 |
Coastal Ocean Institute and Rinehart Coastal Research Center 
Although the oceans cover 71 percent of Earth, it is the seven percent that comprises the coastal ocean that most influences, and is influenced by, human activity. The importance of this narrow strip of ocean-from the outer edge of the continental shelf to the farthest penetration of salt water up rivers-is increasing as more people live near the shore and draw resources from the water.
|
 |
 |
Deep Ocean Exploration Institute
The Deep Ocean Exploration Institute investigates processes that shape Earth’s surface, regulate the chemistry of its oceans, and impact its inhabitants. The objective is a better understanding of how Earth works.
|
|
 |
Ocean and Climate Change Institute
The Ocean and Climate Change Institute significantly advanced its mission to understand the ocean’s pivotal role in climate with two initiatives in 2002: recovering the first year’s data from Station W, a new Gulf Stream observing station near Bermuda; and convening an Ocean Forum on Abrupt Climate Change.
|
|
 |
Ocean Life Institute
The Ocean Life Institute initiatives in 2002 included research on: applying genomic techniques to study bacteria and toxic red-tide algae; the effects of cooper pollution from mining on seaweeds; and a technique to measure oxygen isotopes in coral skeletons to deduce past ocean temperatures.
|
