Skidaway Institute of Oceanography

Overview

Skidaway Institute of Oceanography

Skidaway Institute of Oceanography (SkIO) is a marine science research institute located on the northern end of Skidaway Island near Savannah, Georgia. It was founded in 1968 with a mission to conduct research in all fields of oceanography. The institute became a research unit of the University of Georgia in 2013. SkIO doesn’t grant degrees, but its faculty serve as adjuncts to universities.

Skidaway Institute of Oceanography Key Statistics

The institute offers undergraduate internships and graduate courses primarily through the University of Georgia Department of Marine Sciences. It also has the flexibility to partner with other UGA departments and colleges, including engineering and ecology, for students wishing to pursue degrees there.

SkIO has a population of 15 graduate students. It also has 18 faculty, seven research staff, and 22 support staff. The institute shares its campus with several other institutions, including the UGA Marine Extension Service, the Georgia Tech Chemical Ecology Lab, and the GSU Applied Coastal Research Lab.

Other Skidaway Institute of Oceanography key statistics include the resources available to its teachers and students, comprising of the National Geographic Education Resource Library, the National Marine Educators Association, the Black Gill Resources for Georgia Association of Marine Educators 2019, the Microbe Zoo Digital Learning Center for Microbial Ecology, the National Marine Sanctuaries Education webpage, and the NOAA’s Resource Guide for Teachers of Marine Science.

Skidaway Institute of Oceanography Research

Research activities at SkIO are funded by federal and state agencies, dominantly by state and federal agencies such as the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, whereas operating funds are appropriated by the Georgia General Assembly.

The university's top three research fields are oceanography, environmental chemistry, and chemistry. Its researchers have published in publications like Marine Chemistry, Limnology and Oceanography, and Organic Geochemistry. Its researchers had been invited to attend and/or present papers at international conferences such as the Computer Science Symposium in Russia, Robotics and Applications, and the International Conference on UnderWater Networks and Systems.

The most cited publication from Skidaway Institute of Oceanography research is Prahl and Wakeham’s (1987) “Calibration of unsaturation patterns in long-chain ketone compositions for palaeotemperature assessment,” published in Nature. It has been cited a total of 1,296 times to date. The second most cited paper is Armstrong et al.’s (2001) “A new, mechanistic model for organic carbon fluxes in the ocean based on the quantitative association of POC with ballast minerals,” published in Deep-Sea Research Part Ii-Topical Studies in Oceanography. It has received a total of 1,090 citations. The university’s third most cited paper is Shaw et al.’s (1990) “Early diagenesis in differing depositional environments: The response of transition metals in pore water,” published in Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. It has been cited by papers, articles, and other publications around 802 times so far.

The research laboratories and other facilities of SkIO include the Laboratory for Imaging Microbial Ecology, the Skidaway Institute Scientific Stable Isotope Laboratory, the Skidaway Institute confocal Raman Microscope Facility, and the 92-foot Research Vessel Savannah.