Director: Charles F. Kennel (858) 534-2826; fax (858) 453-0167; ckennel@ucsd.edu

Deputy Director, Administration: Tom Collins (858) 534-2832; fax (858) 534-8611; tcollins@ucsd.edu

Deputy Director, Scientific Affairs: William S. Hodgkiss (858) 534-2836; fax (619) 553-0764; whodgkiss@ucsd.edu

Associate Director, Ship Operations and Technical Support: Robert A. Knox (858) 534-4729; fax (858) 535-1817; rknox@ucsd.edu

Birch Aquarium at Scripps, Interim Director: Jeffrey B. Graham (858) 534-4086; fax (858) 534-7114; jgraham@ucsd.edu

California Sea Grant College Program, Director: Dr. Russell A. Moll (848) 534-4440; fax (858) 534-2231; rmoll@ucsd.edu

California Space Institute, SIO Division, Associate Director Calspace/SIO: Dan Lubin (858) 534-6369; fax (858) 534-7452; dlubin@ucsd.edu

Center for Atmospheric Sciences, Director: V. Ramanathan (858) 534-8815; fax (858) 822-1632 vramanathan@ucsd.edu

Center for Coastal Studies, Director: Robert T. Guza (858) 534-4333; rguza@ucsd.edu

Center for Marine Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Director: William Fenical (858) 534-2133; fax (858) 558-3702; wfenical@ucsd.edu

Climate Research Division, Director: Dan Cayan (858) 534-4507; fax (858) 534-8561; dcayan@ucsd.edu

Sciences Research Division, Director: Jeremy Jackson (858) 822-2432; fax (858) 822-3310; jbjackson@ucsd.edu

Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, Director: John Orcutt (858) 534-2887; fax (858) 534-2902; jorcutt@ucsd.edu

Joint Institute for Marine Observations, Director: Dr. William A. Kuperman (858) 534-7990; fax (858) 822-0665; wkuperman@ucsd.edu

Marine Biology Research Division, Director: Robert Hessler (858) 534-1607; fax (858) 534-7313; rhessler@ucsd.edu

Marine Life Research Group, Director: Michael M. Mullin (858) 534-0731; fax (858) 534-6500; mmullin@ucsd.edu

Marine Physical Laboratory, Director: William A. Kuperman (858) 534-1803; fax (858) 534-5255; wkuperman@ucsd.edu

Marine Research Division, Director: Joris Gieskes (858) 534-4257; fax (858) 534-2997; jgieskes@ucsd.edu

Physical Oceanography Research Division, Director: David P. Rogers (858) 534-6412; fax (858) 534-0704; drogers@ucsd.edu

SIO Graduate Department, Chair: W. Kendall Melville (858) 534-3208; fax (858) 534-7889; gradchr@siomail.ucsd.edu

Founded in 1903, Scripps Institution of Oceanography is one of the world's oldest, largest, and most important centers for global science research, graduate training, and public service. As part of the University of California, San Diego, Scripps Institution today is world renowned for its preeminence in scientific disciplines relating to biology, physics, chemistry, climatology, geosciences, and geophysics.

More than 300 research programs are underway today in a wide range of scientific areas, including air-sea interactions, climate prediction, earthquakes, physiology of marine animals, marine chemistry, beach erosion, the marine food chain, sea floor geology, marine biology, physical oceanography, space sciences, and ocean engineering. Scripps operates the largest academic fleet with four oceanographic research ships for worldwide exploration and one research platform. The National Research Council in Washington, D.C., ranked Scripps first in faculty quality among oceanography programs nationwide.

A public aquarium was established as part of Scripps Institution of Oceanography in 1903, and one has been operated by the institution ever since. In 1992, the newest facility, the Birch Aquarium at Scripps, opened on the bluff above the Scripps campus. More than 350,000 people visit annually, including 38,000 school children. The aquarium features 46 tanks representing natural habitats throughout the Pacific, including a 70,000 gallon tank supporting a kelp-forest community. The Scripps Hall of Oceanography features the largest permanent exhibition on ocean science in the country. A re-created tide pool introduces visitors to coastal marine life. Seawater-equipped classrooms introduce children to the wonders of ocean science through hands-on laboratory programs. A specially equipped outreach van takes live animal programs to classrooms throughout the county.

California Sea Grant College is the largest of 30 state programs in a national network dedicated to the understanding, conservation, and wise use of coastal and marine resources.

California Space Institute (CalSpace)

The California Space Institute (CalSpace), a multicampus research unit of the University of California, supports space and earth sciences, education, and technology. CalSpace maintains close ties with many departments at UCSD and other UC campuses through scientific collaboration and joint faculty appointments. CalSpace scientists conduct both pure and applied research in various interdisciplinary, space-related fields. Many CalSpace researchers focus on the atmosphere and atmosphere-ocean interactions. Some scientists study space plasma physics and planetary science, while others investigate the earth’s environment using remote sensing from satellites. CalSpace activities also include student teams working on projects with museums and governmental agencies.

Researchers in the Center for Atmospheric Sciences (CAS) focus on fundamental investigations of the atmosphere related to large scale climate change. Their analyses include a balance of field experiments, satellite observations, and computer modeling. Investigators use surface observatories, aircraft, and ships, as well as remote sensing by satellites. CAS scientists employ regional and global models of the atmosphere to interpret observations and to understand and predict changes in climate patterns. Areas of research within CAS include the role of aerosols, clouds, and water vapor in climate; chemistry of the tropical troposphere; climate feedback processes caused by convection; atmospheric radiative processes; and bio-optics of the ocean.

Scientists in the Center for Coastal Studies (CCS) focus on observing and modeling the physical and sedimentary processes that occur along the coastlines of the world. Ongoing research at CCS concerns surf zone hydrodynamics, fluid-sediment interactions responsible for sand transport along beaches, circulation in coastal waters and bays, propagation of surface waves across continental shelves, and coastal meteorology. CCS personnel also manage the Scripps Hydraulics Laboratory. Recent CCS research sites include the Santa Barbara Channel and Santa Maria Basin off California, San Ignacio Lagoon in Mexico, and beaches and continental shelves in North Carolina and southern California.

The Center for Marine Biotechnology and Biomedicine (CMBB), housed at Scripps, is a UCSD campuswide center dedicated to exploration of potential biotechnological and biomedical resources found in the world's oceans. The center includes faculty and researchers from Scripps and other campus departments, including biology, chemistry, medicine, neurosciences, pediatrics, and pharmacology. The CMBB program in marine biomedicine involves the UCSD School of Medicine and focuses on marine drug discovery (with an emphasis on cancer treatment), pharmacology, physiology, neurobiology, and molecular events associated with reproduction. CMBB researchers investigate areas from the special properties of deep-sea marine microbes to the genetic engineering of commercially important marine animals. Scientists at CMBB also provide research support for local biotechnology industries.

In the Climate Research Division (CRD), scientists study phenomena spanning time scales from weeks to decades. They identify and predict the natural variability of climate and the consequences of man-made increases in the greenhouse effect. In the climate system, interactions among the atmosphere, the seas, the land, and the world of living things are complex and interrelated. To understand these interactions, CRD researchers use a team approach to studying areas including meteorology, oceanography, and hydrology. CRD researchers develop coupled global ocean and atmosphere models, assess the role of cloud/radiation feedbacks in climate change, explore the connections of the atmosphere and ocean to land surface hydrology, and model and predict seasonal to decadal climate variability. They focus on the impact of global change on regional and transient phenomena, emphasizing those aspects of climate that are potentially predictable.

Scientists within the Geosciences Research Division (GRD) address a wide range of topics in the earth, ocean, and atmospheric sciences. GRD researchers study the physical, chemical, and geobiological processes of the earth's mantle, crust, ocean, and atmosphere. They carry out detailed investigations in marine geology, petrology, paleomagnetism, tectonics, geophysics, isotope geology, geochemistry, mantle and crustal evolution, and paleontology. GRD scientists also study fluid processes, climate history, global biogeochemical cycles, global change, evolution and systematics, ocean tracers, and atmospheric and solar system chemistry.

The Cecil H. and Ida M. Green Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics (IGPP) is located at and strongly linked to Scripps. This branch is part of the University of California IGPP and houses the systemwide office. IGPP research at Scripps spans many disciplines, including seismology, infrasound, space and terrestrial geodesy, geomagnetism, global seismic networks, fluid mechanics, ocean acoustics, marine geophysics, geodynamics, space physics, nonlinear dynamics, and theoretical geophysics. IGPP operates a global network of seismic stations; several modern seismic arrays in places such as Montana, California, and Kyrgyzstan; a permanent space geodesy network in California; and an x-band antenna for satellite communications. IGPP scientists maintain an active seagoing program including the measurement of absolute gravity on the seafloor, seafloor electromagnetic and seismic measurements, multichannel seismology, and the Acoustic Thermometry of Ocean Climate (ATOC) project.

The NOAA Joint Institutes were created to unite the expertise of universities and NOAA laboratories. Established in 1991, the Joint Institute for Marine Observations (JIMO) is one of 11 joint institutes within the NOAA Environmental Research Laboratory. JIMO brings together state-of-the-art observation capabilities of both Scripps Institution of Oceanography and NOAA in ocean sensing. JIMO is located at Scripps and maintains collaborative programs with several NOAA laboratories across the country representing a wide range of mutual interests. Specific themes reflect the particular strengths at Scripps in the areas of coupled ocean atmosphere climate research, blue water and littoral oceanography, marine biology, biological oceanography, marine geology and geophysics, and ocean technology. JIMO offers graduate students enhanced educational opportunities through its collaboration with NOAA researchers, team teaching by Scripps and NOAA scientists, and observational field research opportunities.

Scientists in the Marine Biology Research Division (MBRD) investigate the taxonomic, geographical, ecological, physiological, cellular, biochemical, and genetic characteristics of marine bacteria, protozoa, plants, and animals, and the fundamental processes affecting life and energy flow in marine ecosystems. MBRD researchers examine organisms in a variety of habitats including the deep sea, coastal ecosystems, and Antarctica. Some of the ongoing studies involve the anatomy and mechanics of marine invertebrates, microbial metabolism of metals, mechanisms of invertebrate egg and sperm interaction, developmental evolution of chordates, adaptations of phytoplankton, and evolution of coral-reef organisms.

Scientists in the Marine Life Research Group study the physics, chemistry, biology, and climatology of the ocean, emphasizing the interactions of these components on scales ranging from centimeters and seconds to the whole Pacific Ocean and millennia. Long term time-series, such as the California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations (CalCOFI) and Shore Station programs, provide a growing dataset that helps scientists monitor climatological changes. MLRG scientists, along with the other CalCOFI groups (the Coastal Fisheries Resources Division of the Southwest Fisheries Science Center [NOAA/NMFS], and the California Department of Fish & Game) conduct quarterly cruises off California, continuing the time-series study of the California Current ecosystem established in 1949. Other MLRG scientists investigate similar questions in nearshore habitats—kelp forests, the rocky intertidal, and estuaries—and in the deepest parts of the ocean.

Scientists in the Marine Physical Laboratory(MPL) use knowledge of the ocean and its boundaries to solve problems in ocean acoustics, ocean optics, marine physics, marine geophysics, signal processing, and ocean technology. Researchers in ocean acoustics quantify environmental limitations on acoustic systems and study how these limitations affect design and operation of oceanographic systems. Scientists investigating marine physics focus on the ocean environment and its effect on undersea systems. Marine geophysicists study the earth beneath the sea and clarify the environmental parameters affecting search, detection, and navigation systems. Research in signal processing includes the collection, manipulation, and output of both analog and digital data. MPL scientists develop advanced ocean technology both for in situ and remote environmental measurement programs and for testing of new engineering concepts.

Studies within the (MRD) encompass the disciplines of marine chemistry and biological oceanography. MRD scientists study variations of atmospheric oxygen with time and their relationship to the global carbon cycle and climate change, marine pollution and environmental issues, interstitial water chemistry of deep-sea cores, the geochemistry of nearshore sediments, and extraterrestrial geochemistry and chemistry related to the origin of life. The bio-optics group uses optical methods to study the distributions of biological pigments and photosynthesis by phytoplankton in Antarctic, Arctic, and California coastal waters. Other MRD biologists focus on biological rhythms, sensory biology, and algae in snow. They also maintain long-term plankton records. The marine natural products groups study the chemical ecology of marine organisms and the chemistry of marine microbes and invertebrates, from which potentially useful pharmaceuticals have been discovered. They also investigate the chemistry involved in symbioses between invertebrates and microbes.

Scientists in the Physical Oceanography Research Division (PORD) study a range of observational and theoretical topics related to the physics of the ocean. Many PORD investigators hold joint appointments in other areas at Scripps, which provide for cross- disciplinary research and communication. Some PORD researchers study the large-scale circulation of the world’s oceans or the specifics of smaller environments such as the continental shelf, marginal seas, straits, estuaries, or the surf zone of open shorelines. Others examine the interaction between the ocean and the atmosphere. Theoretical studies range from classical fluid dynamics problems to models of large-scale ocean circulation or the atmospheric marine boundary layer. PORD scientists also develop new sensors and measurement technologies for ocean studies—such as autonomous drifters and bottom-pressure and electromagnetic sensors—and new versions of acoustic Doppler current profilers.

The graduate department of Scripps Institution of Oceanography offers instruction leading to Ph.D. degrees in Oceanography, Marine Biology, and Earth Sciences. No undergraduate major is offered in the department. A graduate student's work normally will be concentrated in one of eight curricular programs: Applied Ocean Science, Biological Oceanography, Climate Sciences, Geological Sciences, Geophysics, Marine Biology, Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry, and Physical Oceanography. The interdisciplinary nature of research in marine and earth sciences is emphasized; students are encouraged to take courses from various UCSD departments, and to consider interdisciplinary research projects.