CINAPS - General Info

Website Info

Menu Items Explained

Hover over each item below to see a short description of the main pages in this site (as seen in the navigation bar above):

HOME

gives a general overview of CINAPS including any news related items

lists & describes the various projects that CINAPS is (or has been) involved in

contains photos & short descriptions of the various types of equipment & technology that we use in our observing systems

PHOTO & VIDEO

contains photo & video galleries of various parts of the observing systems, science, and CINAPS events

SITES & DATA

shows on a map where our various sampling sites & instrumentation are located, also lets you view & play with some of the data that they produce

introduces each member of the CINAPS team (from each of the 3 labs at USC that constitute CINAPS), including links to contact information

lists all of the CINAPS collaborators & sponsors, including links to each of their individual web sites, as well as a list of external links to various websites that the folks at CINAPS find relevant and useful

illustrates & discusses the various types of outreach work that CINAPS has been involved in & would love to be involved in at any time in the future (just let us know if you have any needs or ideas!)

PUBLICATIONS

lists and includes links to CINPAS publications & presentations

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General CINAPS Info

Location

CINAPS is located at the University of Southern California (USC) in the heart of Los Angeles.

3551 Trousdale Pkwy
Los Angeles, CA.
90089

View Larger Map

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Contact

To contact CINAPS please email or call one of the three Principal Investigators:

Dave Caron
Dept. of Biological Sciences
dcaron@usc.edu
(213)740-0203

Gaurav Sukhatme
Dept. of Computer Science
gaurav@usc.edu
(213)740-0218

Burt Jones
Dept. of Biological Sciences
bjones@usc.edu
213)740-5765

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Outreach

For information on CINAPS outreach work, please visit our outreach page

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Scientific Info

Water Quality

The majority of projects that CINAPS is involved in tie into monitoring and responding to coastal water quality issues in the Southern California Bight. Assessing water quality requires an understanding of the relationships between freshwater inputs from highly urbanized coastal areas and complex algal bloom dynamics that both affect local and regional water quality.

Please visit our projects page to find out more specific information on the projects that CINAPS is involved in.

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Harmful Algal Blooms

Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) are a natural phenomenon that result from a rapid population increase in toxic producing phytoplankton species. These toxins are released into the environment and often cause wildlife mortalities. Algal blooms are facilitated by increased nutrient availability, either from oceanic or terrigenous sources, and don't always result in the production of toxins.

One commonly known type of HAB is a red tide. The red tide, although not directly related to tidal water movement, is caused by dinoflagellate species that often contain reddish pigments. The toxins released in this type of HAB enter the marine food chain and produce poisonous results that can harm marine life as well as humans eating affected organisms, such as filter-feeding shellfish.

To get a better idea of what HABs can look like, take a look at Google image results for HABs here

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CINAPS Technology

The use of multiple types of technology including various sensor platforms and complex systems of communication networks allow CINAPS to observe and monitor many of the complex processes that take place in our Southern California coastal waters.

Please visit our platforms page to find out more information on these systems.

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General CINAPS information

CINAPS (pronounced [sin-aps]) is the Center for Integrated Networked Aquatic PlatformS located at the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles, California.

CINAPS is a collaboration of phytoplankton ecologists (Caron Lab), oceanographers (usCLAB), computer scientists, engineers & roboticists (RESL) at USC. Our work is currently focused on monitoring the coastal waters in the Southern California Bight region for general water quality and harmful algal blooms.