The California Current Ecosystem LTER is part of the network of Long-Term Ecological Research sites funded by the National Science Foundation.
The California Current System is a coastal upwelling biome, as found along the eastern margins of all major ocean basins. These are among the most productive ecosystems in the world ocean. The California Current Ecosystem LTER (32.9°, -120.3°) is investigating nonlinear transitions in the California Current coastal pelagic ecosystem, with particular attention to long-term forcing by a secular warming trend, the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, and El Niño in altering the structure and dynamics of the pelagic ecosystem. The California Current sustains active fisheries for a variety of finfish and marine invertebrates, modulates weather patterns and the hydrologic cycle of much of the western United States, and plays a vital role in the economy of myriad coastal communities.
CCE News and Announcements
- CCE graduate students participate in research cruise off the central coast of California
- CCE, CalCOFI and NOAA Scientists to investigate the effects of the LA wildfires on the coastal marine environment
- CCE Grad student to defend Ph.D. thesis
- Winter CalCOFI cruise, including CCE members, collects critical offshore samples produced by L.A. wildfires
- CCE to participate in Special Session at ASLO 2025
Latest Posts
CCE graduate students participate in research cruise off the central coast of California
The student-led research cruise, which occurred within the Santa Lucia Basin area in February 2025, “aimed to explore how bottom-up processes, including physics and a productive plankton community, might explain an unusually high diversity and abundance of seabirds and marine mammals.” Read entire article here, written by CCE graduate studentRead more.
CCE, CalCOFI and NOAA Scientists to investigate the effects of the LA wildfires on the coastal marine environment
CCE Graduate student, Minerva Padilla Villa, explains why it’s important to sample the coastal marine waters after the devastating wildfires in LA, to better understand the potential toxic effect of these urban wildfires on the marine environment. CCE/CalCOFI scientists collected water samples at the peak of the fires back inRead more.
CCE Grad student to defend Ph.D. thesis
Christian Fender (Florida State Univ) will defend his Oceanography thesis on Tues., 25 February 2025. His major advisor is Mike Stukel (CCE Co-lead PI), and the title of his Ph.D. defense is Visualizing the vacuum: Microscopic insights into salp feeding and ecology
Winter CalCOFI cruise, including CCE members, collects critical offshore samples produced by L.A. wildfires
Rasmus Swalethorpe, CalCOFI Director of Ship Operations and CCE Associate, was interviewed recently by the Manhattan Beach (MB) News, regarding ocean sampling of various wildfire debris and ash – as part of CCE’s time series collaboration. The research vessel (R/V Reuben Lasker) happened to be in the area at theRead more.
CCE to participate in Special Session at ASLO 2025
CCE’s Lead PI, Katherine Barbeau, will be one of four scientists leading a Special Session at the 2025 ASLO meetings, to be held in Charlotte, NC (26-31 March), entitled: SS27 Long-term perspectives in marine pelagic ecosystem research In total, there were 24 submissions, with 4 oral presentations to be partRead more.