Location and Facilities


	The Dauphin Island Sea Lab is located on the eastern end of Dauphin Island, a barrier island approximately three miles from the mainland and thirty-five miles south of Mobile, Alabama. Dauphin Island, founded in 1699 by French explorer Le Moyne D'Iberville, is 17 miles long, surrounded by Mobile Bay, the Gulf of Mexico and Mississippi Sound. There are approximately 1,800 year-long residents who enjoy the island's peaceful atmosphere and natural beauty.

The Sea Lab spans the island north-south, and is a five-minute walk from the Mobile Bay Ferry and Fort Gaines.

The main Interstate nearest to the Dauphin Island Sea Lab is Interstate 10, which runs East-West. From I-10, take Exit 17A to Dauphin Island. This will take you onto Route 193 South, also known as “Rangeline Road.” Follow Rt. 193 South all the way down to Dauphin Island. Once you're on the island, take a left at the Water Tower on to Bienville Boulevard. The Sea Lab is located two miles from there. Check the following information about our facilities: Map of Facilities Student Facilities Library Vessels Computer Center Housing and Cafeteria Classroom and Meeting Space Research Facilities Business Offices

Facilities for Undergraduate and Graduate Students
The Dauphin Island Sea Lab is located on a 36-acre campus on the east end of Dauphin Island, 35 miles south of Mobile, Alabama. The facilities can accommodate over 160 persons in residence.

Support facilities include an apartment building, 2 dormitories, a cafeteria, 8 three-bedroom family houses, and a laundromat. Recreational facilities on campus include volleyball courts, basketball courts and a swimming pool.

Teaching facilities include 4 classroom/laboratory buildings and a library with holdings that include more than 6,800 book titles and subscriptions to 600 periodicals dealing with marine sciences. Numerous electronic bibliographic databases are available at the library.

A computer center equipped with IBM compatible PCs is located in the Administration building. A variety of Windows 95 based programs are available for use for word-processing, database management, statistical analysis, communications and graphic presentation. Internet access is also available for staff and students.

The graduate and research programs are housed in the Marine Science Hall, which contains 14,000 square feet of research labs and office space. Available instrumentation includes a carbon/nitrogen/sulfur analyzer, TOC, nutrient and lipid analyzers, several HPLCs and gas chromatographs, a scintillation counter, UV/VIS fluorometers and spectrophotometers. Support equipment includes balances, a refrigerated centrifuge, a lyophilizer, muffle furnaces and ovens, research grade deionized water, computer equipment and the usual complement of laboratory materials. Field gear includes high resolution CTD's and current meters, oxygen meters, plankton nets, corers, data buoys, transmissometers, water quality monitors, a variety of trawls and other nets for collecting, bottom grabs, photometers, refractometers, pH meters and a variety of water samplers.

Research vessels available for class and research activities include: the R/V A.E. Verrill, a 65-foot, diesel-powered steel hull vessel; and five additional boats (14 to 30 feet) powered by outboards.

In addition to the Dauphin Island campus, Sea Lab students have use of 253 acres of natural marsh, owned by the University of Alabama, on Point aux Pins on the north side of the Mississippi Sound. The west side of the Point is bounded by Grand Bay, one of the least polluted bodies of water on the Gulf Coast, and one of the richest habitats for bird fauna.