USF College of Marine Science

Hurricanes and red tides could become more powerful as the Gulf of Mexico heats to record levels. But budget cuts are threatening a system that monitors conditions there — including programs based in St. Petersburg and Sarasota.

A massive sargassum bloom inundated coastlines in Florida and the Caribbean earlier this year. Now, the University of South Florida is leading a $3.2 million grant to bridge a gap in tracking the algae from the open ocean to land.

Among the items approved in Florida's 2023-24 fiscal year budget are a new Environmental and Oceanographic Sciences Research and Teaching facility on the USF St. Petersburg campus.

An alarming number of sea urchins dying in the Caribbean and along Florida's east coast had scientists wondering why.

University of South Florida Board chairman Will Weatherford assured officials that DeSantis would come around next year.

The project offers underrepresented students the opportunity to document climate change and the lingering BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill impacts from 2010.

St. Petersburg currently sees about seven high-tide flood events per year. But in a decade, researchers expect that number to soar to 67 per year.

USF scientists say they're seeing a decline in the amount of nutrients from the original release in late March.

Low levels of the naturally occurring toxin that creates red tide have been reported, mostly off the coast of Venice and South Venice in Sarasota County.

April 20 marks 10 years since the BP oil spill began off the Louisiana coast when the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded. Over the next six months,…

Portions of this story were originally published May 6, 2019.In 1986, David Mearns received his Master’s degree in Marine Geology from the University of…

In 1986, David Mearns received his Master’s degree in Marine Geology from the University of South Florida College of Marine Science.Since then, he's…