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Black Sea Redux

Aboard the Bulgarian R/V Akademik, research specialist Alan Gagnon (in the hat) and Bulgarian scientists inspect Niskin bottles during a Black Sea cruise with Assistant Scientist Marco Coolen. The researchers collected sediment and microbial life from the anoxic bottom containing fossil DNA sequences and water from the stratified water column. With these samples, Coolen will reconstruct the ancient Black Sea microbial community and compare it with modern species diversity. (Photo by Marco Coolen, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)