Galapagos Islands

Final Reports from the Global Reef Expedition

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For the past eight years, the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation conducted a large-scale scientific research mission called the Global Reef Expedition (GRE). The primary goals of the GRE were to map and characterize coral reef ecosystems, identify their current status and major threats, and examine factors that enhance their ability to survive—and recover from—major disturbance events. Now, scientists at the Living Oceans Foundation are focused on analyzing data collected on the Global Reef Expedition and publishing reports that can be used to guide coral reef management.

When Volcanoes Meet

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Another day at Isabela Island, with two morning dives at C-shaped island called Tortuga, the remains of yet another in the chain of volcanoes… a partially collapsed volcanic cone (though much bigger than Devil’s Crown). Unfortunately, we found very little …

Corals and Carbon Dioxide

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The Golden Shadow arrived at Puerto Villamil, on the southern end of Isabela Island, last night. It is the third-largest settlement, and the largest island, in the archipelago. Today we explored shallow lagoons near the town’s docks, in particular one …

Corals in the Devil’s Crown

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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 …

Heading South

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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 …