University of Southern California Sea Grant

University of Southern California Sea Grant (USC Sea Grant) supports projects addressing the issues and opportunities of Los Angeles and other metropolitan areas near, using, and benefiting from the sea. USC Sea Grant funds research on the critical issues associated with the influence of massive cities on the sea, promotes connections between scientists and the policy-makers who must craft solutions, and broadly distributes information to the electorate through public education outreach efforts. Research is focused on six main topics including coastal ecosystems, water quality, climate change, coastal management, maritime affairs, and aquaculture and fisheries.  The program sponsors workshops and conferences, provides curriculum materials for marine education, fosters minority education in the sciences, writes and publishes a variety of outreach documents about marine topics, and translates the results of scientific research into terms useful to the Southern California community.

USC Sea Grant is funding research and developing outreach products and education tools to understand the impact of climate change on the biology and chemistry of the ocean, and is working with local and state governments to help coastal managers adapt to the impacts of climate change.

The National Sea Grant College Program (Sea Grant) works to create and maintain healthy coastal environments and economies. The Sea Grant network includes 32 programs based at top universities in every coastal and Great Lakes state, Puerto Rico, and Guam. The programs of the Sea Grant network work together to help citizens understand, conserve and better utilize America’s coastal, ocean and Great Lakes resources. One of four national strategic priorities through 2013 is to improve the resilience of coastal communities to hazards, including the effects of climate change.  NOAA Sea Grant plays local and national roles to inform policy and management, help communities prepare for climate impacts, and support economic resilience and opportunity. See the National Sea Grant College Program organization entry for more information.

Phone: (213) 740-1961

Sectors:

• Coastal
• Fish and fisheries
• Oceans

Related Organizations:

• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
• National Sea Grant College Program (Sea Grant)
• University of Southern California
• Regional AdaptLA

Related Resources:

• Sea Level Rise Vulnerability Study for the City of Los Angeles – Transportation Assets
• Sea Level Rise Vulnerability Study for the City of Los Angeles, California