{{short description|American oceanographer}} {{use mdy dates|date=February 2021}} {{Infobox scientist | honorific_prefix = | name = | honorific_suffix = | native_name = | native_name_lang = | image = Beth Orcutt David Keith for the Deep Carbon Observatory Attribution.png | image_size = | image_upright = | alt = | caption = Orcutt in 2019 | birth_name = <!-- if different from "name" --> | birth_date = <!--{{birth date |YYYY|MM|DD}}--> | birth_place = | citizenship = | fields = Oceanography | workplaces = Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences | education = | alma_mater = University of Georgia | thesis_title = <!--(or | thesis1_title = and | thesis2_title = )--> | thesis_url = <!--(or | thesis1_url = and | thesis2_url = )--> | thesis_year = <!--(or | thesis1_year = and | thesis2_year = )--> | doctoral_advisor = Samantha Joye | academic_advisors = | doctoral_students = | notable_students = | known_for = | influences = | influenced = | awards = | website = <!--{{URL|www.example.com}}--> }}
'''Beth N. Orcutt''' is an American oceanographer whose research focuses on the microbial life of the ocean floor.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Beth Orcutt, Ph.D. |url=https://www.wgbh.org/people/beth-orcutt-ph-d |access-date=2026-02-17 |website=GBH |language=en}}</ref> As of 2012, she is a senior research scientist at the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences.<ref name=Bigelow_bio>{{citation |url=https://www.bigelow.org/about/people/borcutt.html |title=Beth Orcutt, PhD |publisher=Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences |access-date=8 December 2016}}</ref> In 2022, she became the Vice President for Research at the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences.<ref name="Bigelow_bio" /> She also serves as a senior scientist at the Center for Dark Energy Biosphere Investigations, a National Science Foundation-funded Science and Technology Center based at the University of Southern California.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.darkenergybiosphere.org/about-our-center/people/|title=People – C-DEBI|website=www.darkenergybiosphere.org|language=en-US|access-date=2018-03-26}}</ref> She is a member of the Deep Carbon Observatory's Deep Life Community and has worked with the International Scientific Ocean Drilling Program. Orcutt has made fundamental contributions to the study of life below the seafloor, particularly in oceanic crust.<ref>{{Citation|last=Maine Science Festival|title=Beth Orcutt, Bigelow Laboratory of Ocean Sciences. "Buried Alive – Life Beneath the Seafloor"|date=2018-07-10|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAmR9dAhNqk|access-date=2019-02-13}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.boothbayregister.com/node/113760|title=Study shows unusual microbes hold clues to early life|website=Boothbay Register|date=February 8, 2019 |access-date=2019-02-13}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/diving-deep-reveal-microbial-mysteries-lost-city-180970234/|title=Diving Deep to Reveal the Microbial Mysteries of Lost City|website=Smithsonian|language=en|access-date=2019-02-13}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22229742-500-weird-organisms-emerge-from-the-deep-dark-biosphere/|title=Weird organisms emerge from the deep, dark biosphere|last=Brahic|first=Catherine|website=New Scientist|language=en-US|access-date=2019-02-13}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/09/130927092726.htm|title=Breathing underwater: Evidence of microscopic life in oceanic crust|website=ScienceDaily|language=en|access-date=2019-02-13}}</ref> She is also the associate director of the Crustal Ocean Biosphere Research Accelerator project, where she works to further research the deep-sea.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sciences |first=Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean |title=Program Works to Cultivate a Network of Deep-Sea Diplomats - Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences |url=https://www.bigelow.org/news/articles/2024-12-19.html |access-date=2025-10-16 |website=www.bigelow.org |language=en}}</ref> As of 2026, she has helped write and publish 52 available articles.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Beth N. Orcutt |url=https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=v1fK3d4AAAAJ&hl=en |access-date=2026-02-16 |website=scholar.google.com}}</ref>
==Education and career== {{unreferenced section|date=March 2026}} Orcutt attended the University of Georgia, obtaining a BS degree in 2002 and a PhD in marine sciences in 2007, supervised by Samantha Joye. During her graduate studies she collaborated extensively with Antje Boetius at the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology and Kai-Uwe Hinrichs at the University of Bremen, both in Bremen, Germany. She held postdoctoral positions at the University of Southern California (2007–2009) under Katrina Edwards and at the Aarhus University in Denmark (2009–2012) under Bo Barker Jørgensen. She joined the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences in 2012 and became Vice President for Research there in 2022<ref>{{Cite web |title=AGU - American Geophysical Union |url=https://www.agu.org/user-profile?cstkey=54c48e60-93da-475b-89dc-f57cac04ba17 |access-date=2026-04-06 |website=www.agu.org |language=en}}</ref>. She has also been an adjunct assistant professor at the University of Southern California since 2009.
==Research activities== Orcutt's research involves deep-sea exploration. Orcutt has traveled to the ocean's seafloor several times aboard the submersibles Alvin and Johnson Sea Link.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.boothbayregister.com/node/38606|title=Bigelow scientist rides human submersible Alvin to the Pacific seafloor|website=Boothbay Register|date=August 7, 2014 |access-date=2019-02-13}}</ref> In 2015, she co-led an IODP scientific drilling Expedition 357 called "Atlantis Massif Serpentinization and Life" to explore life below the seafloor at the Atlantis Massif which hosts the Lost City hydrothermal field. This expedition was coordinated by ECORD and co-led with Gretchen Früh-Green of ETH Zurich.<ref>{{citation |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-34609272 |title=Expedition seeks Atlantis microbes |author=Jonathan Amos |publisher=BBC |date=22 October 2015 |access-date=8 December 2016 }} {{verify source |date=September 2019 |reason=This ref was deleted Special:Diff/883062407 by a bug in VisualEditor and later restored by a bot from the original cite located at Special:Permalink/858855787 cite #4 - verify the cite is accurate and delete this template. User:GreenC_bot/Job_18}}</ref><ref>{{citation |url=http://www.ecord.org/expedition357/ |title=Expedition 357 Atlantis Massif Serpentinization and Life |publisher=ECORD |access-date=8 December 2016 }} {{verify source |date=September 2019 |reason=This ref was deleted Special:Diff/883062407 by a bug in VisualEditor and later restored by a bot from the original cite located at Special:Permalink/858855787 cite #5 - verify the cite is accurate and delete this template. User:GreenC_bot/Job_18}}</ref> This expedition successfully used deep-sea drilling to collect rock samples from the mantle of the Atlantis Massif of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, and showed that they contain hydrogen and methane.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://eos.org/project-updates/in-search-of-life-under-the-seafloor|title=In Search of Life Under the Seafloor|website=Eos|date=January 10, 2019 |language=en-US|access-date=2019-02-13}}</ref> Orcutt's research was featured in the documentary "North Pond: The Search for Intraterrestrials" which won "Best Documentary Feature Film" at the 2014 Yosemite International Film Festival<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.yosemitefilmfestival.com/2014-winners|title=Yosemite International Film Festival {{!}} Screenplay Contests {{!}} California Film Festivals - 2014 Winners|website=www.yosemitefilmfestival.com|access-date=2019-02-13}}</ref> and "Honorable Mention" at the 2014 Blue Ocean Film Festival.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.blueoceanfilmfestival.org/film-competition/festival-archives/2014-film-finalists/|title=2014 Film Finalists|website=BLUE Ocean Film Festival|language=en-US|access-date=2019-02-13}}</ref> Orcutt led the researchers of the Luʻuaeahikiikapapakū expedition in 2021; an expedition with the goal of exploring and analyzing the seamounts of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Microbial Ecosystem Services on Seamounts in the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument |url=https://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/expedition/21mess/ |access-date=2025-11-16 |website=NOAA Ocean Exploration |language=en-US}}</ref> In 2022, Orcutt conducted further research on deep sea mining and the repercussions that it may hold for wildlife and sustainability objectives.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Amon |first=Diva J. |last2=Gollner |first2=Sabine |last3=Morato |first3=Telmo |last4=Smith |first4=Craig R. |last5=Chen |first5=Chong |last6=Christiansen |first6=Sabine |last7=Currie |first7=Bronwen |last8=Drazen |first8=Jeffrey C. |last9=Fukushima |first9=Tomohiko |last10=Gianni |first10=Matthew |last11=Gjerde |first11=Kristina M. |last12=Gooday |first12=Andrew J. |last13=Grillo |first13=Georgina Guillen |last14=Haeckel |first14=Matthias |last15=Joyini |first15=Thembile |date=2022-04-01 |title=Assessment of scientific gaps related to the effective environmental management of deep-seabed mining |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308597X22000537 |journal=Marine Policy |volume=138 |article-number=105006 |doi=10.1016/j.marpol.2022.105006 |issn=0308-597X}}</ref> This research presented an alternative perspective to the economic side of deep sea mining, taking on an environmental and humanistic approach.
In 2023, Orcutt and a team of researchers from both the United States and Costa Rica explored a rocky outcrop region near Costa Rica in the Pacific Ocean. They were aboard the R/V Falkor (too), searching for deep-sea octopuses using a ship controlled ROV. The team discovered four new octopus species, including the Dorado octopus, which was found brooding eggs at hydrothermal springs, along with three other species exhibiting distinct traits, such as larger eyes, varying sucker arrangements, and bumpy or pale skin. Orcutt's findings highlight the remarkable diversity of octopuses in the region and suggest the Muusoctopus genus has adapted to brood in warm, hydrothermal environments.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mock-Bunting |first=Logan |date=2024-01-16 |title=Scientists Discover Four New Species of Deep-Sea Octopus |url=https://schmidtocean.org/scientists-discover-four-new-species-of-deep-sea-octopus/ |access-date=2025-02-03 |website=Schmidt Ocean Institute |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-03-08 |title=A Maine scientist helped discover 4 new species of deep-sea octopus |url=https://www.pressherald.com/2024/03/08/a-maine-scientist-helped-discover-four-new-species-of-deep-sea-octopus/ |access-date=2025-02-03 |website=Press Herald}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{google scholar id|v1fK3d4AAAAJ}} *[http://www.darkenergybiosphere.org/ Center for Dark Energy Biosphere Investigations]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Orcutt, Beth}} Category:Living people Category:University of Georgia alumni Category:Biogeochemists Category:American women marine biologists Category:American marine biologists Category:Year of birth missing (living people)