The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, an organization founded in 2000 to further scientific research, conservation efforts and patient care, recently announced a $2.25 million award for a research program led by the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) at Woods Hole, Massachusetts. MBL Bay Paul Center scientists Julie Huber and her colleagues will lead the study to learn more about microbes on the ocean floor.

"The ocean is a huge sink of carbon, and we know very little about how carbon is moving in the deep ocean," said Huber. "We are interested in knowing how much carbon is being controlled by microbes in the deep sea; how much carbon is being fixed and how much is coming out of the vent ecosystem."

Specifically, the study will take a deeper dive into to oceanic ecosystem, looking at microbes and viruses on the ocean floor as well as inside a deep-sea volcano to gain a more holistic understanding of the environment.

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