Drs. Huber and Orcutt explain the vital role of marine microbial ecosystems as the foundation for all other ocean life. They lead some of the most important research on this intricate marine relationship. Problematic technologies such as deep-sea mining and ocean carbon sequestration will create serious disruptions on these ecosystems, and the impact will inevitably extend to many other lifeforms in the marine universe. Image:WHOI
**Julie Huber, Ph.D.** is an oceanographer (with additional training in astrobiology), broadly interested in how basic earth processes interact to create and maintain life in the oceans. Her research addresses some of the most central questions about the nature and extent of life on Earth in one of its least explored corners, the subseafloor habitat beneath the ocean floor.
**Beth Orcutt, Ph.D.** is a Senior Research Scientist at the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, where she leads a team specialized in the study of deep-sea microbial life and the impact of microbial activity on chemical cycles. Recently she has been leading efforts to understand the ecosystem services that microbes provide in some of the deep-sea ecosystems that may be targeted for deep-sea mining and subseafloor carbon sequestration.