Institute of Marine Science
Founded by a legislative mandate in 1960, the Institute of Marine Science (IMS) functions as the central research organization within the College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences (CFOS). Research conducted by CFOS faculty in its three departments (Oceanography, Marine Biology, and Fisheries) is administered through IMS, and the institute also serves as the home unit for all CFOS research faculty. Through IMS, the research occurring within CFOS is communicated and coordinated with other research entities at UAF.
Research conducted in IMS spans the range of disciplines in fisheries and ocean sciences, including marine, estuarine and freshwater ecosystems and their related human dimensions. We employ observational, experimental, and quantitative modeling approaches.
IMS fields of research
- Oceanography includes the general areas of physical, chemical, biological, geological, and fisheries oceanography. Mostly, research includes ocean observing, and understanding the physical, chemical and geological drivers that govern processes of life in the ocean.
- Marine Biology faculty specialize in environmental monitoring, benthic communities, kelp forests, food web ecology (including contaminants), biology of commercial invertebrates, marine mammal and seabird physiology and ecology, biological impacts of ocean acidification, and interactions between Native communities and the marine environment.
- Fisheries fields include evolution, genetics, physiology, biology, ecology, population dynamics and statistics, fisheries oceanography, fisheries management and policy, economics, human dimensions, seafood science, and aquaculture.
Major research areas
- Ecosystem structure and dynamics.
- Effects of climate change with emphasis on Arctic and high latitude marine environments.
- Fisheries stock assessment and fishery management strategies.
- Life history, biology and ecology of fishes, invertebrates, and marine mammals.
- Oceanographic and ecosystem factors affecting Alaskan marine mammals, invertebrates and Alaskan fisheries, the largest in the nation.
- Applied research problems facing the U.S. Arctic offshore oil and gas industry, and the state and federal regulators who oversee these activities.
Geographic
IMS research programs are focused on the Arctic and Northeast Pacific subarctic waters; however, research is also conducted in the Antarctic, the Southern Ocean, Greenland, and elsewhere in more temperate regions.
Arctic and subarctic geographic focus
IMS research programs are focused on the Arctic and Northeast Pacific subarctic waters, although research is also conducted in the the Southern Ocean, Greenland, and in some more temperate regions.
IMS has the greatest combined expertise and knowledge of any research group regarding the oceanography, marine biology, and fisheries of the Gulf of Alaska and the Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort Seas. Over the past few decades, IMS has maintained ongoing field research activities in all four of the marginal seas surrounding Alaska. The institute’s experience is unrivaled in successfully carrying out year-round observation programs and hypothesis-driven research in high-latitude systems. Significant advancements in Arctic and subarctic research in IMS have been made since the introduction of R/V Sikuliaq. Expertise of IMS researchers coupled with the field capacity provided through research facilities and programs (e.g., R/V Sikuliaq, Kasitsna Bay Laboratory, Ocean Acidification Research Center, Scientific Diving Program) have fostered world-class research programs and long-term time series. Go to the Research Overview page to find out more about specific research programs, researchers and professors.