The NGWOS External Research and Development Sub-program makes strategic investments in academia and industry to develop water monitoring technologies that meet USGS needs and can be transitioned into national operations.
The primary objective of the Next Generation Observing System (NGWOS) External Research and Development (R&D) Sub-program is to make strategic investments in academia and industry to develop water monitoring technologies that meet NGWOS needs and can be transitioned into national operations. Our goal is to:
- develop, document and execute the mechanism(s) for funding external R&D
- review and select R&D tasks for funding
- support the external R&D through coordination, administration and science support
- work to transition new technologies towards national operations
This effort addresses the direction from Congress and allows WMA to use several mechanisms (grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts) to provide external funding for R&D with the goal of advancing promising technologies into operations.
(CESU, Cooperative Ecosystems Studies Units; WRRI, Water Resources Research Institutes; QA/QC, quality assurance/quality control)
| Award Type | Project Title | Recipient | Primary Investigator | Fiscal Year | Funding | Keywords |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BAA | Multi Sensor Water Observing Aquatic Drones | Jaia Robotics | Ian Owen | 2023 | $269,800 | water quality, sensors, mobile monitoring |
| BAA | Time Domain Transmissometer Device for Layered Soil Moisture Monitoring | Acclima | Scott Anderson | 2023 | $365,000 | soil moisture, sensors |
| BAA | Stream Gauging on the Edge with LSPIV | Deep Analytics | Gregory Hewitt | 2023 | $245,780 | streamflow, imagery, edge computing, sensors |
| CESU | Stability Studies of the USGS Dye Standard Solution: A Mass Spectrometry Approach for a Calibrant for Field Sensors | North Carolina State University | Nelson Vinueza | 2023 | $82,299 | water quality, sensors, fluorescence |
| CESU | Developing a low-SWaP-C Rapid Deployment Water Level Logger | Stroud Water Research Center | Scott Ensign | 2023 | $168,124 | sensors, telemetry, Internet of Things |
| CESU | Development of a multiphysics model to simulate flow and thermal processes of a 3D heat pulse flowmeter | University of Nevada | Rishi Parashar | 2022 | $110,800 | groundwater, flowmeter, sensors |
| CESU | Metagenomics and Benthic Macroinvertebrate Health | Brigham Young University | Paul Frandsen | 2022 | $118,665 | eDNA, macro-invertebrate, DNA |
| CESU | Development of a standard "smart" camera system for environmental monitoring | University of Northern Arizona | Ben Ruddell | 2022 | $298,015 | data, imagery, water monitoring, Sensors |
| CESU | Drone-Based Stream Channel Bathymetry Sensor | University of Southern California | Mahta Moghaddam | 2022 | $254,166 | Unmanned Arial Systems (UAS), stage-area, bathymetry, remote sensing |
| CESU | Semi-Automated Image Labeling Software Development | University of Nebraska-Lincoln | Troy Gilmore | 2022 | $271,000 | water level, imagery, streamflow, software, camera- based monitoring |
| CESU | Underwater Communications for Uncrewed Underwater Vehicles (UUVs) | University of Alabama | Aijun Song | 2022 | $239,977 | Uncrewed Underwater Vehicle (UUV), communication, autonomous, sensors |
| CESU | Development of a microplastic pollution monitor using integrated sensing technology and a Raman spectrometer |
University of Alabama | Mark Cheng | 2022 | $250,000 | microplastics, Raman spectrometer, sensors |
| CESU | Technology Transition to Operations Planning and Industry Engagement | University of Maryland | Mario Tamburri | 2022 | $400,000 | R&D, instrument testing, communications, documentation |
| CESU | Best practices for data analysis from cosmic ray neutron sensors for soil moisture monitoring | University of Nebraska-Lincoln | Trenton Franz | 2023 | $199,703 | cosmic ray neutron, soil moisture, data analysis |
| CESU | LI-COR ET sensors for paired intercomparisons with traditional eddy covariance stations |
University of Nevada | Justin Huntington | 2023 | $260,000 | evapotranspiration, sensors, data analysis |
| CESU | Broader application of stage-image paired modeling approach at USGS sites with active cameras and stage sensors | VA Institute of Marine Science | Derek Loftis | 2023 | $338,378 | imagery, cameras, river stage |
| CESU | Develop software and workflows for applying machine learning techniques to enhance image analyses | Penn State University | Xiaofeng Liu | 2023 | $300,024 | machine learning, imagery, Image velocimetry, stream discharge, |
| CESU | Fixed-mount laser scanning sensor for remote stream gaging in shallow rivers with frequently changing geomorphologies | University of Oklahoma | Pierre Kirstetter | 2023 | $249,990 | geomorphology, laser, lidar, streamflow |
| CESU | Best practices for data analysis from cosmic ray neutron sensors for soil moisture monitoring | University of Nebraska-Lincoln | Trenton Franz | 2023 | $150,119 | cosmic ray neutron, soil moisture, data analysis |
| Direct Sole Source | Evaluation and field testing of 5-vehicle uncrewed underwater vehicle (UUV) fleet | University of Massachusetts - Dartmouth | Miles Sundermeyer | 2022 | $340,945 | Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV), mobile monitoring, sensors |
| WRRI | Down looking Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) Data as Surrogate for Suspended Sediment Concentration | Virginia Tech | John Czuba | 2022 | $237,613 | suspended sediment, acoustic doppler, methods |
| WRRI | Standardizing software and processes for image velocimetry gauging methods | University of Arizona | Jennifer Duan | 2022 | $175,337 | software, velocimetry, camera-based monitoring |
| WRRI | Towards accessible, open, and accurate remote sensing of water quality | Colorado State University | Matt Ross | 2022 | $200,000 | remote sensing, satellite, Landsat, water quality |
| WRRI | Development of ESSENCE: a novel electrochemical sensing platform | New Jersey Institute of Technology | Sagnik Basuray | 2022 | $245,026 | polyfluoroalkyl, PFAS, ESSENCE, sensors |
| WRRI | Development of swarming algorithms for salinity mapping | University of Delaware | Bert Tanner | 2022 | $303,182 | robotics, swarming, salinity, unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) |
| WRRI | Remote sensing of river discharge under critical flow conditions | University of Idaho | Elowyn Yager | 2022 | $249,998 | remote sensing, discharge, streamflow, imagery, critical flow |
| WRRI | Stability studies using high-resolution and tandem mass spectrometry (MS) for 3D groundwater monitoring | Purdue University | Jacob Hosen | 2022 | $300,000 | groundwater, sensors |
| WRRI | Three-Dimensional Groundwater Flow Direction and Velocity for Long-Term Deployment | University of Idaho | Daniele Tonina | 2023 | $259,359 | groundwater, sensors, heat pulse, long-term deployment |
| WRRI | Power Conversion System and Power Management Control for Water Monitoring Stations | University of Rhode Island | Yeonho Jeong | 2023 | $248,395 | power management, remote monitoring, alternative power sources |
Next Generation Water Observing System (NGWOS)
Substantial advances in water science, together with emerging breakthroughs in technical and computational capabilities, have led the USGS to develop a Next Generation Water Observing System (NGWOS). The USGS NGWOS will provide real-time data on water quantity and quality in more affordable and rapid ways than previously possible, and in more locations.
Next Generation Water Observing System (NGWOS)
Substantial advances in water science, together with emerging breakthroughs in technical and computational capabilities, have led the USGS to develop a Next Generation Water Observing System (NGWOS). The USGS NGWOS will provide real-time data on water quantity and quality in more affordable and rapid ways than previously possible, and in more locations.