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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November 7, 2025
Seminar: “Spaceborne mapping of coastal water quality following the early 2025 Los Angeles area fires”

December 5, 2025
SCCWRP Commission meeting

Thornton Hampton, L.M., D.B. Wyler, B.C. Almroth, S. Coffin, W. Cowger, D. Doyle, E.D. Hataley, S.J. Hutton, M.M. Mair, E.L. Miller, L. Monclus, E.E. Sharpe, S. Samreen, K.T. Ahmed, Q.P.V. Allamby, A.L. Antonio Vital, D. Asnicar, J.L. Bare, A. Barrick, K. Berreman, L. Bertrand, V. Boone, A. Bour, J. Brehm, V. Carrasco-Navarro, T. Cook, G.A. Covernton, P. Cubanski, P.M.C. Da Silva, L. de Souza Leite, S.M. Gene, L. Hermabessiere, A. Hooge, Y. Iwasaki, N. Klasios, C.M. Knauss, A.K. Kardgar, P. Kropf, I.B. Kudu, A. Kukkola, C. Laforsch, S.B. Kennedy, F.D.L. Leusch, L.W. Li, H.C. Lu, J. Mahan, U.D. Saif, S. Mondellini, J.P. Norman, Z. Pandelides, T. Petersson, D.A. Philibert, E. Kvist, A.F.R.M. Ramsperger, G. Rigutto, S. Ritschar, M.H. Sandgaard, J. Schmitt, M. Schott, M. Schwarzer, K.J. Seabrook, T.M. Seifried, R. Sepahi, M. Sina, A.N. Testoff, M. Vercauteren, C.M. Wardlaw, A. Yeh, M. Zajac-Fay, A.C. Mehinto. 2025. The Toxicity of Microplastics Explorer (ToMEx) 2.0. Microplastics and Nanoplastics DOI:10.1186/s43591-025-00145-6.

McGruer, V., M. Gustavus, K.Z. Hess, H. Vaquero, K. Moody Wood, E. Israfil, J. Gonzalez-Estrella, V.M. Fulfer, S. Moore, W. Cowger. 2025. Lost on the Pacific Crest Trail: a 4,270 km survey of wilderness waste distribution and characteristics. Waste Management

Author: San Francisco Estuary Institute, Southern California Coastal Water Research Project. 2025. Tracking Coastal Habitat Change Over Time: Considerations for a Statewide Mapping Program. Technical Report 1438. Southern California Coastal Water Research Project. Costa Mesa, CA.

Larsen, S., L. Comte, X. Giam, K. Irving, P.A. Tedesco, J.D. Olden. 2025. Community composition as an overlooked driver of spatial population synchrony. PNAS Nexus DOI:10.1093/pnasnexus/pgaf272.