Galápagos Deep 2023 Expedition

R/V Atlantis and Alvin

The R/V Atlantis and HOV Alvin are owned and operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). Alvin is responsible for all of the hard rock seafloor lava collection and biological sampling.

Maps and the Galapagos Platform

The Galapagos Islands are volcanic archipelago in the Central Eastern Pacific as part as of the country of Ecuador. The youngest and active volcanoes are found on the western islands if Isla Isabela and Isla Fernandina.

Seafloor geology and lava flows

The majority of the Galapagos Platform seafloor is made up of underwater basaltic lava flows and different types of morphologies. How these lava vary over the platform and over depth are of great interest to the science team.

Biology and reefs

The Galapagos platform is home to an amazing array of coral life and marine biodiversity, from shallow shelves of the central platforms to deep steep slopes on the western edge. This biodiversity is important for conservation but also for knowing about past climate history.

Data collection and sampling methods

As well as Alvin, there a number of other method of data collection in operation such as the multibeam echosounder, towcam, CTD and water sampling rosette, and multicorer.