The objective of the Guaymas Basin expedition is to collect samples – using the deep-sea submersible Alvin – to explore the genomic potential, physiological capabilities and biogeochemical roles of key uncultured microorganisms from Guaymas Basin sediments. The Guaymas Basin is a hydrothermal spreading center that is covered in organic-carbon rich sediments that are ‘cooked’ from below by the hydrothermally-generated heat. These sediments contain unique microorganisms, well adapted to the extreme gradients in temperature, that cycle carbon, sulfur, and nitrogen.
Participants in this research cruise include members of the scientific community from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of Georgia at Athens, Coastal Carolina University, and Harvard; the University of Calgary, Canada; the University of Bremen and the Max-Planck-Institute for Marine Microbiology in Bremen, Germany; Der Spiegel, Hamburg, Germany; the Centro de Investigaciones Biologicas del Noroeste S.C. in La Paz, and the Instituto del Pacifico in Manzanillo, Mexico. The expedition aboard research vessel Atlantis will include dives in the human occupied submersible Alvin as well as the autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) Sentry.
Follow chief scientist Dr. Andreas Teske, his fellow researchers and the crew on their scientific adventures on Dr. Teske’s blog https://teskelab2016.wordpress.com/, on Twitter with #GuaymasBasin, or view a selection of images taken during the research cruise on the Guaymas Basin photo album of the UNC dept. of Marine Science Flickr account.