View of Pinta from the ship
So, we had some technical issues today. The data quality from the magnetometer (which measures magnetic field) went way downhill this morning and we had to reel it in for inspection. The prognosis is that water got into the cable that feeds data from the instrument onto the ship. Repairs are underway now and we hope to have it back in the water soon.
Other than that, data collection has been going well. We corrected a map with our new data! A large seamount was plotted south of where we observed it in the bathymetry, so from now on the correct placement of that seamount can be attributed to us. Score one for science!
Our current working map of the Northern Galapagos showing our projected route and some significant geologic features we've been sketching in.
Now that we’ve got some coverage of the area with our sonar and bathymetric imaging, we’ve been able to do some preliminary interpretations of the features we’ve observed. On our watch (reppin' 8-12!) we saw a lot of faults that run parallel to the Galapagos Spreading Center (GSC) ridge and some small, fresh lava flows. The lava flow is interesting because it tells us that there is active volcanism despite the fact that at that point in the survey we were a good ways away from the GSC and the hotspot, the two points that generate magma. Also, we found what looks to be a fracture in the crust that was oblique to the other faults that we've seen. We're hoping this might be a stress fracture, which would be relevant to proving or disproving some of the hypotheses discussed in our proposal (which you can read here).
Miguel, Karen, and Dan enjoy the view of Pinta.
Tonight we’re looking forward to a surf and turf barbeque. The Chief Engineer is preparing steaks and swordfish (yum!) on the grill out on the deck.
Angela, Miguel and Dan out on the bow.
Will Schlitzer and Mike Carbone hanging out on deck with a view of Pinta in the background.
Hi, this is so cool, going to the galapagos to get rocks to study, awesome
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