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Daily Updates: August 2001
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partlycloudy weather

TODAY'S WEATHER
Partly Cloudy
73°F (22.8°C)
Latitude: 00 deg 13'S
Longitude: 91 deg 38’W
Wind Direction: SW
Wind Speed: 11 Knots
Sea State 3
Swell(s) Height: 2-3 Foot
Sea Temperature: 65°F (18.3°C)
Barometric Pressure: 1012.0 MB
Visibility: 12 Nautical Miles

what's to eat today?
Breakfast

Fresh fruits
Yogurt
Apple coffeecake
Eggs and potatoes
Bacon, ham and sausage
Pancakes
Oatmeal
OJ in a bucket

Lunch
Fresh salad
Beer-battered Cod
Fried shrimp
Vegetables
French fries
Cinnamon cookies

Dinner
Fresh salad
Veal Parmesan and spaghetti
Rice
Steamed vegetables
Fresh bread
Blueberry cheescake


Missing Pieces of Volcanoes
August 31, 2001
by Christina Reed

Once a circular volcano on the northwest edge of Isabela, Volcán Ecuador now stands broken - a large chunk of it is missing, lost to the sea. Only half of the caldera, the large crater or depression at the summit of a volcano remains.

As we towed the MR1 sonar fish less than two miles east of the volcano, we witnessed parts of the ocean floor no one had ever seen before. Did the missing caldera erode gradually into the ocean or did it slide down in one catastrophic event?

Interpreting the maps is half the fun. “It’s still speculative whether or not the caldera collapse was the result of a gigantic landslide,” Denny Geist says.

As Revelle steamed between northern Isabela and Fernandina, we are seeing an impressive display of fascinating features. “We’re finding lava flows far away from land, almost too far away from the volcanoes on the islands, and volcanic cones decorating the submarine flanks in areas where we didn’t expect them,” Dan Fornari explains.

This afternoon, we continued surveying around the small island of Roca Redonda, where again the seafloor surprised us. Along the way, west of Fernandina, the MR1 sonar identified some very reflective features that look like tongues of black lava in the sonar record. “Generally something that reflective should be a fresh lava flow,” Mark Kurz says. “But we don’t know until we sample it.”

In the evening, we watched the sunset turn Roca Redonda brilliant shades of orange and pink. As Mark, Dan and Dennis huddled around the sonar maps to pick our dredge sites, we are wondering what rocks we will pull up tomorrow to help us understand these geologic wonders.

 

 

Dive and Discover Water Word Puzzle
[Click here for a printable version of Dive and Discover Water Word #1]

Click here for the solution.

 

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