The Collier Report of U.S. Government Contracting

Sampling of Federal Government Funding Actions/Set Asides

In order by amount of set aside monies.

• $909,843 - Tuesday the 8th of May 2012
  National Aeronautics And Space Administration
  GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER
  AQUARIUS PI CONTRACT

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• $78,178 - Monday the 30th of April 2012
  National Aeronautics And Space Administration
  GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER
  AQUARIUS PI CONTRACT

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• $35,000 - Thursday the 12th of May 2016
  National Aeronautics And Space Administration
  NASA SHARED SERVICES CENTER
  THIS PROJECT ADDRESSES THE DIRECT MOMENTUM TRANSFER FROM THE ATMOSPHERE TO THE OCEAN ACROSS THE UPPER OCEAN BOUNDARY LAYER. ACCURATE CALCULATION OF THE WIND-DRIVEN CURRENTS FROM HOURLY TO YEARLY TIMESCALES, TO THE PROPER DEPTHS, AND ON A BASIN-WIDE SCALE ARE IMPORTANT FOR UNDERSTANDING THE TRANSPORT OF SALT, HEAT, MOMENTUM, AND NUTRIENTS. ALTHOUGH WINDS ARE AN ESSENTIAL DRIVING FORCE FOR SURFACE CURRENTS AND TURBULENCE, FUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS REMAIN ABOUT THE NATURE OF THE TRANSFER. STEADY EKMAN DYNAMICS IN A HOMOGENEOUS SURFACE LAYER REMAINS A PREVAILING THEORETICAL CONSTRUCT, AND IS APPLIED IN OUR OSCAR DYNAMICAL MODEL. IT NEGLECTS STRATIFICATION, WIND VARIABILITY ON THE TIME SCALE OF HOURS TO DAYS, AND LOCAL ROTATION OF THE WIND VECTOR WITH PASSING FRONTS, WHICH STRONGLY INFLUENCES THE ROLE ON INERTIAL MOTIONS IN THE UPPER OCEAN RESPONSE. THERE ARE VARIOUS MODELS (KPP, KT, PWP, MY, GOTM) THAT ADD MORE PHYSICS, BUT THERE IS NOT A PREDOMINANT MODEL, NOR ARE THEY WIDELY VALIDATED WITH OBSERVATIONS. THIS AIM OF THIS STUDY IS TO USE OSCAR AS A TOOL TO TEST AND IMPROVE MODELS THROUGH COMPARISONS WITH DRIFTER VELOCITIES, ARGO BUOY SURFACE LAYER PROFILES AND ADCP MOORING DATA. WE PROPOSE TO EXAMINE A HIERARCHY OF TURBULENCE PARAMETERIZATIONS WITHIN THE OSCAR MODEL INCLUDING SHORT TIMESCALE ACCELERATIONS TO DIAGNOSE THE DOMINANT DYNAMICS AND THEREFORE THE MOST RELEVANT MODELS PERTINENT TO THE MOMENTUM TRANSFER AS IT DEPENDS ON REGION. THESE SAME PARAMETERIZATIONS WILL BE APPLIED IN SELECT REGIONS WITHIN AN OCEAN CIRCULATION MODEL, WITH FULL COMPLEXITY, AND COMPARED TO OSCAR RESULTS. THE COMPARISON BETWEEN THE TWO WILL PROVIDE US WITH MORE INFORMATION ON THE EFFECTS OF MISSING PHYSICS WITHIN OSCAR, AND ALLOW US TO DIRECTLY APPLY THE RESULTS OF THIS STUDY TO RECOMMENDATIONS FOR GCMS, USING OSCAR AS A TOOL AS WELL AS AN END. OSCAR IS UNIQUELY SUITED AS A TESTBED BECAUSE IT HAS STRAIGHTFORWARD PHYSICS, ACCURATE GEOSTROPHIC CURRENTS, AND THE FRAMEWORK FOR GLOBAL TESTING AND VALIDATING WITH IN SITU DATA. THIS WORK STRONGLY DEPENDS ON THE NEWLY DEVELOPED 6-HOURLY CCMP WINDS (SEE SECTION 5.1.2), WHICH WILL ALLOW FOR A DETAILED PROCESS STUDY OF THE INERTIAL OSCILLATION RESPONSE TO WIND FORCING. THE RESULTS FROM THE HIGH-FREQUENCY WINDS WILL SERVE AS A GUIDE FOR AN OPTIMAL PARAMETERIZATION WITH COARSER WIND TIMSECALES. FINALLY, THE VERTICALLY SHEARED OSCAR CURRENTS WILL BE COMBINED WITH AQUARIUS SALINITY TO INVESTIGATE THE VERTICAL PROCESSES CONTROLLING LARGE SCALE SURFACE SALT TRANSPORT. RELEVANCE TO OVWST THIS STUDY ADDRESSES THE FOLLOWING OVWST RESEARCH THEMES IN THE 2009 ROSES CALLS: B) FOCUSED GEOPHYSICAL ANALYSES THAT EXPLOITS THE FREQUENT SAMPLING OR COMPLIMENTARY INFORMATION OBTAINED THROUGH COMBINING OBSERVATIONS FROM MULTIPLE WIND SENSORS, INCLUDING QUIKSCAT. HIGHER FREQUENCY WINDS WILL BE FUNDAMENTAL TO THE PROPOSED STUDIES OF UPPER OCEAN TURBULENCE MODELING. THESE WINDS WILL ENABLE FORCING OF THAT PORTION OF THE WAVE SPECTRUM WHICH CONTAINS THE MOST ENERGY: THE INERTIAL FREQUENCY BAND. A) OCEANOGRAPHIC, METEOROLOGICAL, CLIMATE, AND/OR INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH THAT ADDRESSES THE EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE GOALS AND UTILIZES (IN A FUNDAMENTAL WAY) THE MULTIYEAR TIME SERIES OF QUIKSCAT AND SEAWINDS STANDARD BACKSCATTER AND VECTOR WIND PRODUCTS VERTICALLY SHEARED CURRENTS, DEVELOPED DURING THIS STUDY AND REPROCESSED INTO THE OSCAR CLIMATE DATABASE, WILL BE USED FOR CALCULATIONS OF SALINITY TRANSPORT. THIS STUDY WILL ALSO INDIRECTLY CONTRIBUTE TO THEMES C) AND F) THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN IMPROVED SURFACE CURRENT PRODUCT. WINDS WILL BE INDIRECTLY EVALUATED FOR LARGE-SCALE BIASES BY COMPARISON OF WIND-DRIVEN CURRENTS WITH THE GLOBAL DRIFTER PROGRAM.

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• $31,842 - Friday the 10th of July 2015
  National Aeronautics And Space Administration
  NASA SHARED SERVICES CENTER
  ICE SHELVES PLAY MAJOR ROLES IN CONTROLLING THE RATE AT WHICH MASS IS LOST FROM THE GROUNDED ANTARCTIC ICE SHEET VIA ICE STREAMS AND GLACIERS BECAUSE THEY EXERT A BACK-PRESSURE ON THE GROUNDED ICE. ICE SHELF EXTENT AND THICKNESS DEPEND ON THE PRIMARY MASS LOSS PROCESSES OF ICEBERG CALVING AND BASAL MELTING, WHICH CAN CHANGE THIS BACK-PRESSURE. WE ARE INTERESTED IN PROCESSES THAT CAUSE MASS LOSS IN THE ICE SHELF FRONTAL ZONE (ISFZ), A SWATH SEVERAL L0S OF KM WIDE ALONG THE ICE FRONT WHICH EXPERIENCES ENHANCED INTERACTION WITH WATER FROM OUTSIDE THE SUB-ICE-SHELF CAVITY. OUR PRINCIPAL FOCUS IS ON BASAL MELTING ASSOCIATED WITH OCEAN ADVECTIVE PROCESSES INCLUDING TIDES AND WIND-FORCED CURRENTS. OUR GUIDING HYPOTHESES ARE: (1) BASAL MELTING IN THE ISFZ, AND PERHAPS ALSO SMALL-SCALE ICEBERG CALVING, PROVIDE SIGNIFICANT CONTROL ON ICE-SHELF FRONT LOCATION; AND (2) RESPONSE OF THE ISFZ TO UPPER-OCEAN PROCESSES IMPLIES INCREASED SENSITIVITY OF ICE SHELVES TO RAPID CLIMATE VARIABILITY. WE WILL USE ICE-SHELF ELEVATION DATA FROM SEVERAL SATELLITES (ICESAT-L, CRYOSAT-2, ERS-L&ERS-2, AND ENVISAT) TO QUANTIFY RECENT BASAL MELTING IN THE ISFZS OF THE FILCHNER-RONNE AND AMERY ICE SHELVES. WE WILL RUN NUMERICAL OCEAN/ICE MODELS, VALIDATED AGAINST RECENT DATA, TO EXPLORE HOW CHANGING ICE-SHELF GEOMETRY IN THE ISFZ INTERACTS WITH THE OCEAN FORCING TO INFLUENCE THE TIME-DEPENDENT ICE FRONT LOCATION AND ICE-SHELF THICKNESS. THE STUDY DIRECTLY ADDRESSES THE RESEARCH THEME "STUDIES WITH ICESAT AND CRYOSAT-21 , IN THE 2009 NASA ROSES CALL, BY ENSURING THE CONTINUITY OF ICE-SHELF ELEVATION DATA SETS FROM THE ICESAT TO THE CRYOSAT-2 ERA AND BEYOND, AND BY USING ARCHIVED AND NEW DATA IN AN INNOVATIVE WAY TO ADDRESS A KEY FACTOR (ICE SHELF STRUCTURE AND STABILITY) CONTROLLING THE RESPONSE OF THE ANTARCTIC ICE SHEET TO CHANGING CLIMATE. THE PROJECT INCLUDES PARTIAL SUPPORT FOR GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS AT TWO INSTITUTIONS.

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• $217,134 - Friday the 10th of July 2015
  National Aeronautics And Space Administration
  NASA SHARED SERVICES CENTER
  ICE SHELVES PLAY MAJOR ROLES IN CONTROLLING THE RATE AT WHICH MASS IS LOST FROM THE GROUNDED ANTARCTIC ICE SHEET VIA ICE STREAMS AND GLACIERS BECAUSE THEY EXERT A BACK-PRESSURE ON THE GROUNDED ICE. ICE SHELF EXTENT AND THICKNESS DEPEND ON THE PRIMARY MASS LOSS PROCESSES OF ICEBERG CALVING AND BASAL MELTING, WHICH CAN CHANGE THIS BACK-PRESSURE. WE ARE INTERESTED IN PROCESSES THAT CAUSE MASS LOSS IN THE ICE SHELF FRONTAL ZONE (ISFZ), A SWATH SEVERAL L0S OF KM WIDE ALONG THE ICE FRONT WHICH EXPERIENCES ENHANCED INTERACTION WITH WATER FROM OUTSIDE THE SUB-ICE-SHELF CAVITY. OUR PRINCIPAL FOCUS IS ON BASAL MELTING ASSOCIATED WITH OCEAN ADVECTIVE PROCESSES INCLUDING TIDES AND WIND-FORCED CURRENTS. OUR GUIDING HYPOTHESES ARE: (1) BASAL MELTING IN THE ISFZ, AND PERHAPS ALSO SMALL-SCALE ICEBERG CALVING, PROVIDE SIGNIFICANT CONTROL ON ICE-SHELF FRONT LOCATION; AND (2) RESPONSE OF THE ISFZ TO UPPER-OCEAN PROCESSES IMPLIES INCREASED SENSITIVITY OF ICE SHELVES TO RAPID CLIMATE VARIABILITY. WE WILL USE ICE-SHELF ELEVATION DATA FROM SEVERAL SATELLITES (ICESAT-L, CRYOSAT-2, ERS-L&ERS-2, AND ENVISAT) TO QUANTIFY RECENT BASAL MELTING IN THE ISFZS OF THE FILCHNER-RONNE AND AMERY ICE SHELVES. WE WILL RUN NUMERICAL OCEAN/ICE MODELS, VALIDATED AGAINST RECENT DATA, TO EXPLORE HOW CHANGING ICE-SHELF GEOMETRY IN THE ISFZ INTERACTS WITH THE OCEAN FORCING TO INFLUENCE THE TIME-DEPENDENT ICE FRONT LOCATION AND ICE-SHELF THICKNESS. THE STUDY DIRECTLY ADDRESSES THE RESEARCH THEME "STUDIES WITH ICESAT AND CRYOSAT-21 , IN THE 2009 NASA ROSES CALL, BY ENSURING THE CONTINUITY OF ICE-SHELF ELEVATION DATA SETS FROM THE ICESAT TO THE CRYOSAT-2 ERA AND BEYOND, AND BY USING ARCHIVED AND NEW DATA IN AN INNOVATIVE WAY TO ADDRESS A KEY FACTOR (ICE SHELF STRUCTURE AND STABILITY) CONTROLLING THE RESPONSE OF THE ANTARCTIC ICE SHEET TO CHANGING CLIMATE. THE PROJECT INCLUDES PARTIAL SUPPORT FOR GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS AT TWO INSTITUTIONS.

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• $192,300 - Thursday the 12th of May 2016
  National Aeronautics And Space Administration
  NASA SHARED SERVICES CENTER
  THIS PROJECT ADDRESSES THE DIRECT MOMENTUM TRANSFER FROM THE ATMOSPHERE TO THE OCEAN ACROSS THE UPPER OCEAN BOUNDARY LAYER. ACCURATE CALCULATION OF THE WIND-DRIVEN CURRENTS FROM HOURLY TO YEARLY TIMESCALES, TO THE PROPER DEPTHS, AND ON A BASIN-WIDE SCALE ARE IMPORTANT FOR UNDERSTANDING THE TRANSPORT OF SALT, HEAT, MOMENTUM, AND NUTRIENTS. ALTHOUGH WINDS ARE AN ESSENTIAL DRIVING FORCE FOR SURFACE CURRENTS AND TURBULENCE, FUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS REMAIN ABOUT THE NATURE OF THE TRANSFER. STEADY EKMAN DYNAMICS IN A HOMOGENEOUS SURFACE LAYER REMAINS A PREVAILING THEORETICAL CONSTRUCT, AND IS APPLIED IN OUR OSCAR DYNAMICAL MODEL. IT NEGLECTS STRATIFICATION, WIND VARIABILITY ON THE TIME SCALE OF HOURS TO DAYS, AND LOCAL ROTATION OF THE WIND VECTOR WITH PASSING FRONTS, WHICH STRONGLY INFLUENCES THE ROLE ON INERTIAL MOTIONS IN THE UPPER OCEAN RESPONSE. THERE ARE VARIOUS MODELS (KPP, KT, PWP, MY, GOTM) THAT ADD MORE PHYSICS, BUT THERE IS NOT A PREDOMINANT MODEL, NOR ARE THEY WIDELY VALIDATED WITH OBSERVATIONS. THIS AIM OF THIS STUDY IS TO USE OSCAR AS A TOOL TO TEST AND IMPROVE MODELS THROUGH COMPARISONS WITH DRIFTER VELOCITIES, ARGO BUOY SURFACE LAYER PROFILES AND ADCP MOORING DATA. WE PROPOSE TO EXAMINE A HIERARCHY OF TURBULENCE PARAMETERIZATIONS WITHIN THE OSCAR MODEL INCLUDING SHORT TIMESCALE ACCELERATIONS TO DIAGNOSE THE DOMINANT DYNAMICS AND THEREFORE THE MOST RELEVANT MODELS PERTINENT TO THE MOMENTUM TRANSFER AS IT DEPENDS ON REGION. THESE SAME PARAMETERIZATIONS WILL BE APPLIED IN SELECT REGIONS WITHIN AN OCEAN CIRCULATION MODEL, WITH FULL COMPLEXITY, AND COMPARED TO OSCAR RESULTS. THE COMPARISON BETWEEN THE TWO WILL PROVIDE US WITH MORE INFORMATION ON THE EFFECTS OF MISSING PHYSICS WITHIN OSCAR, AND ALLOW US TO DIRECTLY APPLY THE RESULTS OF THIS STUDY TO RECOMMENDATIONS FOR GCMS, USING OSCAR AS A TOOL AS WELL AS AN END. OSCAR IS UNIQUELY SUITED AS A TESTBED BECAUSE IT HAS STRAIGHTFORWARD PHYSICS, ACCURATE GEOSTROPHIC CURRENTS, AND THE FRAMEWORK FOR GLOBAL TESTING AND VALIDATING WITH IN SITU DATA. THIS WORK STRONGLY DEPENDS ON THE NEWLY DEVELOPED 6-HOURLY CCMP WINDS (SEE SECTION 5.1.2), WHICH WILL ALLOW FOR A DETAILED PROCESS STUDY OF THE INERTIAL OSCILLATION RESPONSE TO WIND FORCING. THE RESULTS FROM THE HIGH-FREQUENCY WINDS WILL SERVE AS A GUIDE FOR AN OPTIMAL PARAMETERIZATION WITH COARSER WIND TIMSECALES. FINALLY, THE VERTICALLY SHEARED OSCAR CURRENTS WILL BE COMBINED WITH AQUARIUS SALINITY TO INVESTIGATE THE VERTICAL PROCESSES CONTROLLING LARGE SCALE SURFACE SALT TRANSPORT. RELEVANCE TO OVWST THIS STUDY ADDRESSES THE FOLLOWING OVWST RESEARCH THEMES IN THE 2009 ROSES CALLS: B) FOCUSED GEOPHYSICAL ANALYSES THAT EXPLOITS THE FREQUENT SAMPLING OR COMPLIMENTARY INFORMATION OBTAINED THROUGH COMBINING OBSERVATIONS FROM MULTIPLE WIND SENSORS, INCLUDING QUIKSCAT. HIGHER FREQUENCY WINDS WILL BE FUNDAMENTAL TO THE PROPOSED STUDIES OF UPPER OCEAN TURBULENCE MODELING. THESE WINDS WILL ENABLE FORCING OF THAT PORTION OF THE WAVE SPECTRUM WHICH CONTAINS THE MOST ENERGY: THE INERTIAL FREQUENCY BAND. A) OCEANOGRAPHIC, METEOROLOGICAL, CLIMATE, AND/OR INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH THAT ADDRESSES THE EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE GOALS AND UTILIZES (IN A FUNDAMENTAL WAY) THE MULTIYEAR TIME SERIES OF QUIKSCAT AND SEAWINDS STANDARD BACKSCATTER AND VECTOR WIND PRODUCTS VERTICALLY SHEARED CURRENTS, DEVELOPED DURING THIS STUDY AND REPROCESSED INTO THE OSCAR CLIMATE DATABASE, WILL BE USED FOR CALCULATIONS OF SALINITY TRANSPORT. THIS STUDY WILL ALSO INDIRECTLY CONTRIBUTE TO THEMES C) AND F) THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN IMPROVED SURFACE CURRENT PRODUCT. WINDS WILL BE INDIRECTLY EVALUATED FOR LARGE-SCALE BIASES BY COMPARISON OF WIND-DRIVEN CURRENTS WITH THE GLOBAL DRIFTER PROGRAM.

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• $108,596 - Monday the 30th of April 2012
  National Aeronautics And Space Administration
  GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER
  AQUARIUS PI CONTRACT

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