Scripps Institution of Oceanography

The Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) is a part of the University of California, San Diego, that carries out research into the Earth's oceans, atmosphere, and land, as well as other planets.

It should not be confused with the Scripps Research Institute, a medical-research institute; the two are not affiliated.

SIO was founded in 1903 as the Marine Biological Station by a group including zoologist William Ritter, newspaper publisher E. W. Scripps, and his half-sister, the philanthropist Ellen Browning Scripps. It became part of the University of California system in 1912, and was the institutional nucleus around which the University's new San Diego campus was formed in 1960.

The Institution operates four research ships and an ocean research platform. It engages in public education through its Birch Aquarium. As part of the University it offers Ph.D. degrees in oceanography, marine biology, and earth sciences.