Are project locations outside the United States accepted?
Projects must be in the contiguous/conterminous United States. Projects outside of the contiguous U.S. cannot generally be funded under the seed proposal program.
What airborne platform will be used to collect data?
An airplane or helicopter will be used (no UAS), depending on what platform is available for the mapping campaign. There is not an option to choose.
Can a specific instrument be requested?
NCALM collects seed projects when mapping nearby funded projects. The instrument used for the funded project will be used for the seed project. There is not an option to choose.
Will NCALM collect bathymetry data?
Due to instrument constraints, seed proposals are for topographic lidar only. NCALM will not collect bathymetry data.
Can aerial photography or hyperspectral imagery be requested?
Seed proposals are for airborne topographic lidar data only, and do not include other types of data (e.g., bathymetry, aerial photography, terrestrial lidar, or hyperspectral imaging).
Can specific mapping dates be requested?
Preferred seasonal constraints can be requested, and NCALM will attempt to meet demands. However, it cannot be guaranteed that data will be collected during the desired time, because projects are mapped within larger campaigns.
Can special point cloud classifications be requested?
NCALM will run a ground classification algorithm on the data. Data will be classified as ground and non-ground. No special classifications will be granted.
Can the area of interest be larger than 40 km2?
AOIs must be 40 km2 or less.
Can the project be split into multiple areas?
A single box is preferred, but multiple boxes will be considered if located in the same general area and within reason.
Can the project location be changed after a Seed Proposal is granted?
Substantive changes in the context are not allowed.
Does a Seed Award include financial support?
Seed projects do not provide financial support to the student or faculty. NCALM collects and provides lidar data only if the project is awarded. However, awardees are encouraged to meet with staff in Houston or Berkeley to learn more about the post-processing of their data.
Where can previous Seed Award information be found?
Links to data and publications from past seed projects can be found at the NCALM Data Tracking Center.
Can multiple flights be requested for change detection, etc.?
Seed proposals are single project, single year awards, and repeat data collection proposals are not supported.
Can faculty apply for a Seed Award?
Seed proposals are now open to graduate-level students at any accredited institution in the U.S., geoscience (or related) faculty at recognized minority-serving institutions without doctoral programs, or geoscience (or related) faculty at community colleges.
Can students or faculty from foreign universities submit a Seed Proposal?
Applicants must be enrolled in a U.S. institution to be eligible. Seed funding comes from the U.S. National Science Foundation.