From research to application: case studies from the University of Southern California (USC) Sea Grant's Urban Ocean Program

In densely populated urban environments at the nexus of land and sea, there is a need for scientific research addressing interactions between humans and coastal ecosystems, and the linkage of research findings to public outreach, education, and policymaking. Facilitating the feedback between scientific research and decision making on urban ocean issues is at the core of NOAA’s University of Southern California (USC) Sea Grant Program, which has provided research funding and applications to policy, education and outreach for a densely populated coastline of 10+ million residents since 1972 on topics such as harmful algal blooms, water quality, toxicology, invasive species, marine ecosystems and protected areas, coastal management, marine transportation, and climate change. An important component of Sea Grant outreach is stakeholder and community engagement. Here, we highlight case studies of successful research applications and describe mechanisms that drive effective regional research impacts.