Founded on the shore of picturesque Narragansett Bay more than fifty years ago, the Graduate School of Oceanography (GSO) at the University of Rhode Island (URI) has established a global reputation for excellence in marine research, teaching, outreach, and exploration of the world's oceans and coasts. With its home port at URI's Narragansett Bay Campus, the 185-foot research ship, RV Endeavor represents the flagship of myriad research vessels and shore-based facilities operated by GSO. The school's researchers investigate local to global-scale phenomena, providing greater breadth and depth of scientific understanding through innovative laboratory- and field-based projects, while employing advanced real-time communications to support ship-based ocean exploration throughout the world. GSO's disciplinary strengths span physical oceanography, marine geology and geophysics, marine and atmospheric chemistry, and biological oceanography. Kingston, Rhode Island

Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Geology Team is one of three marine teams that conduct research within the USGS Coastal and Marine Geology Program. The team is located on WHOI's Quissett Campus. The team has a staff of about 100, including 24 research scientists and 75 scientific and administrative support staff. USGS earth scientists explore and study many aspects of the underwater areas between shorelines and the deep ocean, off the U.S. East Coast, the Gulf of Mexico, and in parts of the Caribbean and Great Lakes. Woods Hole, Massachusetts

The Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience is a full time University of Florida research center for biomedical research and biotechnology. An important part of the Mission of the Whitney Laboratory is to provide lifelong learning opportunities to serve as an integral part of the surrounding community. Science education efforts at the lab are focused on school age children, to university levels, to post doctoral research training. Augustine, Florida

For nearly a century, WHOI has been one of the best known and most trusted names in ocean science and exploration. Our scientists and engineers have played a part in many of the discoveries that form the modern understanding of the ocean and how it interacts with other parts of the planet, including human society. WHOI scientists and engineers combine access to specialized tools, ships, labs, and underwater vehicles with hard-won knowledge of how to explore the ocean to create a detailed understanding of the global ocean system. WHOI also fosters a long-standing commitment to education and outreach that help ensure the future of ocean research. Woods Hole, Massachusetts