Video:
Measuring Active Hydrothermal Vents in Galapagos
Led by Dr. Robert Ballard, ROV pilots operate the dextrous robotic submersible Hercules to insert a temperature probe into a hydrothermal vent near the Galapagos Islands.
Expedition
Galapagos Rift Exploration
The E/V Nautilus will spend several weeks exploring the Galapagos Rift region. The Galápagos Islands have been instrumental in the establishment of the biological theory of evolution, gaining insights to our knowledge of the chemistry of the Earth’s interior, and understanding the plate tectonic evolution of the eastern Pacific seafloor. In 1835 Charles Darwin visited the islands aboard the HMS Beagle and made fundamental biological and geological observations in the area.