This project focuses geographically on the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study (BATS) site. This site is one of the longest time-series studies of oceanographic conditions on the planet and for the past decade has been a test bed for the development of advanced molecular techniques developed to measure microbial diversity. The rich data set from BATS provides important physical, chemical and biological information that is used by the microbial observatory to understand how ocean conditions affect the planktonic microbial communities. The Oceanic Microbial Observatory applies a new high throughput cultivation technology, developed at Oregon State University, to identify, count, and cultivate major oceanic microbial groups that have not previously been cultured. Technologies are also employed to characterize the quality and quantity of organic substrate utilization by these microorganisms.