Malaspina Expedition

The goals of the Malaspina Circumnavigation Expedition were to provide an assessment of the state of the oceans in 2011 and to explore, using advanced next-generation sequencing tools, the diversity of life in the ocean, with a particular emphasis in the dark ocean (cf. www.expedicionmalaspina.es). In addition, the project aimed at shifting the interactions among Spanish marine research groups from an excessive focus on competition to a balance between competition and cooperation through the demonstration of the benefits of a cooperative approach and, in doing so, build critical mass and leadership capacity. Furthermore, it aimed at prompting the interest for marine science by the Spanish public and to foster scientific vocations among its youth.