An anonymous donor has awarded the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences $6 million to support collaborative research on the distinctive microbial communities of the Sargasso Sea over the next five years.

According to a press release from BIOS, the research will leverage ocean measurements and ongoing research at the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study site, bringing new collaborations and technologies to study the ocean’s smallest life forms.

A core team of scientists representing BIOS, the University of California Santa Barbara, and Oregon State University will lead the project, with UCSB Professor Craig Carlson as director, coordinating the core team and the programme’s collaborating scientists.

BIOS president Bill Curry and senior scientist Nicholas Bates will oversee scientific and seagoing logistic support with respect to BATS.

OSU Professor Steve Giovannoni will coordinate genomic sequencing efforts and bioinformatic data processing.

Mr Curry stated: “As BIOS adjunct scientists, Craig Carlson and Steve Giovannoni both have long been affiliated with BIOS and I am delighted that they are playing a leading role in this important initiative.

“Collaborations have always been key to BIOS’s success and, thanks to this award, we can now join forces even more strongly to accelerate the pace of scientific discovery.”