Laboratory Capabilities
Our work includes focused laboratory experiments, watershed-scale assessments, and participation in statewide and national water quality monitoring programs. MPSL is equipped with sufficient constant temperature laboratories to test large numbers of samples, and is designed to accommodate customized flow-through and automated renewal systems. Our seawater system draws from the clean waters of the central California coast, providing ideal conditions for culturing marine and estuarine organisms.
Aquatic Toxicity Testing Capabilities
Sediment Toxicity Testing Capabilities
Field Capabilities
Physical Facility
The facility is secured to maintain custody control of samples and data, and has an established laboratory safety program overseen by the UC Davis Office of Environmental Health and Safety. The laboratory has a number of back-up systems in place, including a diesel generator that activates in the event of a power failure, independent seawater pumps, multiple industrial refrigerators for sample storage, and triplicate data storage in separate buildings and file systems.
Culture Laboratory
This 3800 square foot building has a large open wet lab area for the culture of organisms, with overhead supply lines for seawater, freshwater and compressed air; offices; a conference room; a 650 square foot shop area; and storage areas for field sampling gear, etc. Attached to this building are out structures containing the diesel generator and fuel storage tank, a high volume air compressor, the telephone system control panels, and the main electrical panels for the seawater pump motors.
South Laboratory
1500 square foot laboratory includes three 60 square foot temperature-controlled rooms and two 150 square foot wet labs for organism culture, sample preparation areas, a microscope room, and a large storage loft.
Oil Laboratory
1900 square foot building contains two 100 square foot temperature-controlled rooms , a 150 square foot analytical lab, a large ventilated dishware cleaning room, a 500 square foot dry lab area, break room, kitchen, and large storage loft.
Fish House
This 1900 square foot building is open on two sides and is used primarily for organism culture. It holds large racks for approximately 30 four-foot diameter tanks, open space for tanks up to 14 feet in diameter, and sub-floor drainage. Within the building is a fully enclosed 525 square foot lab space with sink, counter tops, and water tables for flow-through exposure systems.
Hunt Building
This 1600 square foot building has a 200 square foot dry lab, 800 square foot of wet lab space with overhead seawater plumbing and in-slab drainage channels, handicapped-accessible bathroom, a walled-in weather-side porch.
Offices
Two buildings house eight offices.
Seawater Pump House
This concrete bunker is situated approximately 10 ft above sea level. This location fronts a reef-protected channel. An intake pipe draws water from approximately 10 feet below mean sea level. Two 20 hp seawater pumps located within the bunker pump water to a hypalon-lined redwood storage tank located above the laboratory at an elevation of 120 feet, allowing seawater to be distributed throughout the lab by gravity.
Aquatic Toxicity Testing Capabilities
- Freshwater, marine, and estuarine testing
- Ambient waters, receiving waters, agricultural and urban runoff
- Acute and chronic toxicity
- Static, static-renewal and flow-through designs
- Petroleum impacts on anadromous fish and invertebrates
- Laboratory and in-situ testing
Sediment Toxicity Testing Capabilities
- Freshwater, marine, and estuarine testing
- Static, static-renewal and flow-through designs
- Laboratory and in-situ testing
- Sediment-water interface core testing
- Sediment, sediment porewater, and sediment elutriate
Field Capabilities
- Surface water and sediment sampling
- Water quality monitoring
- In-situ testing
Physical Facility
The facility is secured to maintain custody control of samples and data, and has an established laboratory safety program overseen by the UC Davis Office of Environmental Health and Safety. The laboratory has a number of back-up systems in place, including a diesel generator that activates in the event of a power failure, independent seawater pumps, multiple industrial refrigerators for sample storage, and triplicate data storage in separate buildings and file systems.
Culture Laboratory
This 3800 square foot building has a large open wet lab area for the culture of organisms, with overhead supply lines for seawater, freshwater and compressed air; offices; a conference room; a 650 square foot shop area; and storage areas for field sampling gear, etc. Attached to this building are out structures containing the diesel generator and fuel storage tank, a high volume air compressor, the telephone system control panels, and the main electrical panels for the seawater pump motors.
South Laboratory
1500 square foot laboratory includes three 60 square foot temperature-controlled rooms and two 150 square foot wet labs for organism culture, sample preparation areas, a microscope room, and a large storage loft.
Oil Laboratory
1900 square foot building contains two 100 square foot temperature-controlled rooms , a 150 square foot analytical lab, a large ventilated dishware cleaning room, a 500 square foot dry lab area, break room, kitchen, and large storage loft.
Fish House
This 1900 square foot building is open on two sides and is used primarily for organism culture. It holds large racks for approximately 30 four-foot diameter tanks, open space for tanks up to 14 feet in diameter, and sub-floor drainage. Within the building is a fully enclosed 525 square foot lab space with sink, counter tops, and water tables for flow-through exposure systems.
Hunt Building
This 1600 square foot building has a 200 square foot dry lab, 800 square foot of wet lab space with overhead seawater plumbing and in-slab drainage channels, handicapped-accessible bathroom, a walled-in weather-side porch.
Offices
Two buildings house eight offices.
Seawater Pump House
This concrete bunker is situated approximately 10 ft above sea level. This location fronts a reef-protected channel. An intake pipe draws water from approximately 10 feet below mean sea level. Two 20 hp seawater pumps located within the bunker pump water to a hypalon-lined redwood storage tank located above the laboratory at an elevation of 120 feet, allowing seawater to be distributed throughout the lab by gravity.
Laboratory Setting
The Marine Pollution Studies Laboratory (MPSL) is located at Granite Canyon, 8 miles south of Carmel, California, along the Big Sur coast. The facility is located far from known pollution sources, and the coastal waters offshore are mixed by upwelling along the steeply sloping continental shelf. The lab is supplied with clean natural seawater and high-quality natural well water, which provide excellent control conditions for toxicology experiments and comparisons with samples from potentially contaminated areas.
Laboratory History
The 4.6-acre property at Granite Canyon was acquired by the US Navy from the Doud Ranch in the 1940s. The Navy built a missile tracking facility on the site in the early 1960s, but discontinued operations after only a few years. The property was then turned over to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). In 1970, the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) leased the facility for use as a shellfish hatchery, and began an aquaculture research program focusing on abalone, Dungeness crab, spot prawns, scallops, and Pismo clams. This work supported an abalone out-planting program to rebuild southern California stocks, and developed techniques adopted by the fledgling California aquaculture industry. During the same period, CDFG began a program to investigate the biological effects of marine pollutants, which included a number of studies using mussels and abalone to establish water quality standards.
In 1987, DFG initiated collaborations with the University of California. The UC group has continued conducting water pollution research at Granite Canyon, while CDFG phased out operations at the lab. Since the mid-1980s, UC researchers at Granite Canyon have participated in dozens of water quality projects, leading to the publication of many articles in peer-reviewed scientific journals.
MPSL has hosted a number of other marine research and education programs. NOAA Fisheries has conducted gray whale surveys from the Granite Canyon site over the past three decades. Sea Studios has filmed marine life documentaries at the laboratory, including a substantial portion of the footage for the National Geographic series The Shape of Life. The Central and Northern California Ocean Observing System uses the site to monitor ocean currents with high frequency radar.
MPSL has hosted a number of other marine research and education programs. NOAA Fisheries has conducted gray whale surveys from the Granite Canyon site over the past three decades. Sea Studios has filmed marine life documentaries at the laboratory, including a substantial portion of the footage for the National Geographic series The Shape of Life. The Central and Northern California Ocean Observing System uses the site to monitor ocean currents with high frequency radar.