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From our climate to the air we breathe, the ocean influences the world around us. Scientists are always looking for new ways to explore and study the ocean. One way we do this is by going on specially designed ships that allow us to study the deep sea, far from land. On our latest expedition aboard the Research Vessel Sally Ride, we went out 300 miles into the North Pacific Ocean for a week. We used some of the most important ocean science tools to catch tiny marine animals, collect water from some of the deepest depths, uncover mysteries of oceans past, and study how desert dust feeds marine animals today. 

Abstract We optimized a high throughput method to quantify turnover rates of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), adenosine diphosphate (ADP), and adenosine monophosphate (AMP) in marine microbes from simultaneous measures of the respective stocks and phosphorylation rates. We combined a microbial adenylate extraction method using boiling 20 mM Tris buffer with purification and analysis by high pressure liquid chromatography optimized to quantify these intracellular adenylate concentrations in marine microbes. Additionally, we incorporated radiolabeled phosphate (³²P_i) incubations to quantify phosphorus (P) uptake rates and the phosphorylation rates for these adenylate compounds in microbial cells. With this method, we can directly assess the variations in microbial growth rates, metabolic turnover rates, energy charge, and adenylate storage. We applied and validated this method application with environmental samples from Biscayne Bay, Florida, and quantified adenylate turnover times of 12, 15, and 73 min, for ATP, ADP, and AMP, respectively. Future incorporation of this method into experiments and geographic surveys across marine environments will allow for direct assessments of changes in microbial metabolic activity in relation to other ecological variables.