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A Mountainous Task

March 30, 2019

The Galápagos archipelago is made up of 13 major volcanic islands that occupy a submerged platform rising more than three kilometers (nearly two miles) above the seafloor. During an expedition in August 2015, WHOI scientists and their colleagues conducted the first scientific expedition to map and characterize seamounts on the platform. This image, taken near Fernandina Island at 700 meters deep, shows some of the diverse marine life that these underwater mountains support. Results from the expedition are being used by the Galápagos National Park Directorate to refine zoning within the Galapagos Marine Reserve to enhance protection of delicate ecosystems. (Photo by Adam Soule, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)