of CUAHSI paid staff in research of their own. [more info]