The Coastal Waters Laboratory will be built on a prime coastal site at the old Naval Training Center, recently conveyed to SDSU by the City of San Diego. As a part of the development of this site, the Metropolitan Wastewater Department (MWWD) of the City of San Diego will be constructing a laboratory adjacent to the SDSU-USGS site in order to consolidate their marine monitoring and analytical operations. This laboratory, in concert with the SDSU-USGS Coastal Water Lab, will create a “Coastal Zone Campus” on San Diego Bay which will allow mutual access to and sharing of new and innovative research ideas and activities among SDSU, USGS, and MWWD. These activities will bring together federal regional, and local entities, and nationally known scientists and experts, in order to exchange information related to the coastal zone environment.

a 50,000 square foot Coastal Waters Laboratory 10,000 square feet devoted to outdoor aquaria and a greenhouse a seawater system providing a continuous flow from San Diego Bay a large hall for classes, lectures, and workshops on resource issues a complete boat maintenance and SCUBA diving facility a variety of specialized analytical, research, and wet laboratories a Coastal Zone GIS Laboratory a Virus and Pathogen Laboratory to investigate beach contamination and public health issues

View from Point Loma Looking Southeast

The Laboratory will be a powerful tool for SDSU scientists who are researching environmental problems up and down the coast of southern California. In contrast to the Scripps Institute of Oceanography, SDSU’s Coastal Waters Laboratory will focus on environmental and ecological problems caused by urbanization in the coastal environment (at the land-water interface), rather then in the deep sea environment.

SDSU’s Coastal Waters Laboratory on San Diego Bay offers interdisciplinary solutions to coastal zone problems in the San Diego region. Moreover, both the location and visibility of this new Coastal Waters Lab offer a unique opportunity for education of the community and stakeholders alike. CMI expertise in applied research of regional and current interest include (among others):

Coastal GIS Center This Center will develop a coastal GIS (Geographic Information Systems) inventory, and will interface with remote sensing and perform modeling for coastal resource and watershed management.

Wetlands Restoration Center (Pacific Estuarine Research Lab)- This Center will investigate the science of wetlands creation and restoration for both mitigation, ecological enhancement , and water quality improvement, including the use of constructed wetlands to treat urban runoff to Mission Bay.

Coastal and Marine Ecology Group This Research Group will perform monitoring and experimental investigations of ecology, physiology and genetics of coastal flora and biota, and evaluate ecological impacts of a variety of mitigation, remediation, and restoration projects.

Beach Water Quality Center This Center will offer virus (e.g.hepatitis A) and pathogen testing using PCR methods for runoff and recreational ocean and Mission Bay waters. It will perform epidemiological studies of the risk of swimming in contaminated waters, and perform quantitative risk assessments

The centerpiece of both the EPA’s Clean Water Action Plan and NOAA’s Coastal Zone Management program is an integrated management approach for dealing with the inter-related coastal concerns of watershed-based pollution, wetlands protection, and climate change impacts. With its interdisciplinary and applied research framework, the new SDSU Coastal Waters Laboratory is uniquely qualified for the complex challenges ahead of protecting coastal resources in the San Diego and southern California region.

SDSU researchers and educators are participating in significant environmental projects all over the San Diego County. SDSU leads the way in educating researchers and conservationists, graduating more students in the field sciences than any other college in this region. SDSU graduates hold influential positions in local organizations and government agencies that shape public policy about environmental issues. The Coastal Waters Laboratory will be headed by expert researchers who will evaluate and disseminate environmental information to planners, government agencies, and other leading conservation scientists.

Performing Research
The Laboratory will enable scientists to replicate the seawater environment, allowing the study of marine plants and animals in their natural environment.

Protecting the Coastal Environment
SDSU scientists will:

• study the effects of urbanization and its accompanying pollution on the ecosystems of the bays and estuaries of San Diego and other coastal communities
• advise industry about reducing pollution
• help find new ways to mitigate the effects of urban runoff

Educating Scientists
SDSU science students will be the next generation of ecology, conservation, and marine scientists, trained in the Coastal Waters Laboratory to address environmental issues unique to San Diego and the Southern California coast.