A public agency applying next-generation science to aquatic ecosystems management - Since 1969 - Southern California Coastal Water Research Project

Ocean Acidification and Hypoxia

Researchers are documenting how corrosive coastal ocean conditions and low dissolved oxygen levels threaten the health of marine food webs.

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Bioanalytical Cell Screening Assays

Researchers are investigating how to adapt cell bioassays as a cost-effective screening tool to improve monitoring of bioactive chemical contaminants in aquatic systems.

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Harmful Algal Blooms

SCCWRP and its research partners are examining how to mitigate the proliferation of ecologically disruptive blooms in aquatic systems that threaten the health of wildlife and humans.

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The Southern California Coastal Water Research Project (SCCWRP) is an aquatic sciences research institute that works to improve management of aquatic systems in Southern California and beyond. Since its founding as an intergovernmental public agency in 1969, SCCWRP has been developing strategies, tools and technologies that the region’s water-quality management community relies on to more effectively protect and enhance the ecological health of Southern California’s coastal ocean and watersheds that drain to it. As an R&D agency, SCCWRP’s reputation is built on conducting research and translating this science into actionable guidance and recommendations that inform management decision-making and policy development.

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SCCWRP Commission meeting -
SCCWRP Commission meeting -
SCCWRP Commission meeting -
SCCWRP Commission meeting -
SCCWRP Commission meeting -

Doughty, C.L., H. Gu, R.F. Ambrose, E.D. Stein, E. Borgnis Sloane, M. Martinez, K.C. Cavanaugh. 2024. Climate drivers and human impacts shape 35-year trends of coastal wetland health and composition in an urban region. Ecosphere DOI:10.1002/ecs2.4832.

Lie, A., A.G. Zimmer-Faust, R.E. Diner, E. Kunselman, Z. Daniel, K. Van Artsdalen, M.C. Salas Garcia, J.A. Gilbert, D. Shultz, J. Chokry, K. Langlois, J. Smith. 2024. Understanding the risks of co-exposures in a changing world: a case study of dual monitoring of the biotoxin domoic acid and Vibrio spp. in Pacific oyster. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment

Kessouri, F., M. Sutula, D. Bianchi, M. Ho, P. Damien, J.C. McWilliams, C.A. Frieder, L. Renault, H. Frenzel, K. McLaughlin, C. Deutsch. 2024. Cross-shore transport and eddies promote large scale response to urban eutrophication. Scientific Reports

RD Mazor. 2024. Bioassessment Survey of the Stormwater Monitoring Coalition: Workplan for Years 2021 through 2025 Version 4.0 (2024). Technical Report 1174. Southern California Coastal Water Research Project. Costa Mesa, CA.