Overview

The Center for Coastal Margin Observation & Prediction (CMOP) is dedicated to researching the health of the ocean and the impact of human activity in the Oregon and Washington coastal margins, where the Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean. The center is a multi-institutional National Science Foundation Science and Technology Center.

The center studies coastal margins (watersheds, estuaries, plume dynamics, nutrient fluxes, tides, microbial communities, estuary turbidity maximum, the ocean continental shelf) to gain a better understanding of river-to-ocean ecosystems.

CMOP is transforming river to ocean research—from the level of microbes, through biological systems, to global biogeochemical processes—and work to revolutionize our understanding of coastal margins. We are currently developing models that will predict everything from algal blooms to salmon runs and improve the health of our rivers and oceans.

This is a collaborative effort between several academic and industry partners, including Oregon Health & Science University, Oregon State University, and University of Washington. The center has over 40 researchers, educators and engineers.

Mission

We facilitate interdisciplinary research, technology development, education, and knowledge transfer in order to achieve a better understanding of the physical, chemical, and biological processes regulating river-to-ocean ecosystems.

The Grand Challenges

» Understand the impact of climate on coastal margins
» Understand the influence of humans on coastal margins

Core Funding

The core funding for the center is from the National Science Foundation.

Location

CMOP is headquartered at Oregon Health & Science University's West Campus in Beaverton, Oregon. Activities also take place at the campus of partner institutions. Extensive video conferencing capabilities are being used to minimize collaboration barriers created by distance.

Leadership

The Center Director, Dr. António Baptista, is a Professor in Environmental and Biomolecular Systems and in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering at the Oregon Health & Science University. He reports to the OHSU Provost and leads a Senior Management Team that also includes: co-Directors (Dr. David Martin, UW and Dr. Murray Levine, OSU), an Director of Special Projects (Phil Barrett), a Director of Higher Education & Diversity (Vanessa Green), Director of K-12 Education (Karen Wegner), and Managing Director (Amy Johnson).

Partners
» University of Maryland Center for Environmental Studies
» University of Utah - School of Computing
» Portland State University

» Saturday Academy
» Intel
» IBM
» Microsoft Research
» WET Labs

Drs. Eric Itsweire (Division of Ocean Sciences) and Margaret Tolbert (Office of Integrative Activities) are the NSF program managers for the center.