The Washburn Lab is focused on understanding how ocean circulation processes affect marine communities in ocean environments. The lab currently has a number of research projects going on including studies to understand: (1) transient circulation processes along the California coast that develop in response to the changing winds; (2) how oceanographic processes control ocean acidification in coastal waters near shore; (3) coastal ocean dynamics using surface current patterns that are mapped using radio waves; (4) how coastal current patterns control dispersal and settlement of marine organisms into near shore habitats as part of the Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans (PISCO); and (5) physical-biological coupling as part of the Santa Barbara Coastal and Moorea Coral Reef Long Term Ecological Research (SBC-LTER and MCR-LTER) projects. Members of the Washburn Lab are currently prototyping with UAVs to help better collect data.