Log Post: Coral Connections | Video Update

“What we don’t sometimes realize is that under the water, we have this amazing topography. So you have valleys and hills and mountains, ravines, crevasses – you have places where continental plates are rubbing against each other, and that creates an entirely new space… it is a big three-dimensional connected area.” The #CliffReefs team is … Continued

Log Post: Deep Sea Details | Video Update

“The moon has been mapped to much higher detail than the deep sea. It’s a massive cliche, but it is true: We know more about the face of the moon than we know about our own deep ocean.” Different types of maps will reveal different characteristics of a place. The Galápagos Islands are iconic sites … Continued

Log Post: Oasis of Biodiversity | Video Update

“Vertical deep-water coral reefs are areas where essentially corals live on the side of an underwater cliff.” Imagine walking in a forest, but then the entire scene is shifted 90 degrees – the forest is flipped up on its side. Everything in that ecosystem – living on the trees and vegetation – is still there, … Continued

Log Post: Unlike Anything Else on Earth | Video Update

Would you follow a trail of crabs? While it took a huge array of the latest technology – sonars, chemical sensors, a remotely operated vehicle and more – the biggest clue that the team was on the right path came from squat lobsters leading the way. Join in the excitement of this momentous discovery and … Continued

Log Post: Cause and Effect: How Ecosystem Elements Affect One Another

Traducción al español a continuación. This expedition is in collaboration with the Galápagos National Park, Charles Darwin Foundation, and the local navy, INOCAR. Why study hydrothermal vents? One reason is that vents show us how the Earth’s activities influence ecosystems, and how ecosystems in turn affect the Earth. We often find ourselves asking “chicken and … Continued

Log Post: A History of Interdisciplinary Research | Video Update

“It is no exaggeration to say that all life on earth is inextricably tied to the rocks upon which we live and the geological processes occurring deep inside the planet.” The latest #GalapagosVents expedition update video dives deep into the history of interdisciplinary research, where biologists, chemists, and geologists work together to paint the first … Continued

Log Post: Obtaining Samples in a Hostile Environment

Traducción al español a continuación. This expedition is in collaboration with the Galápagos National Park, Charles Darwin Foundation, and the local navy, INOCAR. Situated at depths of up to 5000 meters, hydrothermal vent systems are complex and formidable ecosystems. Vent environments are blanketed in profound darkness, exist under immense pressures, and emit fluids of remarkable … Continued

Log Post: Hunting for Hydrothermal Vents

Traducción al español a continuación. This expedition is in collaboration with the Galápagos National Park, Charles Darwin Foundation, and the local navy, INOCAR.  Over a mile below the water’s surface in the western Galápagos spreading center, the seafloor is slowly spreading apart. Lava pushed up from Earth’s mantle cools and forms new ocean crust, pushing … Continued

Log Post: Venturing to the Western Galápagos Spreading Center

Traducción al español a continuación Deep-sea hot springs, also known as hydrothermal vents, were discovered in 1977 along the Eastern Galápagos Spreading Center (EGSC), about 250 miles from the Galápagos Islands. Since then, these hydrothermal areas, as well as those elsewhere around the world, have been visited periodically by researchers eager to study the biology, … Continued

Log Post: Vertical Distribution | Dynamics of Sinking Microplastics

Many people think scientific expeditions always look for something exotic or mysterious. Microplastics are not rare, and are a side effect of our daily lives on earth. We know humans’ actions have impacted the world. It is important we now find out exactly how. Get a behind-the-scenes look at how the #MicroplasticDynamics team, led by … Continued