Support Our Science

Your support is essential to the future of the ocean and the many valuable services it provides.

Your donation to Bigelow Laboratory is an investment in leading ocean scientists and in educating budding young scientists.

Thanks to our supporters' vote of confidence in our work, Bigelow Laboratory is able to continue the innovative and essential research and education that have been ongoing here every day since 1974. Make your tax-deductible gift online today.

Why Bigelow Matters to You

The world’s ocean:

• Generates half the oxygen we breathe
• Provides almost all the water that falls on land
• Holds 50 times more carbon than the atmosphere
• Profoundly affects the climate
• Is the main protein source for a billion people
• Serves as a vast repository of genetic diversity for new products and medicines

Yet the ocean is increasingly threatened by climate change, acidification, depletion of wild fish populations, pollution, invasive species, and coastal development. Indeed, the independent Pew Oceans Commission reported that the world’s oceans are in “a state of silent collapse.”

That’s why Bigelow Laboratory’s fundamental research in marine microbiology and ocean health is more urgent than ever. Our work is advancing knowledge of the vital connections between the ocean's smallest living particles and all life on Earth.

We deliver:

• Unbiased information and expertise to help inform policymakers
• Mentoring and inspiration to the next generation of ocean scientists
• Technology to harness the ocean’s potential to benefit society

Why You Matter to Bigelow

The Earth is experiencing larger changes in climate patterns, natural-resource use, and population than ever before in human history.

In response, you are helping to build the future of ocean science by:

• Employing over 80 prominent scientists and professional staff at our new Ocean Science and Education Campus
• Forging partnerships with Colby College and other schools to help train the next generation of ocean scientists
• Capitalizing on our scientific capabilities to find solutions to industry problems and channel our intellectual property into commercial markets.

None of this would be possible without the support of community members like you.

Your gifts to Bigelow Laboratory—our all-important base of private support—are critical to our core research and education programs as we work to build a sustainable future for the Laboratory, the state of Maine, and the world’s ocean at an unprecedented moment in history.

Together, we are on the threshold of an extraordinary opportunity to shape oceanography for decades to come, benefit society, and open new frontiers for future generations. Donate today.