Who funds ocean research?

We count 482 funded ocean projects, active between 2020 and 2032, from 5 funders. The most came from EU · ERC (117 projects), EU · MSCA (93 projects) and NSF · GEO (83 projects). The median award is $1.4M, across the 470 of 482 projects that list an amount.

Funded projects

482

Funders

5

Median award

$1.4M

Open calls now

22

Top funders of ocean research

Projects whose title or summary mentions ocean. Median award: of the projects that list an amount, in US dollars; “—” when fewer than 3 do.

Open ocean funding calls

22 open calls mention ocean today; the 12 most on-topic are listed.

• A stronger Global Ocean Observing System to enhance Europe’s strategic autonomy, climate resilience and biodiversity conservation
  European Commission · Horizon EuropeUp to €50,000,000Deadline: February 16, 2027 ·
• Better understanding and attribution of land and ocean carbon sources and sinks
  European Commission · Horizon EuropeUp to €5,000,000Deadline: March 4, 2027 ·
• Unlocking a safe operating space for Antarctica and the Southern Ocean
  European Commission · Horizon EuropeUp to €11,000,000Deadline: September 23, 2027 ·
• FY 2027 - 2029 Broad Agency Announcement (BAA), Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR)
  DOC NOAA - ERA ProductionNot specifiedDeadline: September 30, 2029 ·
• Geosciences Core Research: Atmospheric, Geospace, Earth and Ocean Sciences (GEO Core)
  U.S. National Science FoundationNot specifiedDeadline: Rolling (no fixed deadline listed)
• Fisheries and Oceans Canada Aquatic Science supplement
  Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)Up to CAD 10,000Deadline: Not listed
• UK International Ocean Drilling Programme moratorium awards
  Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)Up to £62,500Deadline: Not listed
  Real odds: About 1 in 4 funded (23% · Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), all funding decisions, 2024-25)
• Climate Program Office (CPO) FY2026 Earth System Science and Services Partnership
  DOC NOAA - ERA Production$1 – $10,000,000Deadline: October 29, 2026 ·
• Oceanographic Facilities and Equipment Support
  U.S. National Science Foundation$5,000 – $47,500,000Deadline: January 11, 2027 ·
• Antarctic Research Not Requiring U.S. Antarctic Program (USAP) Field Support
  U.S. National Science FoundationNot specifiedDeadline: January 15, 2027 ·
• Climate Program Office FY 2027 - Super Intelligence/Machine Learning Innovation to Advance NOAA's Earth System Science and Support Hazard Resilience
  DOC NOAA - ERA Production$1 – $750,000Deadline: February 9, 2027 ·
• Advancing coastal flood protection through public-private partnerships, innovative insurance products, and improved sediment management.
  DOC NOAA - ERA Production$500,000 – $2,000,000Deadline: February 12, 2027 ·

Real odds

• About 1 in 4 funded · 23% · Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), all funding decisions, 2024-25 · UKRI investment and outputs data, table 2.1

Published success rates for the programs behind the open calls above: the share of applications the funder funded, program-wide, not for this topic.

Funded ocean projects

A sample, latest start first, at most three per program.

• Collaborative Research: Convective and Shear Instability as Pathways to Turbulence in Internal Solitary Waves
  NSF · GEO · $2,294,845 · ends 2031
• Continued Observations at the Panularis Hydrographic Station
  NSF · GEO · $952,734 · ends 2031
• CAREER: Aqueous Click Functionalization of Nanocellulose for Scalable Production of Property Programmable Plastics
  NSF · MPS · $598,776 · ends 2031
• CAREER: Feedbacks and Tipping Dynamics in Earth System Models with Interactive Ice Sheets
  NSF · Office of the Director · $797,727 · ends 2031
• Continued Observations of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation: the RAPID-MOCHA Array
  NSF · GEO · $4,452,348 · ends 2031
• Using citizen science research to inform coastal and marine natural capital approaches
  UKRI · NERC · ends 2031
• Research Infrastructure: Robust software infrastructure for bioBakery microbial community analyses in diverse environments
  NSF · BIO · $1,732,918 · ends 2031
• Reconstructing Early Archaean Crust formation and Tectonics (REACT)
  UKRI · NERC · £798,388 · ends 2030
• DANCE - eDdy-mediated mechAnisms supplying Nitrogen resourCEs
  UKRI · NERC · £1,206,545 · ends 2030
• RCN: Building a Coordinated Network for Research and Monitoring in Large-Scale International Marine Protected Areas: The Ross Sea Region as a Model System
  NSF · Office of the Director · $525,000 · ends 2029

How we count

Funded projects come from public award records (NIH RePORTER, NSF, EU CORDIS, UKRI Gateway to Research, Wellcome, the Gates Foundation, DOE, NASA and USDA NIFA) whose title or summary matches “ocean or oceans”. NIH lists each budget year separately; one project counts once. Amounts are as the funder lists them; medians use only projects that list one, in US dollars. Open calls and forecasts are from our listings of October 28, 2026. A project can mention a topic without being mainly about it, so treat the counts as a guide to who funds the area.