Ocean Climate Lab | Coastal and Marine Sciences Institute

The Paleo Climate of California

Corals are a recent addition to this body of prophecy. Scientists now know that deep-sea corals off the coast of California live for hundreds of years—and they record a ring for every year of their growth, just like a redwood. What their growth rings tell us about past ocean conditions can also illuminate our planet's future.

It’s the End of the World as They Know It - The distinct burden of being a climate scientist

“Maybe I’ve become better at suppressing my feelings…But my dominant strategy is to intellectualize it and say, ‘What a crazy species we are.’” —Ken Caldeira

For Mother Jones, read more

Climate Change

A Tidepool in Time

Witnessing a changed world from the rocky shores of Monterey Bay

Bay Nature Magazine, read more

Climate Change

Tree rings and deep-sea corals: Coral skeletons teach Foster Scholar Carina Fish about the past ocean

Deep-sea corals have some things in common with trees. As their branches grow, corals document the minute details of ocean chemistry in ring patterns like those in tree trunks. And like certain trees, some coral species can live for hundreds or even thousands of years, preserving their recording of past conditions. Dr. Nancy Foster Scholar Carina Fish uncovers the records kept by deep-sea corals in Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary for her Ph.D. at University of California, Davis.

Sarah Merolla

Bodega Marine Laboratory

Bodega Marine Laboratory
University of California Davis, Bodega Marine Laboratory, PO Box 247, 2099 Westshore Rd, Bodega Bay CA 94923

Veronica Vriesman

Graduate Program in Geology
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences

Bodega Marine Laboratory
University of California Davis, Bodega Marine Laboratory, PO Box 247, 2099 Westshore Rd, Bodega Bay CA 94923

Lena Capece

Bodega Marine Laboratory

University of California Davis, Bodega Marine Laboratory, PO Box 247, 2099 Westshore Rd, Bodega Bay CA 94923

Carina Fish

Bodega Marine Laboratory
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences

Bodega Marine Laboratory
Bodega Marine Laboratory, PO Box 247, 2099 Westshore Rd, Bodega Bay CA 94923

Hannah Palmer

Bodega Marine Laboratory
Geology Graduate Group

Bodega Marine Laboratory
Bodega Marine Laboratory, PO Box 247, 2099 Westshore Rd, Bodega Bay CA 94923

Melissa Ward

Bodega Marine Laboratory

Bodega Marine Laboratory
Bodega Marine Laboratory, PO Box 247, 2099 Westshore Rd, Bodega Bay CA 94923