cNAMMs Expedition

Earth’s marine environment is the planet’s largest habitat, playing a critical role in regulating Earth’s climate.  Evaluating the world’s biodiversity is key to understanding the effects of a changing climate and especially on organisms that play pivotal roles in our climate’s health.  Microbes have populated virtually every environmental niche on our planet from the deep-sea hydrothermal vents and geothermal extremes to the coldest parts of our planet.  Yet, even greater than 100 years of microbe collecting hasn’t yielded a compelling picture of marine microbial diversity.  

 

The Earth is undergoing an accelerated climate change process and studying its biodiversity can reveal insights into organisms' acclimation and adaptation capacities.  Understanding the biogeography, species diversity and abundance of bacteria can provide key markers for environmental change and data for determining any potential downstream effects on our food supplies, health, and economies.  This Expedition will focus on surveying marine microbes while on a multi-leg North American circumnavigation. 

 

The Expedition is working with the R/V Robert Gray, a newly christened research vessel that plans to complete annual North American circumnavigations.