SKIO research programs include studies of physical, chemical, and geological processes affecting the sea floor, water chemistry and biological communities of nearshore environments, continental shelf, and open ocean; experimental and field studies of the energetics and population dynamics of marine food webs; studies of atmospheric transport to and cycling of trace elements and organic compounds in oceanic systems; and studies of marine biochemistry, toxicology, and chemical ecology.

Scientists at SkIO conduct research all over the world depending on where each research project takes them.