Future ship designs and modernization of existing platforms rely on lightweight aluminum particularly AA5xxx. However there has been no consideration of the impact of naturally occurring marine environments on the predicted lifetime of AA5083-H116. Laboratory testing will be designed to answer the following questions related to marine corrosion: 1) Can microorganisms survive/grow on AA5xxx surfaces in marine conditions; 2) Can colonization of microorganisms on AA5xxx initiate and sustain localized corrosion (pits and crevices) on boldly exposed surfaces; and 3) Can fungi provide enough moisture to sustain crevice corrosion under marine atmospheric conditions?