Northwest Passage baseline beach metagenomes

We performed a baseline survey by sequencing the metagenomes of the microbial communities of 9 beaches located along the Northwest Passage in the Canadian high Arctic. We aimed to determine if there is genomic potential for hydrocarbon biodegradation present in these presumably pristine beaches. This will help us understand whether bioremediation could be a feasible cleanup solution in case of a hydrocarbon spill from a passing ship ever washes up to one of these beaches.