NOAA’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL) is a federal laboratory that makes critical observations and conducts groundbreaking research to advance our knowledge of the global ocean and its interactions with Earth, atmosphere, ecosystems, and climate.

Our goal is really to understand how the ocean works and how that impacts things. We look at everything from the physics of the ocean to how the physics and the chemistry of the ocean affect species and ecosystems.

We're observationally oriented. We can go to sea to collect data.

The emphasis for NOAA is on long-term observations. We're doing the same type of work in many different regions, trying to understand how it varies regionally and how that impacts the global picture.

What we can do in this federal laboratory is to engage in a long-term project and commit to it for ten years, for longer than ten years.

One of the unique aspects of PMEL is that we, as scientists, work very closely with our engineering division. And so if the technology doesn't exist, then we can work with the engineers to develop innovative technologies to address compelling scientific questions that are of great societal consequence.

The work that our engineers do side by side with our scientists to explore new places allows us to go places that other people can’t.

Not only are PMEL’s engineers building tools for innovative observation and data collection, those tools are then often transitioned to commercial and industrial applications, as well as for use by other research organizations.

PMEL has contributed groundbreaking research in ocean acidification, tsunami detection and forecasting, air-sea interactions, hydrothermal vents, climate monitoring and analysis, and more.

Our scientists are collaborating with governments, with universities, with industry partners, with non-governmental organizations around the world.

There is a constantly changing landscape. There's always a new discovery. There's always a new horizon. There's always a new set of compelling problems that command your attention.

There's so much more that we need to learn about the ocean's role in climate, and that literally affects, you know, everyone on the planet.

One of the most satisfying things at PMEL is having been on the front row of some really, really remarkable, amazing discoveries. We have so many more questions. That's how it works. That's how we progress and that's the nature of science.

There's a lot of interaction, a lot of free flow of ideas, a lot of energy and a lot of excitement.

I appreciate and don't take lightly the fact that my job is basically to learn about nature, not just because I'm interested in it, which I am, but to try to have some societal benefit, be the outcome from this hard work
and perseverance.

PMEL is filled with people who are passionate about the mission to understanding the world, to getting the science done, to moving our knowledge of climate and ecosystems forward.

And that's in some ways our role as this kind of laboratory in the whole enterprise of science.