Climate Change

A view of oceanographic instruments on the Bodega Marine Reserve and looking out to the ocean.

Climate Change

Rising CO₂ is changing the chemistry, temperature, and currents of our oceans—shifts that ripple through marine ecosystems. Along California’s coast, researchers at the Coastal and Marine Sciences Institute study how naturally upwelled, acidified waters offer a window into future ocean conditions. With ocean buoys, moored sensors, and ship-based surveys, they monitor and model how climate-driven changes in acidification and upwelling affect marine life and coastal ecosystems.

A collage of three images showing different facets of climate change research, including a research station in Antarctica, seagrass with a lesion on it, and oceanographic monitoring equipment.

Climate Change Focused Programs

Current research programs include the Bodega Ocean Acidification Research (BOAR) program, long-term oceanographic and paleoclimate studies, and NSF-supported experimental facilities that simulate future ocean conditions. These efforts support a deeper understanding of how climate change impacts marine ecosystems over both short and long timescales.

Bodega Ocean Acidification Research (BOAR)

Ecological Climate Change Studies

NSF Supported Climate Change Facility

Oceanographic Studies

Paleoclimate Research

Restoration of Native Olympia Oysters Under Climate Change

Listen In:

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The UC Davis Unfold podcast explores Oceans under a changing climate with Tessa Hill and Priya Shukla. 

Listen to the episode or read the transcript

Featured Story

A person standing deep in a slough and surrounded by seagrasses, recording data on a notepad

In the Seagrass Meadows
Invisible in the clear afternoon sky, the moon tugged the tidal channel’s brackish waters towards the Pacific Ocean. It drew them out slowly, languidly, the water’s surface eddying and rippling in the sunlight.