Research Support

The UCSB Marine Laboratory provides equipment, logistics and experienced staff to the marine science education and research community at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology (EEMB) oversees the facility.

Marine Collectors / Naturalists

The Marine Collectors / Naturalists are responsible for the collection of marine, freshwater, and terrestrial flora and fauna for the Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology (EEMB) department, Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology (MCDB) department, and Marine Science Institute. Collections are utilized in UCSB classrooms and research following all California Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) regulations and Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) protocols. The collectors have a comprehensive knowledge of central California coast marine species, dive locations, and weather patterns and are available for consultation.

Off campus collection services are available on a recharge basis following California Department of Fish and Wildlife Regulations.

Marine Shop

The Marine Operations Facility operates a marine shop outfitted with tools and equipment available for the fabrication, repair, and maintenance of marine engines, laboratory equipment, oceanographic instruments and sampling gear.

The shop is equipped with a mill, lathe, wood and metal band saws, belt sander and a drill press. There is also a complete welding shop with, gas, arc and tig welding equipment.

The developmental technician is on hand to perform boat and engine repairs and assist those using the shop. Under the supervision of the technician, the shop is open to the UCSB research community.

Diving Support

The Marine Operations Facility has a limited number of dive lockers for SCUBA gear storage located within the middle boatyard. Lockers are for active status UCSB research divers whose diving operations are based out of the UCSB Marine Operations Facility. Locker space is assigned and maintained by the Director of Marine Operations.

The facility also maintains 112 steel 85 cu. ft. low pressure SCUBA tanks. Both air and nitrox (EAN32) is available for divers. Tanks are available on a recharge basis for research diving operations based out of the UCSB Marine Operations Facility.

Seawater System

Two seawater intake structures are located 2,500 feet offshore of campus beach at a depth of 51 feet. Two parallel 16" diameter high density polyethylene (HDPE) lines siphon seawater from the intake structures to the campus beach pump house wet well, (Bldg. 502). The wet well is a 30-foot deep 13-foot diameter concrete cylinder. From the pump house two vertical turbine pumps deliver the seawater to the Seawater Filter Facility, (Bldg. 205). The Seawater Filter Facility houses the filters, storage tanks, and supply pumps. There are six gravity sand filters that filter particulates down to 20 microns. Up to 150,000 gallons of filtered seawater and 36,000 gallons of raw seawater are stored in the seawater reservoirs.

The supply pumps distribute seawater to six separate locations; the Marine Biotechnology Building (Bldg. 555), Marine Operations Facility (Bldg. 465), Biological Science 2 Building (Bldg 571), Biological Sciences Instructional Facility (Bldg. 504), Research Experience and Education Facility (Bldg. 200), and the Marine Science Research Building (Bldg. 520). The continuous-flow seawater system supplying these laboratories delivers both raw and filtered seawater at an average rate of 100 to 350 gal/min, respectively. At selected locations ambient, heated (up to at least 28 C), and chilled (down to at least 5 C) seawater are available to support experiments with local flora and fauna, as well as species from tropical to polar climates.

Seawater Research Space

The Marine Operations Facility manages a limited amount of seawater research space available to undergraduate and graduate students as well as faculty researchers at UCSB. A variety of options are available to meet experimental criteria including outdoor or indoor space with raw or filtered seawater. Under the direction of the EEMB departmental Resource Committee, the Director of Marine Operations will assign seawater space to each user.