The University of Texas at Austin, Marine Science Institute, Port Aransas, Texas : "window on the sea"

Abstract

The Marine Science Institute, located on a coastal barrier island in the city of Port Aransas, Texas, is an organized research unit of The University of Texas at Austin. It serves as a "window on the sea" for the university and other cooperating institutions.

Our primary purpose is to provide both educational and research opportunities in the vital Texas coastal zone. It is an area that has thrived through the years on gas, oil, marine transportation and commercial fishing activities. In the coming decades, we expect to see the recreational tourist industry in the Coastal Bend develop into a major component of the State's economy. The health of the coastal zone ecosystem continues to be one of the major concerns of this laboratory and its scientists and graduate students. Through basic and applied research, we have the responsibility of providing an information base on the organisms and processes that comprise this valuable asset.