The Marine Science Center is located at East Point in Nahant, MA with approximately 23 acres of open land with over 3500 feet of ocean frontage. The two shelving beaches on the north and south shores near the laboratory are composed of coarse sand and pebbles: a small cobble beach faces ENE, the remainder of the shoreline is solid rock with numerous tidepools and channels, East Point is near the southern limit of such rocky outcroppings on the Atlantic Coast. Geologically, East Point is composed of gabbro-diorite and a series of sedimentary layers that are correlated by paleontological evidence (e.g. hyoliths) with lower Cambrian Weymouth Formation. The entire shoreline receives moderate to heavy surf during storms, providing exceptional opportunities for study of high-energy littoral phenomena.

The main laboratory building (the Edwards Laboratory) contains the principal teaching and research facilities of the Marine Science Center (MSC). Facilities in the Edwards Laboratory include: a flow-through ambient seawater system, a teaching laboratory, research laboratories, general use molecular biology laboratory, offices, darkroom, wet lab with flowing seawater, dive locker, and a 2 - bedroom apartment for researcher housing. In 1992, an addition was added to the front of the Edwards Laboratory with funding provided by a NSF Facilities Improvement Grant. Facilities in the addition include a classroom, a library which is part of the Northeastern University Library Information System (NULIS), a small conference room, visiting researcher labs, and a computer laboratory with an Ethernet LAN and T1 Internet connection to Northeastern University’s main campus in Boston. These facilities are shared and available to researchers and students.

The largest Coastal Defense Bunker on site (Murphy Battery 104) contains the Outreach Center and the Biomimetic Underwater Robot Program in the lower level. In the upper main gallery level are the Vertebrate Systematics and Ecology Labs Mariculture facilities, a chemical analysis lab, a workshop and boat service area.

No other year-round laboratory on the Atlantic coast of the United States has an exposed rocky ocean frontage like this site. It is exceptional in its close proximity to many Boston area academic and research institutions. Though Nahant is situated just outside a major harbor and industrial city, the prevailing coastal currents provide remarkably clean and stable seawater at East Point and the biota is characteristic of the southern Gulf of Maine. The tidal amplitude (9.5 ft. mean and l4 ft. spring tides) and undisturbed rocky shoreline provide a great variety of intertidal and subtidal communities ideally suited for investigations of rocky shore ecology. The sheer cliff faces, which drop off subtidally to 40 ft. and more, represent a unique biome. This site offers a wealth of opportunities for year-round studies of high-energy littoral phenomena.

The Marine Science Center has facilities to support a research Diving program year-round. There is a 5000 psi compressor with a cascade fill station and a dive locker facility with showers. There are 2 small boats, a 20-foot Steiger Craft and a 13-foot Whaler, as well as the 50-foot R/V Mysis available for diving research. Northeastern University is an organizational member of the American Academy of Underwater Sciences (AAUS), a non-profit, self-regulating body dedicated to the establishment and maintenance of standards of practice for scientific diving. The scientific diving program supports an average of 55 certified scientific divers conducting an average of 1500 scientific dives annually.

The 50 foot research vessel R/V Mysis, was built in 1963 at Sturgeon Bay Ship Building and Drydock Co. in Wisconsin, with funds for the design and construction provided by the National Science Foundation. This 50 foot research vessel was re-furbished in 2003 and is equipped with two hydraulically operated winches with an A -frame for trawling and hauling heavy gear. There is a single 75 sq. ft. general purpose laboratory on the main deck. The aft end of the ship has approximately 200 sq. ft. of clear deck space. The R/V Mysis is US Coast Guard Certified as a passenger-for-hire vessel with a coastwise endorsement from Pt. Judith RI to East Port, ME. The R/V Mysis is docked in the more sheltered Lynn Harbor year round and is available for resident scientists, research charters and as a component of the K-12 outreach program.

A 12 - passenger van is used to shuttle between the main campus in Boston and the MSC. A pick up truck is available for launching boats and hauling equipment. The MSC is also accessible via public transportation from the Boston area.

Researcher Information

Outreach Program Information