Dr. Cordes is a Full Professor and Chair of the Department of Biology at Temple University. He is a self-described ocean explorer and ecological oceanographer whose research is focused on cold-water coral reefs, natural hydrocarbon seeps, and hydrothermal vents, as well as their conservation. This includes biogeochemistry, documenting ecosystem services, biogeography, patterns in community assembly, and the influence of climate and ocean change on these processes. All of his work has ties to resource management and conservation and he has worked with US agencies, foreign governments, NGOs, and non-profits to develop strategies to effectively manage deep-sea resources. Dr. Cordes is among the Pool of Experts for the ongoing U.N. World Ocean Assessment, a member of the Steering Committee for Challenger 150, and on the Advisory Board of Earth Percent. He actively collaborates with professional communicators, visual artists, film-makers, and musicians to bring the deep sea to the widest audience possible.
Erik received his M.S. from Moss Landing Marine Labs, his Ph.D. from Penn State University, and was a post-doctoral fellow at Harvard University. He has published over 100 papers on the ecology of the deep sea over the past 30 years and spent almost two years at sea on over 30 research cruises, including three expeditions on the original RV Falkor, and has made 47 dives in manned submersibles (including one to 6000 m depth). This is his first expedition on the RV Falkor (too) and his first trip to the Southern Ocean.
Cruises:
