Center for Coastal & Watershed Studies

The Center for Coastal & Watershed Studies (CCWS) is a U.S. Geological Survey research facility with offices in St. Petersburg and Tampa, Florida, and a field station in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The Center investigates scientific processes related to societal problems arising in coastal and marine environments, including natural hazards, resources and environmental change. Increased understanding of these topics will provide the basis for: Predicting future coastal erosion; the fate of wetlands and coral reefs; accumulation of sediments; sediment transport and stability; circulation; movement of pollution through aqueous environments, and the locations of economically valuable minerals.

The Center works closely with USGS coastal and marine research centers in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, and Menlo Park, California, and USGS Biology and Water Resources offices around Florida. The Center also works closely with faculty and students of the University of South Florida on problems critical to the mission of the agency.