Geomorphology and Land-use Dynamics (GLD) | 21 547

Opportunity Information: Apply for 21 547

The Geomorphology and Land-use Dynamics (GLD) program is a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant opportunity that funds fundamental, innovation-driven research on the processes that create, reshape, and modify Earth landscapes across a wide range of spatial scales (from small landforms to whole regions) and time scales, with a particular emphasis on the Holocene period. The program is aimed at improving basic scientific understanding of how landscapes evolve, and it prioritizes work that goes beyond describing change by measuring and explaining it in quantitative terms.

A central theme of GLD is understanding how different landscape-shaping processes interact with each other. Competitive projects typically examine coupling and feedbacks among geomorphic processes, the rates at which they operate, and their relative importance under different conditions. This includes, for example, how biological activity, climate variability, and tectonic forcing influence erosion, sediment transport, river channel change, hillslope evolution, coastal dynamics, and other surface processes, and how those influences shift over time. GLD also explicitly recognizes that humans are now a major driver of landscape change, so proposals that account for land use, land cover change, infrastructure, resource extraction, agriculture, urbanization, or other human impacts (and how those interact with natural drivers) fit well within the program scope.

The program is flexible in terms of how research is conducted. GLD supports field-based investigations, numerical or analytical modeling, laboratory or natural experiments, theoretical advances, and integrated approaches that combine several of these methods. In practice, this means applicants can propose anything from detailed process measurements in the field, to model development and validation, to experiments that isolate specific mechanisms, as long as the work advances fundamental understanding of landscape dynamics and, ideally, clarifies process linkages and feedbacks.

GLD also places strong emphasis on broadening participation in geoscience research and education. NSF encourages proposals that actively include women, persons with disabilities, and members of groups historically underrepresented in STEM, as well as researchers and students from geographically underrepresented areas. Proposals are strongly encouraged to involve these groups across project roles, including PIs and co-PIs, postdoctoral researchers, students, and other key personnel. In addition, NSF encourages teams to consider including U.S. Armed Forces veterans as part of its broader effort to expand veteran participation in STEM.

From an administrative standpoint, this opportunity is offered by the NSF under Funding Opportunity Number 21-547. It is a discretionary grant program in the Science and Technology and other Research and Development category, associated with CFDA 47.050. Proposals are accepted at any time (there is no single annual deadline listed in the opportunity summary). NSF anticipates making roughly 40 awards, and the listed award ceiling is shown as 0, which typically signals that the maximum award size is not specified in the summary and may depend on project scope, program norms, and NSF budget considerations. Eligibility is listed as "Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification)," which indicates that applicants should consult the full solicitation and NSF eligibility rules to confirm organizational and applicant eligibility for their specific situation.

Overall, GLD is designed for researchers who want to push forward the science of landscape evolution, particularly by quantifying processes, comparing competing controls (biologic, climatic, tectonic, and human), and building integrated explanations of how landforms and land systems change through time, while also strengthening participation from groups that have been historically underrepresented in STEM.

• The National Science Foundation in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Geomorphology and Land-use Dynamics (GLD)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 47.050.
• This funding opportunity was created on Dec 18, 2020.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Proposals accepted anytime. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 40 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

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