You can’t talk about coral in the Galapagos without talking about the atmospheric phenomenon called El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Normally, west-blowing trade winds push warm waters into the western Pacific Ocean. Every four or five years on average, though,
After just one dive at San Cristobal Island, the team decided the water was too rough, so the Golden Shadow moved on. We woke Monday to overcast skies at Floreana, the southernmost of the five inhabited islands. Monday brought three dives
This weekend marked the halfway point of the Galapagos expedition, both in time and in territory. After a week at Marchena, Darwin and Wolf, the latter two far to the north of the main group of islands, the ship will
The story of how these not-incredibly-attractive islands in the middle of the Pacific became world famous starts on December 27, 1831, when the H.M.S. Beagle sailed from Plymouth, England on a five-year round-the-world voyage. On board was an unpaid naturalist
Why are the waters around the Galapagos Islands so rich with marine life? It’s because the islands are in a very special spot. Oceanographically speaking, they are at the intersection of five major ocean currents. Along with the equatorial surface weather, these
When we entered the water for our first research dive at Wolf island, the first thing we saw were thousands upon thousands of fish. The fish were so numerous it made seeing the bottom difficult. Underneath the clouds of fish
Our first coral reef research site was by the island of Marchena. Old black lava blankets the land and flows down beneath the waves. Underwater, the porous lava and a few species of branching coral create a complex habitat for
Iconic Galapagos creatures greeted the Golden Shadow as she arrived in the archipelago this week. Sea lions, sharks, and countless birds came to inspect the new visitors, and the scientific team embarked under the robotic gaze of the Sally light
The Living Oceans Foundation is pleased to present two live presentations from the Galápagos as part of World Oceans Day 2012! On the June 8, 2012 at 3:30PM EST, join the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation and the Ocean
If you took a quick look on Google Earth at the northern San Andres Archipelago, specifically at the three banks the team visited on this latest mission, you’d think they looked pretty similar. But we found instead that each has
