Notice of Intent: The BARD Continuous GPS Network: Monitoring Earthquake Hazards in Northern California and the San Francisco Bay Area, 2020 | USGS FA 20 0044

Opportunity Information: Apply for USGS FA 20 0044

This funding opportunity is a Notice of Intent from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), within the Department of the Interior, to make a single cooperative agreement award to the University of California, Berkeley (UCB) under the Advanced National Seismic System (ANSS). The project is titled "The BARD Continuous GPS Network: Monitoring Earthquake Hazards in Northern California and the San Francisco Bay Area, 2020" and focuses on sustaining and using a continuous GPS geodetic network to track how the Earths crust is deforming across one of the most seismically active regions in the United States. The opportunity is categorized as discretionary funding, with one expected award and an award ceiling of $1,263,160. It is associated with CFDA number 15.808, and the eligible applicant type listed is public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, though the notice is explicitly intended for UCB.

The core purpose of the project is long-term monitoring of interseismic deformation, meaning the slow, steady crustal movement that occurs between earthquakes as strain accumulates on faults. These measurements are critical for dynamic seismic hazard assessment because they help scientists understand where tectonic stress is building, how quickly it is building, and how that stress is partitioned across different faults. In addition to long-term strain accumulation, the project explicitly targets investigation of fault creep (slow slip along a fault that can reduce or redistribute stress) and transient deformation phenomena such as episodic slip events or other short-lived movements that can signal changing conditions on faults. By maintaining a dense, high-quality GPS network, the project supports both fundamental research on fault behavior and practical hazard monitoring that can feed into improved models and public safety decisions.

A major emphasis is also placed on real-time and near real-time use of the GPS data. The notice highlights applications that depend on rapid data access and processing, including earthquake likelihood forecasting, earthquake early warning, rapid post-event response, and assessing immediate postseismic motion. In practice, continuous GPS can complement seismic networks by capturing permanent ground displacement and slower deformation that seismometers may not fully characterize, especially for large events that produce significant static offsets. Near real-time geodetic measurements can improve situational awareness immediately after an earthquake by helping determine the size and distribution of ground movement, which is useful for understanding which faults moved and where afterslip may be occurring.

The award is structured as a cooperative agreement, which generally indicates substantial involvement by the federal agency during the project period, often through coordination, shared technical goals, and integration of results into national monitoring and hazard programs. This fits the ANSS context, where network operations, data standards, and rapid delivery of information are typically coordinated across institutions to support regional and national earthquake monitoring capabilities.

The notice justifies a directed award to UCB on the basis of unique qualifications and existing infrastructure. UCB is described as operating the largest USGS-supported geodetic network in the Bay Area, with an established staff and principal investigators who have extensive experience as geodetic network operators. The project also depends on specialized equipment that UCB has already deployed across the monitoring region. Some of the field sensors and central recording and computing systems are owned by the university and would not be available to another organization, which is presented as a practical barrier to recompeting the work. Additionally, the data transmission pathway is already configured to deliver instrument data to university facilities, and the notice states that relocating the receiving point and telemetry equipment would be expensive and time-consuming. Taken together, these factors are used to support the conclusion that UCB is uniquely positioned to continue uninterrupted network operations and deliver the real-time monitoring and hazard-support functions described in the project objectives.

Administratively, the opportunity was created on December 17, 2019, with an original closing date of December 31, 2019, under funding opportunity number USGS FA 20 0044. The bottom line is that this is not a broadly competitive call for new applicants, but rather an announcement that USGS intends to support continued operation and use of the BARD continuous GPS network through a cooperative agreement with UCB to advance earthquake hazard monitoring and response in Northern California and the San Francisco Bay Area.

• The Department of the Interior, U. S. Geological Survey in the other (see text field entitled explanation of other category of funding activity for clarification) sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Notice of Intent: The BARD Continuous GPS Network: Monitoring Earthquake Hazards in Northern California and the San Francisco Bay Area, 2020" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.808.
• This funding opportunity was created on Dec 17, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Dec 31, 2019. (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 $1,263,160.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education.

Apply for USGS FA 20 0044

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