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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Our fourth research mission to French Polynesia provides an opportunity for a more detailed examination of Rangiroa, the largest atoll in the Tuamotu Archipelago and one of the largest in the world. Rangiroa (meaning Vast Sky) consists of 415 small islands,
