Background Information
The greatest challenges to our environment today are in the coastal zone where 70 percent of the world's
population lives, works, and plays. These ecosystems at the land-sea interface are also the most
biologically productive, and their health is critical for the survival of both our oceans and our
terrestrial environments.
The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) is the world's leading research center for
environmental studies of the coastal zone. Our accomplishments range from running some of the longest
continuous ecological studies in the world, to creating new technology that expands the horizons of
science.
For 40 years, SERC has been involved in critical research, professional training for young
scientists, and environmental education. The research center, 25 miles from the Nation's Capital,
lies along the western shores of the Chesapeake Bay and serves as a hub for studies that extend around
the globe.
A diverse staff of 16 senior scientists and an interdisciplinary team of more than 180
researchers, technicians, and students conduct long-term descriptive and experimental research
addressing such issues as global change, the effects of nutrients and chemicals passing through our
landscapes, maintenance of productive fisheries, changes to our environment from biological invaders,
and protection of fragile wetlands and woodlands.
At The Center:
As a highly visible and fragile ecosystem on the doorstep of the nation's capital, the Chesapeake Bay is indicative of the complex environmental issues facing the world. SERC's main campus encompasses
2,800 acres of land along the Rhode River, a subestuary of the Bay, and includes forest, cropland,
pasture, freshwater wetlands, tidal marshes, and estuaries. Much of our research focuses on this
subestuary and its 12-square-mile watershed as a representative model system for the enormous
(64,000-square-mile) Chesapeake drainage basin.
Like the Chesapeake watershed, the Rhode River site has been impacted by human activities such as
agriculture, forestry, and extensive commercial fishing, with an influx of diffuse pollutants in the
tributaries and estuarine basin. The Research Center serves as a natural laboratory and a focal point for
long-term monitoring programs and research projects.
Around the World:
Expanding outward from the main campus, SERC researchers conduct studies at field sites around the
world-from Australia to Belize and Antarctica to Alaska. Visiting scientists come from across the
globe to study at our central facility which has become one of the world's premier training facilities
for the next generation of environmental scientists-786 undergraduate interns and 460 post-doctoral, pre-doctoral and graduate student fellows from around the world have conducted research at SERC. On average, 47 interns and 33 fellows participate in SERC's professional training program annually.
SERC is the headquarters for the National Ballast Water Clearinghouse and a leader in the field of
invasive species research. SERC houses the world's longest data record on the increase in ultraviolet
(UVB) solar radiation impacting the Earth, and developed the standardized tool for
measuring UVB radiation. Our Scientists conduct groundbreaking research on migratory birds on both
american continents and on human health issues such as West Nile Virus.
Education:
Through collaborations with other organizations, SERC's message of estuarine ecology reaches a national
and international audience. Last year, 80 distance learning video conferences and electronic field trips attracted 20
million participants. From the regional community,
nearly 10,000 students (kindergarten through college), visit SERC annually to participate in our
hands-on science education programs. Our education department also runs teacher-training workshops and
educational programs for adults that are open to the general public.
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