Organization

Scripps Institution of Oceanography is one of the oldest, largest, and most important centers for marine science research, graduate training, and public service in the world.

Scripps Institution was founded in 1903 as an independent biological research laboratory, which became part of the University of California in 1912. At that time the laboratory was given the Scripps name in recognition of supporters Ellen Browning Scripps and E. W. Scripps.

Scripps staff numbers approximately 1,300, including about 90 faculty, nearly 300 other scientists, and some 200 graduate students. The institution's annual expenditures total more than $140 million.

Research at Scripps encompasses physical, chemical, biological, geological, and geophysical studies of the oceans. Ongoing investigations include the topography and composition of the ocean bottom, waves and currents, and the flow and interchange of matter between seawater and the ocean bottom or the atmosphere. Scripps's research ships are used in these investigations throughout the world's oceans.

More than 300 programs may be under way at any time, including studies of air-sea interaction, climate prediction, earthquakes, the physiology of marine animals, marine chemistry, beach erosion, the marine food chain, the ecology of marine organisms, the geological history of the ocean basins, and the multidisciplinary aspects of global change and the environment.

Scripps operates a fleet of four ships and the platform FLIP for oceanographic research. Cruises range from local, limited-objective trips to far-reaching expeditions in the world's oceans.