Institute scientists engage in research that impacts our lives. With a fleet of boats and lab buildings in Port Aransas perched hundreds of feet from the Gulf of Mexico, the Marine Science Institute is an ideal research location, whether someone is towing instruments behind boats, using data collected from geographical informaion systems or standing knee-deep in marsh muck to study estuarine ecology. Visiting scientists from around the world come to the institute to expand their knowledge of our coasts and oceans.