The Marine Laboratory T he Marine Laboratory is a campus of Duke University and a unit within the Nicholas School of the Environment. Its mission is education and research in the basic ocean processes, coastal environmental management, marine biotechnology and marine biomedicine.
Oceans dominate the Earth's surface and greatly affect daily life.
Oceans regulate climate, play a critical role in the hydrologic cycle, sustain a large portion of the Earth's plant and animal species, supply food and mineral resources, and inspire the aesthetic nature of humankind. Ocean studies are central to the resolution of global environmental problems related to the impacts of humans on ecological systems, biodiversity, climate change, coastal land management, environmental quality, and environmental health. During the 1930s, Dr. A.S. Pearse and colleagues from Duke University were attracted to Pivers Island and its surrounding abundance of marine life for their summer field studies. The island afforded an excellent location for a field station and through the subsequent efforts of Dr. Pearse and others, the land was acquired for the Duke University Marine Laboratory. By 1938 the first buildings were erected.