Dive with us into the origins and continuing legacy of La Jolla’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography, a founding organization in the community.
As a scientific field of study, modern oceanography is relatively young, launching its first major explorations in the 1870s. Not long after that, a marine science institution would be founded in the equally nascent La Jolla, and what came to be known as the Scripps Institution of Oceanography would quickly establish itself as a pioneer in oceanography and the first oceanographic center in the United States.
Explore the depths of what La Jolla historian Patricia Schaelchlin called the “cornerstone of La Jolla’s educational community,” and see why La Jolla and Scripps Institution of Oceanography play a crucial role in advancing marine science and shaping our understanding of the ocean.
The birth of Scripps Institution of Oceanography – in La Jolla Cove
William Ritter
UCSD
Before there was Scripps, there was William Ritter, a biologist who, fascinated by the untapped potential of the oceans, joined the faculty of UC Berkeley in 1891 and then set out to find a place to collect marine life specimens and teach.
That search led Ritter to San Diego, where he displayed tanks for visitors at his summer research stations in 1892.
“Little Green Laboratory” located in Scripps Park (La Jolla Park) designed by Irving Gill, c. 1906
La Jolla: The Story of a Community by Patricia A. Schaelchlin
Ritter and colleagues established the Marine Biological Association of San Diego – with Ritter as scientific director – in 1903, which then began operating out of the “Little Green Laboratory” in Scripps Park (then La Jolla Park) at The Cove, in a 1905 building designed by Irving J Gill.
By 1907, “it became apparent that the growth of La Jolla would pollute the waters of The Cove too much for scientific work,” Howard Randolph wrote in “La Jolla Year by Year” (1955).
The Marine Biological Association then moved to a Gill-designed, two-story building in La Jolla Shores in 1910.
The founding, funding and growth of the new educational endeavor was made possible by renowned La Jolla benefactor Ellen Browning Scripps, in her first act of philanthropy towards La Jolla’s development, according to historian and author Molly McClain (2017).
Scripps secured that parcel in La Jolla Scripps Institution of Oceanography now occupies, funded Ritter’s residence and financed its early operating expenses.
In 1912, the Marine Biological Association became the Scripps Institution for Biological Research and was formally accepted as part of the University of California.
And as La Jolla transformed from a sleepy, rural community of San Diego to a popular place for tourists and a desirable place to live and work, the Scripps Institution for Biological Research also expanded, even as cattle from a nearby land plot would wander through its buildings, trampling newly-planted eucalyptus trees, Schaelchlin wrote in “La Jolla: The Story of a Community” (1987).
In 1915, the institution revamped its display tanks into a standalone aquarium, a small wooden structure housing 19 tanks with a museum in a nearby building that decades later would become the Birch Aquarium at Scripps.
And in 1916, Scripps herself again funded what became the Ellen Browning Scripps Memorial Pier, a crucial research facility and iconic La Jolla landmark.
Ritter remained as director until his 1923 retirement. By then, World War I had influenced the US to develop a deeper understanding of the oceans, leading the University of California to rename the biological station in La Jolla Scripps Institution of Oceanography, recognizing its breadth of research.
Pioneering oceanographic discoveries
From the outset, Scripps Institution of Oceanography proved to be at the forefront of marine research, taking on its debut expedition in 1907 in its first vessel, R/V Alexander Agassiz.
Since then, SIO has had innumerable “firsts,” including being the first to offer women PhDs in oceanography in 1934 to producing the first comprehensive oceanography textbook, “The Oceans,” by Harald Sverdrup, Martin Johnson and Richard Fleming in 1942.
Beyond the historical buildings and foundational achievements, however, Scripps Institution of Oceanography’s singularity lies in its research:
Wartime oceanography
As mentioned, the first World War led the US military to seek connection with SIO, positioned as the premier leader of the ocean as a scientific frontier.
La Jolla and Scripps Institution of Oceanography became a hub of the UC Division of War Research in 1941, with the focus on predicting surf and swells to give US submarines an advantage in undersea warfare.
In fact, SIO stated, the 1942 textbook “The Oceans” “contained information of such strategic value that the U.S. government restricted its distribution until after the war was over.
Walter Munk (left) with Harald Sverdrup, 1940.
Special Collections & Archives, UCSD
It was during this period of wartime discovery that famed oceanographer Walter Munk, undertaking doctoral studies at Scripps Institution of Oceanography under then-director Sverdrup, conceived the first surf forecasts, relaying the prediction methods to military meteorologists, who then deployed the forecasting techniques to predict optimal conditions for beach landings in Normandy for World War II D-Day and other Allied efforts in North Africa.
Munk was also involved with oceanographic programs during the Bikini Atoll atomic bomb tests.
Deep-sea exploration
The end of World War II (during which the Scripps Institution of Oceanography’s affiliation transferred from UC Berkeley to UC Los Angeles), SIO took on a new aim, under the new direction of former postdoctoral researcher Roger Revelle: a fundamental understanding of the oceans, which led to rapid, significant discoveries.
In 1955, the ship Pioneer, in a joint project with the US Navy and Scripps Institution of Oceanography, discovered magnetic striping on the seafloor off the West Coast, a survey called one of the “most significant geophysical surveys ever conducted,” providing a key element to the theory of plate tectonics.
In 1961, Scripps Institution of Oceanography began development of the Deep Tow System, the forerunner of all remotely-operated, unmanned oceanographic systems.
Meanwhile, UC San Diego was established in 1960, with Revelle in a primary founding role and SIO officially affiliated with UCSD.
Climate and oceanography
In a 1957 research paper, Revelle and colleague Hans Suess fired “the opening shot in the global warming debates,” positing the ocean’s limited capacity to absorb atmospheric carbon dioxide and debunking a popular climate theory.
Revelle’s first introduction of the scientific hypothesis that “humanity’s use of fossil fuels causes significant environmental changes” paved the way for modern climate change research and further set Scripps Institution of Oceanography as the vanguard of such discoveries.
La Jolla, Scripps Institution of Oceanography and modern marine science
Equipment demonstration during a Birch Aquarium guided pier walk.
Now, SIO research investigates nearly every facet of the natural world, from ocean floor to the upper layers of the atmosphere.
Scripps Institution of Oceanography scientists are engaged in development of autonomous underwater vehicles, deep-sea monitoring systems and oceanographic sensors; marine conservation research on ocean acidification, plastic pollution and specific species’ survival; the effects of climate change on daily life; and much more.
In the last year alone, Scripps Institution of Oceanography has received grants for innovative studies on marine neurobiology; examined the rare, local discovery of a deep-sea oarfish; and continued its groundbreaking partnership with UCSD’s Rady School of Management to support small businesses and entrepreneurs’ solutions for coastal resilience; among numerous other achievements.
Scripps Institution of Oceanography’s local connection is strong, forged in its 120-plus-year history in La Jolla. In addition to the Birch Aquarium’s vast and busy programming, SIO invites residents and visitors to guided tours of the Scripps Pier, support research initiatives and engage in educational activities and conservation efforts.
Beyond La Jolla, Scripps Institution of Oceanography is ensuring its legacy as a crucial center for global earth science research and enduring leadership in the evolution of the study of oceanography.
As Scripps Institution of Oceanography scientists work even now to understand and protect the planet, let’s celebrate this innovative, vital organization and its multilayered efforts to educate us all.
© lajolla.ca
