As a PhD student in biological oceanography at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, I was thrilled to be invited by chief scientist Jim Barry to take part in the MBARI Gulf of California 2015 expedition.
We are off Cabo Pulmo, a Mexican national park with the most northerly tropical coral reef in the world. Cabo Pulmo was originally colonized by pearl divers.
Mariah Salisbury writes: Unlike a terrestrial vehicle, which you can just fuel up and drive, it takes a lot more for the Western Flyer to get underway. Lance Wardle, who is sailing as Chief Engineer on this leg of the cruise, gave me a behind-the-scenes tour of the ship’s inner workings.
ROV dives in the Salsipuedes Basin can be rewarding, yet challenging–no real surprise since Salsipuedes translates to “escape if you can”.
We steamed for a day to arrive at Isla Tortuga—a small, rugged, and beautiful little island near the middle of the Gulf. Fortunately, the weather has been great, and everyone aboard seems to be feeling fine and in good spirits.
Research programs at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) encompass the entire ocean, from the surface waters to the deep seafloor, and from the coastal zone to the open sea. The need to understand the ocean in all its complexity and variability drives MBARI's research and development efforts.