The USGS Earthquake Hazards Program (EHP) issues this annual Announcement for assistance to support research in earthquake hazards, the physics of earthquakes, earthquake occurrence, and earthquake safety policy and address the Department of Interior’s Secretarial priorities related to centering equity and environmental justice in everything we do. This activity is authorized by the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act of 1977 (Public Law 95-124, 42 U.S.C. 7701 et. seq.), and as amended by the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program Reauthorization Act of 2018 (Public Law 115-307).
The USGS Earthquake Hazards Program (EHP) External Grants Office strives to advance the science that underlies EHP products by funding research that poses and tests new hypotheses, develops novel data acquisition tools, analysis methods, and products, as well as improves information dissemination and makes research results more effective in mitigating losses from earthquakes. External grants funded by the USGS EHP further our understanding of the genesis, propagation, characterization, and effects of earthquakes and advance our ability to assess and communicate earthquake hazards and risks.
Deadline: May 28, 2025
Research priorities are distributed across ten Research Areas—five regional and five topical areas:
•Central and Eastern United States (CEUS): The United States east of the Rocky Mountains, including Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands;
•Intermountain West (IMW): From the Cascade Range and eastern flank of the Sierra Nevada to the front ranges of the Rocky Mountains, including Idaho, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona, and portions of Washington, Oregon, California, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas.
•Northern California (NC): From Cape Mendocino to the central creeping section of the San Andreas fault and the adjacent Coast Ranges, with particular emphasis on the greater San Francisco Bay Area;
•Pacific Northwest and Alaska (PNA): Washington and Oregon, California north of Cape Mendocino (Cascadia), and Alaska;
•Southern California (SC): From the Carrizo Plain south to the international border with Mexico.
•Earthquake Early Warning (EEW): Basic and applied research to improve the accuracy, reliability, and timeliness of earthquake early warning alerts generated by ShakeAlert as well as research to benefit ShakeAlert communication, education, and outreach needs;
•Earthquake Rupture Forecasting (ERF): Research that stands to have a more immediate impact on earthquake rupture forecasts being deployed by the USGS, both with respect to time-independent and time-dependent models;
• Earthquake Source Processes (ESP): Basic and applied, geographically broad research to characterize natural and induced earthquakes and constrain their physics;
• Hazard, Impacts, and Risk (HIR): Basic and applied, geographically broad research on the effects of earthquakes (including ground failure) and their impacts to the built environment, research that is relevant for probabilistic and/or scenario seismic hazard and risk analysis (including the NSHM), and near-real-time earthquake response (including ShakeMap and PAGER).
• Ground Motion (GM): Basic and applied research to understand and model earthquake ground motions, including for use in EHP products.
It is estimated that a total of $4 million will be awarded in support of competitive research grants in FY2026, with a maximum total of $7 million. Based on awards in recent years, approximately 50 to 70 new awards are funded each fiscal year. There is no maximum award amount (i.e., any amount may be proposed if it can be justified appropriately), however, the majority of grants range between $30,000 and $120,000. This estimate does not bind the USGS to a specified number of awards or to the amount of any award unless that amount is specified by statute or regulation.