Research & Initiatives
To maintain a diverse and sustainable ocean, CMBC researchers develop knowledge and solutions for coupled socio-environmental marine systems. Our research is solutions focused, driven by local and global needs, and informed by the interests and expertise of our members.
Research themes spanning our CMBC membership include:
- anthropology
- archaeology
- biodiversity
- climate change
- community science (citizen science)
- conservation
- contaminants
- coral reefs
- deep ocean
- ecology
- economics
- ecosystem-based management
- endangered and threatened species
- environmental justice
- ethnic studies
- fisheries
- governance
- history
- law
- marine biology
- marine protected areas
- ocean acidification
- paleobiology
- policy
- pollution
- public health
- seafood
- sociology
- sustainability
- ...and so much more!
CMBC INITIATIVES
Using our Center’s resources and staff capacity, CMBC is currently the home for a number of programs and initiatives developed and led by our members.
SUSTAINABLE SEAFOOD INITIATIVE
The Sustainable Seafood Initiative serves as a catalyst for broad engagement and corporate responsibility towards sustainable and equitable seafood systems by focusing on science, engagement, and capacity building, as well as effective dissemination of information to various stakeholders and audiences.
CMBC Leads: Sarah Mesnick, Jennifer Smith, Stuart Sandin, with Mar Mancha Cisneros
DEEP-OCEAN STEWARDSHIP INITIATIVE (DOSI)
DOSI is a global network of experts which seeks to integrate science, technology, policy, law and economics to advise on ecosystem-based management of resource use in the deep ocean and strategies to maintain the integrity of deep-ocean ecosystems within and beyond national jurisdiction.
CMBC Lead: Lisa Levin
PLASTICS AWARENESS GLOBAL INITIATIVE (PAGI)
PAGI brings scientific insights to the global crisis of plastic pollution in the environment, coordinates international efforts addressing the problem, and leverages Scripps expertise to the challenges associated with the growing social-environmental problems of plastics in the ocean.
CMBC Leads: Ayelet Gneezy, Stuart Sandin
ISLAND-OCEAN CONNECTION CHALLENGE (IOCC)
IOCC is a partnership between CMBC, Island Conservation, Re:wild, and various academic and NGO organizations to investigate the impacts of invasive species (and their removal) on terrestrial-marine ecosystem interactions. Using a combination of traditional knowledge and western science, IOCC promotes conservation and restoration actions.
Scripps Oceanographic collections
These world-renowned repositories of marine organisms and geological samples support scientific research, education, and governmental agencies and public policy makers. The collections showcase the incredible biodiversity of our planet, and are an incredible resource and reference for ongoing discovery and investigation into life on Earth.
BENTHIC INVERTEBRATE
With extensive holdings from the deep sea, chemosynthetic ecosystems, and the eastern Pacific, the collection supports biodiversity research in some of the ocean's most unexplored and extreme environments.
PELAGIC INVERTEBRATE
One of the world's preeminent collections of marine zooplankton, housing more than 140,000 whole zooplankton samples. Among these are the remarkable CalCOFI zooplankton time series, which has surveyed the California Current since 1949.
MARINE VERTEBRATE
One of the largest collections of deep-sea and pelagic fishes in the world, as well as one of the premiere collections of shore fishes from the eastern Pacific.
GEOLOGICAL
Among the largest collections of marine geology samples in the United States. Scripps holds about 7,000 deep ocean cores, about 4,000 dredges of deep-sea rocks, and about 40,000 marine microfossil slides, and a teaching collection of about 10,000 samples of rocks, fossils, and minerals.
MEMBER RESEARCH
Faculty and researcher members of CMBC direct and run their own investigative programs which overlap and intersect with CMBC's mission. Our Center is proud to highlight work conducted by affiliated academics and practitioners.
These are a small fraction of the projects led by our members. Access researcher profiles, individual Lab websites, and get email information for investigators on our Members and Affiliates page.
Photo credits on this page - Top, "Research & Initiatives": Bert Weeks