Faculty and researchers in Biological Oceanography carry out research projects in diverse habitats and ecosystems across the globe. Spanning inland and coastal waters to the open ocean, and from the air-sea interface to the deep seafloor and on the very frontiers of science, they pursue answers to the ocean's greatest mysteries.<br><br>As both course instructors and project mentors, our faculty support the graduate degree programs in Oceanography and Marine Biology and the undergraduate program in Global Environmental Science. Our diverse portfolio of funded projects provides dynamic research opportunities for students captivated by biological oceanography and marine biology.<br><br>Ever conscious of the crucial role of science in protecting the earth and its environment, our programs, while emphasizing basic research, are relevant to applied problems and societal concerns. Such hot topics as the fate of green-house gases, ecological impacts of ozone depletion and deep-sea mining, mechanisms of pollutant transport and cycling, fisheries recruitment, coastal water quality, and the ecology of microbial pathogens are among our deepest concerns. The interdisciplinary nature of these and other problems fosters strong collaborative engagement among biologists, geochemists and physicists in our department and at other institutions.