UCSD, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla
31,000 sf
Estimated completion in 2012

The Marine Ecosystem Sensing, Observation and Modeling (MESOM) Laboratory on the Scripps Institution of Oceanography campus, a research institution and graduate school within UCSD, is a facility to develop a new program that will provide the scientific foundations for marine ecosystem forecasting. The program will vertically integrate the development of new physical, biological and chemical sensors, autonomous oceanographic platforms to support them, observations in the California Current Ecosystem and forecasting based on coupled physical and biological / ecological numerical models in one building. This building will enable invaluable exchange among collaborators who would otherwise be located in multiple buildings on the campus. A primary design goal is to create a building which optimizes the opportunities for multidisciplinary research and both formal and informal interactions between different disciplines.

The Marine Ecosystems Laboratory is expected to meet or exceed LEED Gold certification.

The MESOM Laboratory is currently tracking to meet LEED Gold with strategies including natural ventilation and passive heating for all offices and work space; regionally sourced materials for the exposed concrete structure; exposed concrete structure to provide thermal mass; carefully analyzed and reduced air flows in the laboratories; water efficient landscaping focused on restoring native coastal plant species; use of FSC certified wood at exterior siding and shade screens; and use of high solar reflectance index roofing materials.