A Fond Farewell
The Golden Shadow arrived in Papeete, French Polynesia back in July 2012 and for the past eight months it has been our home, but we said goodbye to Papeete last week as we started our final research expedition in the …
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The Untamed, Cool Tropical Islands of French Polynesia
Our final Expedition to French Polynesia takes us to the Austral Islands, the southernmost group of islands located from 500-750 km from Tahiti. We are exploring four small high islands: Raivavae (16 sq. km), Rimatara (8.6 sq. km), Tubuai (45 …
1000 Days for the Planet
At the end of the last mission, CREW (Coral Reef Educator on the Water) member Jim Evans was able to visit the Sedna IV which was tied up right next to us in Papeete. This ship is the main platform …
Lessons Learned
Probably the most significant thing I learned on this trip is that it is possible for coral to be resilient to environmental stresses … that reef revival is possible. It was exciting to see the reaction of researchers who studied …
There and Back Again, a Scientist’s Journey
In 1998, we visited Rangiroa Atoll shortly after sea temperatures rose 6 degrees greater than summer norms and caused massive coral bleaching. Virtually all of the branching coral Pocillopora died and a quarter of the mound-shaped coral, Porites, lost almost …
Coral Recruitment in the Garden of Good and Evil: How baby corals get started on coral reefs
Corals in tropical reefs are like trees in a forest. We all know from the tiny acorn, the mighty oak tree grows but where do the mighty corals come from? You’d think we know all there is to know about …
From the Classroom to the Field
Our CREW member Jim has written a blog about his initial experience with us on this research mission: “It is an incredible opportunity to spend time with scientists who are doing the research that gives us the science that we …
Teacher on board
Our Coral Reef Educator on the Water (CREW) program is still running and we have the privilege of having Jim Evans on board with us. Jim is from the Washington D.C. area and works for School Without Walls; a high …
Getting to the bottom of things
One of our survey methods that we do while diving at each site is photo transecting. Photo transects involve taking evenly measured photos of the reef bottom. This not only gives us a permanent record of the reef condition, but …
Filling in the Gaps
It was back in November when we first conducted coral reef research in Rangiroa. A delayed start to that research mission meant we were not able to complete all that we wanted to then, so we are now back filling …