The specific objectives of the Center are to:

• Increase the number of students, particularly underrepresented minorities, in the environmental, coastal, and oceanic sciences by training students and expanding the capacity of faculty from member institutions to participate in NOAA-related research.

 

• Develop tools, including conceptual models, to assess the response of coastal ecosystems and communities to perturbation, and to develop measurement programs to monitor critical system attributes.

 

• Improve the scientific basis for coastal resource management.

 

• Facilitate community education and outreach relating to the function and significance of coastal ecosystems.