The California Current Ecosystem LTER is part of the network of Long-Term Ecological Research sites funded by the National Science Foundation.
The California Current System is a coastal upwelling biome, as found along the eastern margins of all major ocean basins. These are among the most productive ecosystems in the world ocean. The California Current Ecosystem LTER (32.9°, -120.3°) is investigating nonlinear transitions in the California Current coastal pelagic ecosystem, with particular attention to long-term forcing by a secular warming trend, the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, and El Niño in altering the structure and dynamics of the pelagic ecosystem. The California Current sustains active fisheries for a variety of finfish and marine invertebrates, modulates weather patterns and the hydrologic cycle of much of the western United States, and plays a vital role in the economy of myriad coastal communities.
CCE News and Announcements
Latest Posts
CCE Scientists involved in study which detected man-made chemicals worldwide in the ocean
Several CCE members in Lihini Aluwihare’s lab at Scripps Oceanography, along with researchers from UC Riverside, found mostly industrial chemicals in over 2,300 ocean water samples taken from all over the world. Read more about their research findings here. You can find the full published manuscript in the journal NatureRead more.
CCE members attend OSM 2026
CCE members travelled to Glasgow, Scotland, to attend the Ocean Sciences Meeting (22-27 Feb.), presenting various talks and posters related to CCE process studies, time series and modeling. Grad student Grace Cawley (pictured here) presented her research entitled: “Patterns of pyrosome occurrence and community interactions in the California Current Ecosystem”Read more.
2026 LTER site exchange opportunities
The LTER Network Office is now accepting applications for site exchanges in 2026. If you are a student, researcher, or staff member of an LTER site, please read about the opportunities here. Deadline for applications is 16 March, 2026
New study links CCE zooplankton across the North Pacific Ocean
A recent CCE study discusses the genetic connectivity of zooplankton in different depth zones across the North Pacific basin. . See results from a Global Circulation Model here illustrating how CCE waters starting at 75 m depth travel around the ocean. Electronic supplements to the article by Stephanie Matthews et al (2025)Read more.
CCE Grad student shares his COP 30 experience via Instagram post
Third year CCE graduate student, Marley Weiss, attended COP 30 in Belém, Brazil (November 2025), along with 14 other PHD/MAS students from SIO. Marley was one of the speakers (Ocean Pavilion hub) at the Top Five Ocean Issues panel, and you can view his Instagram post here!