Baruch Marine Field Lab

The Baruch Marine Field Laboratory (BMFL) is a part of the Baruch Institute, organizationally within the USC College of Arts and Sciences’ School of the Earth, Ocean, and Environment. On an annual basis, over 100 scientists from more than 20 universities and agencies work at the Baruch Marine Field Laboratory (BMFL) on a diversity of research projects.

The marsh-side Marine Field Laboratory complex consists of a large building for research and education activities, two seawater buildings, outdoor mesocosms, boardwalks and piers, a maintenance shop, and boat sheds.The main building contains research laboratories, a seminar room, conference-dining room, archived-sample room, classroom, teaching lab, walk-in refrigerators and freezers, large screened work areas, and technical and administrative support offices. In 1992, a wing was added to the main building to serve as the headquarters of the North Inlet-Winyah Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. The headquarters building includes six offices, a monitoring lab, classroom and library.

Gallery

Volunteers for the marsh-sweep pose in front of the NERR wing.
Volunteers for the marsh-sweep pose in front of the NERR wing.
Sea water laboratory
Sea water laboratory
Education boardwalk
Education boardwalk
BMFL-gallery-1
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Tour the Reserve

North Jones Estuarine Beach

Estuarine beaches are sand, mud, gravel, or
shell intertidal beaches that are found in
partially enclosed bays.

 

Bosun’s Point

Orange-billed, black and white birds with raucous
calls are likely to greet you around Bosun’s Point.

Hobcaw Beach

Among the many visitors to Hobcaw beach are
plovers, loggerhead sea turtles, and diamondback
terrapins, and dolphins and rays can often be
seen just off shore. .

Goat Island Causeway

Wildlife and evidence of environmental change
can be seen on the drive along the causeway.

Thousand Acre Marsh

The Thousand Acre marsh is one of the system
-wide monitoring program (SWMP) sites of the
Reserve.

Oyster Landing

Oyster Landing is one of the system-wide
monitoring program (SWMP) sites of the Reserve.

Debidue Creek

Debidue Creek is one of the system-wide
monitoring program (SWMP) sites of the Reserve.

Clambank Landing

The Clambank Landing system-wide monitoring
program (SWMP) site is located roughly in the
center of the reserve.

Winyah Bay Station

The Winyah Bay system-wide monitoring program
(SWMP) site is located on the western edge of the
natural channel adjacent to Frazier Point Bend,
about 6 km down-bay of the confluence of the
Black, Pee Dee and Waccamaw rivers and 4 km
down-bay of the mouth of the Sampit River

Baruch Marine Field Lab & NIWB NERR Offices

After the original Baruch Marine Field Laboratory
building was destroyed by Hurricane Hugo in
1989, the current BMFL was constructed in 1993.

Hobcaw Barony Discovery Center

The Hobcaw Barony Discovery Center (HBDC)
was constructed in 2008 through a partnership
between the North Inlet-Winyah Bay NERR and
the Belle W. Baruch Foundation, which oversees
Hobcaw Barony.

Kimbel Lodge

The Kimbel Living and Learning Center is a
lodging and conference facility located near the
entrance to Hobcaw Barony.

Midden Trail

The Midden Trail was established for classes
and visitors to get a more up-close marsh
experience.

North Island

Sandy beaches, tall dunes, swales, and maritime
forests of cedar, palmetto and live oak are found
on North Island.

Sentinel Sites

Researchers are gathering data at these sites to
better understand how the changing climate will
affect salt marshes.