Baruch Institute for Marine & Coastal Sciences University of South Carolina Columbia, SC 29208

Our mission is to conduct research and support education that will improve the management of marine and coastal resources and advance basic science for the well-being of people and their environment.

The institute was established in 1969 through the joint efforts of the University of South Carolina and the Belle W. Baruch Foundation.

The institute is part of the University of South Carolina. Administrative and research activities are carried out on the campus and at the coastal facilities.

Campus facilities include the institute's main administrative offices, teleconferencing and seminar room, research laboratories, marine culture and aquarium facilities, and Geographic Information Processing laboratory. The 5,000-gallon, recirculating seawater system and wet laboratories provide opportunites for many types of studies. Other resources, such as the Thomas Cooper Library, are available on campus.

The coastal facilities include a modern research laboratory, housing facilities, and a conference lodge. The field laboratory research complex (19,872 sq ft) comprises 18 laboratories, a computer center, teleconferencing and seminar room, conference-dining room, archived-sample room, classrooms, technical support and administrative offices, and walk-in refrigerators and freezers. Screened work and storage space adjoin the air-conditioned laboratories. The North Inlet-Winyah Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (NI-WB NERR) is hosted by the University of South Carolina and is headquartered and co-located with the institute’s field laboratory. The NI-WB NERR wing provides an additional 4,000 sq. ft. of air-conditioned space for library, classroom, teaching laboratory, and offices in support of educational programming and research. Two nearby buildings (3,000 sq. ft. total) are equipped for field-oriented research requiring running seawater. Seawater is also pumped to the main building, enabling investigators to work near analytical equipment. The seawater system provides up to 500 gpm of natural tidal creek water and 50 gpm of 20-um-filtered water. Large replicated mesocosms provide opportunities for manipulative experimental research in intertidal habitats. An observation deck, piers, floating docks, boat ramps, and marsh boardwalks provide access to a variety of coastal habitats. Regular communication (including video teleconferencing) and travel between the field laboratory and the campus make it possible for scientists visiting the field lab to interact with other researchers and to access additional research resources. The Kimbel Living Center comprises three modern dormitories, three cottages, and a conference lodge. Each building has a fully equipped kitchen.

The Baruch Institute’s research program incorporates obvious disciplines such as marine biology, chemistry, microbiology, and geography, as well as economics, environmental health, policy, and statistics. Employing a multidisciplinary approach and technologies such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS), remote sensing and digital image processing, all fields of study come together to investigate the complexity of coastal and marine environments. More than 630 scientific research projects and hundreds of student theses and dissertations have been completed since 1969. This work has resulted in more than 1,500 scientific articles, reports, and books that contribute new information in subject areas ranging from molecular biology to landscape ecology. These research results are used by educators, coastal resource managers, health and environmental regulators, legislators, and many other individuals and organizations interested in maintaining or improving the health of estuaries in the face of increasing human activities in the coastal zone.

The Institute's research programs are described by four broad areas:

Coastal systems - primary focus areas are estuarine and coastal oceanography, groundwater chemistry and dynamics, watershed/water quality modeling and analysis, coastal geology, wetlands ecology, human impact on coastal ecosystems, bioremediation, systems ecology

Fisheries research - primary focus areas are physiology and growth, population biology and evolutionary genetics, trophic dynamics, health and disease, finfish and shellfish recruitment, habitat use, mariculture

Benthic & pelagic processes - primary focus areas are population and community dynamics and structure, larval ecology and recruitment, nutrient dynamics, algal physiology and ecology, zooplankton ecology and nutritional biochemistry, meiobenthos and microphytobenthos, sediment toxicology, microbial communities and transformations, biofilm ecology and molecular biology, coral reef ecology

Advanced technologies - primary focus areas are geographic information processing, bioinformatics, satellite oceanography

A variety of educational programs for all ages is offered at our coastal facilities in Georgetown. These include public seminars, workshops and courses for teachers, field studies and outreach programs for school groups, and short courses for families and children. Workshops on coastal issues are offered for environmental professionals and other coastal decision-makers. Many of the short courses incorporate the findings from research and/or involve participants directly in research projects. These programs are offered through the North Inlet-WinyahBay National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) and the Institute'sContinuing Education Program.

The Institute's associates are affiliated with the Marine Science Program and other departments of the University of South Carolina that offer undergraduate and graduate training. Although the Institute itself does not confer degrees, many faculty and students use the Institute's facilities and equipment for their research. Numerous universities without coastal facilities use our field laboratory to enhance their campus-based courses. Some courses for academic credit are offered at the Field Laboratory.Cooperative agreements with international institutions both advance scientific research and enhance the educational efforts of the participating institutions.

Full-time scientists and support staff are employed by the Institute; the Institute also has 71 Associates representing numerous disciplines. The spectrum of disciplines (biology to statistics to marine policy) represented by our researchers and Associates is essential to the Institute's research, management, and public education mission. Some Associates are members of USC departments while others are faculty or research scientists at other academic or governmental institutions.

The institute's has facilities on the University of South Carolina main campus in Columbia, SC, a field laboratory complex on Hobcaw Barony in Georgetown, SC, and the SC Algal Ecology Laboratory (collaboration with SC Department of Natural Resources), Charleston, SC.

Hobcaw Barony and North Inlet Estuary, our primary research site, offer the unique opportunity for study of relatively pristine major coastal habitats. Most of the inlet area is part of Hobcaw Barony, a tract of uplands and marshes owned by the Belle W. Baruch Foundation and dedicated to conservation, education, and research.The designation of North Inlet and Winyah Bay as a National Estuarine Research Reserve in 1992 made this site part of the national system of protected coastal and marine habitats in the US and its territories. The North Inlet-Winyah Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (NI-WB NERR) is hosted by the University of South Carolina and is headquartered and co-located with the Baruch Institute’s field laboratory.

Additional study opportunities exist for other systems near North Inlet, including Winyah Bay and Murrells Inlet, both stressed systems, and the Santee River, a tidal freshwater system. The Institute also has an additional 1,100 acres of coastal land, located adjacent to the Wando Terminal (near Charleston, SC).

The SC Algal Ecology Laboratory offers opportunites for studies in coastal waters as well as Charleston Harbor and adjacent rivers.

CONTACT:
Dr. James T. Morris
Director
Belle W. Baruch Institute for Marine & Coastal Sciences
University of South Carolina
Columbia, SC 29208
803)777-5288
morris@sc.edu