Our mission as a graduate research program is to accomplish the following:
- conduct interdisciplinary basic and applied research in ocean science to discover solutions to local, regional, state, national, and global problems of climate change, marine resource depletion, environmental degradation, water contamination, disease, and ecosystem management.
- Generate, disseminate and translate new knowledge across the marine science disciplines of biology, chemistry, geology, and physics
- Develop new technologies and tools for exploring the coupled ocean-atmosphere-land system
- Graduate outstanding marine scientists who are well prepared for positions in academe, industry, government agencies, and non-governmental organizations at local to international levels
Research Areas
The USF College of Marine Science addresses socially-relevant issues in addition to fundamental research problems in shelf, coastal and estuarine waters, in the deep ocean, and in the watershed that drains to the coastal zone. This research is conducted across the globe and spans the broad range of marine science disciplines that include: biology, chemistry, geology, physics, and mathematics. These issues include long-term sea-level rise, coral reef demise, recent paleo-climate change, ocean acidification, harmful algal blooms, fisheries management, water quality, shoreline change, oil-drilling and the Deepwater Horizon Gulf of Mexico crisis, navigation, and various aspects of national and international security. Many of these efforts have led to the invention of new technologies and methodologies working through the College's Center for Ocean Technology (COT), established in 1995. The COT technical staff consists of electrical, mechanical and software engineers that possess significant expertise in underwater vessel fabrication, acoustics, RF systems, networking, and real-time controls. Please visit the links below to learn more about each research area:
- Biological Oceanography
- Chemical Oceanography
- Geological Oceanography
- Physical Oceanography
- Marine Resource Assesment
Oil Spill Research
Center for Integrated Modeling and Analysis of the Gulf Ecosystem (C-IMAGE)
The C-IMAGE Consortium is a comprehensive research team from 13 national and international universities to address Themes 2 and 3 of the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative. These themes cannot be studied in isolation, as the physical, chemical and biological processes determine the potential for effects on elements of the ecosystem. We propose to study their space/time/trophic level connections using a hierarchy of calibrated models, supported by observations, sampling and high-pressure experimental studies where necessary, with a focus on the eastern Gulf of Mexico. The consortium of university and other collaborators forming C-IMAGE have specific expertise in a number of fields.
Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Information Page
Researchers at the USF College of Marine Science were at the forefront of tracking the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill from the beginning, and continue to play a major role in studying the environmental impacts. The College has been awarded $11 million through BP’s Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GRI) to continue assessing the impacts of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill on the Gulf of Mexico’s ocean and coastal ecosystems and to build better ways for predicting damage from future spills. In addition, USF researchers have joined with the National Marine Fisheries Service to investigate a surge in anecdotal reports of fish suffering from strange lesions, discoloration and fin rot since the spill occurred. The following web page is updated regularly by the College to track its involvement in creating a full understanding of what this tragedy means for Florida, its neighbors and the Gulf of Mexico environment.
Publications
Recent publications by our faculty and completed Theses and Dissertations our available online at the USF Library Scholar Commons. You may also visit our faculty directory for more information.
Centers for Research
In addition to academic research pursuits, the College of Marine Science hosts the following centers for research:
- Center for Ocean Technology
- Center for the Prediction of Red Tides
- Institute for Marine Remote Sensing
- Systems Technology Group
Partners in Research
The College of Marine Science also maintains strong partnerships with federal and state agencies.
- USGS - St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center
- USGS - Southeast Ecological Science Center
- USGS - Florida Water Science Center
- Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission - Fish and Wildlife Research Institute (FWRI)
