Deep-sea Biodiversity

Exploring life in the deep

The deep sea is the least explored habitat on planet earth. A little over 50% of the earths surface is sedimented abyssal plains between 3500 and 6000 m deep where only 10% of the species are currently known. The deep-sea biodiversity research at NORCE include species discovery and taxonomy of new species, mapping of deep-sea species distribution to understand eg connectivity and species risk of extinction. We are using both traditional morphological methods to describe species as well as molecular and barcoding data for assessment of diversity.