ChEss – Biogeography of Chemosynthetic Ecosystems - is a pilot project within the international Census of Marine Life initiative. The main objective of ChEss is to determine the biogeography and biodiversity of chemosynthetic ecosystems and to understand the processes driving them. For this, ChEss developed a long-term international field phase for the discovery and exploration of new chemosynthetic sites at key locations. Determining the evolutionary and ecological relationships amongst their fauna is crucial to understanding the processes that shape the distribution of species from chemosynthetic ecosystems at the global scale.
© ChEss 2003 More about ChEsS at the Southampton Oceanography Centre.