Geology

1. El Nino
  - every few years > seasonal warming more intense and prolonged
  - happen along with a reversal in atmospheric circulation known as the Southern Oscillation; known together as ENSO (El Niño-Southern Oscillation)
  - winds and currents change direction and bring warm water and air from the western Pacific to the Galapagos and South America
  - high pressure system > low pressure system
  - heavy rain in the Galapagos and coastal South America
  - the rain hydrates even the dryest areas of the islands > increase in vegetation > surplus of food for land animals
  - Galapagos waters are drained of nutrients > underwater life suffers
  - El Niño > rhythm of land life versus marine life in the Galapagos


2. Alternative Fuel Sources
  - since the jessica oil spill, the goal is to end, or at least decrease, the use of gas, oil, and other imported fossil fuels
  - solar electric system useful in Galapagos National Park in one of their Tortoise breeding centers
  - solar-powered catamaran for eco-tourists currently being used
  - wind turbines (San Cristobal) displace 50% of power from diesel-powered generators; these same system improves communication capabilities (internet, e-mail, data, voice, video
  - fuel cells
  - hydrogen
  - tidal generation
  - bio-diesel (from waste food, trash, etc.) > waste management and energy source
  - many sponsors interested; competition to fund fuel developments > lower prices
  - WWF and Fundacion Natura seek to convert existing diesel generators to cleaner fuels, replace fishing boat engines with more efficient and cleaner models, design and implement a recycling system for all of the islands, and eventually replace all motor vehicles on the islands with low emission vehicles
  - $25 million investment towards meeting energy needs without emission of carbon dioxide


3. Geothermal Energy
  - high levels of heat in the waters surrounding the islands > hydrothermal energy, especially around the Galapagos Rift


4. The Islands
  - northernmost islands, Darwin and Wolf, seldom visited and require a long boat trip
  - pleasant temperature all year everywhere in the islands; determined by two oceanic currents: Humboldt (from the South, cold) & Equitorial (from the north, warm)
  - June > December: cold, dry season: garua
  - January > May: warm, rainy
  - Fernandina & Isabella are the most volcanic islands, but other young islands are active, also
  - Espanola is the oldest island, and thus, among the most dormant
  - lowest zones (coast & lowlands) get little rainfall > very dry
  - highest zones (Scalesia forest & grassy pampa) > very wet
  - few tourists visit the highest zones, usually stick to the low, dry zones
  - in Espanola, however, there is no fresh water source, which is why the island is virtually uninhabitable for humans
Floreana
 - 6th largest island
 - millions of years old, is also one of the most dormant islands, but not as dormant as Espanola
 - San Cristobal, Santa Cruz, and Floreana comprise the central Galápagos, where most of the population lives; they are home to some younger lavas, but they are generally much older than the islands to the west
 - fresh water is natural and reliable on Floreana, containing an artisian spring at the base of Cerro Olympus in the southeast highlands
 - roughly circular in shape
 - 12Km N-S
 - 15Km E-W
 - wetter climate than those islands to the North and West
 - lacks well-developed volcanic center, but instead dominated by pyroclastic vents and derivative ash and cinder deposits, especially compared to the other islands of the archipelago
 - thorn- and brush-covered lava fields
 - high and steep slopes of the highlands
 - lacks any clear evidence of an ancestral central volcano similar to the imposing shields of the Western islands > important because there is little reason to accept the Hawaiian model of volcanic evolution as directly applicable to any of the Galapagos volcanoes (Bow 84)
 - difers from many other islands in the absence of linear segments of faulted coastline and dominant fissure trend
 - the extensive sea cliffs of the Southwestern coast are not faulted scarps but are erosional features due to prolonged exposure to wave action from the prevailing Southeastern winds (Bow 86)
 - minor faulting suggested by the presence of linear stream drainages in the Southern and Southeastern highlands, but this faulting lacks any regional tectonic significance (Bow 87)

Sources

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<http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?fl20031012a3.htm>

2001 Annual Report. Charles Darwin Foundation. (24 September 2004)
<http://www.galapagos.org/pdf/CDF2001.pdf>

Cagigal, Angie. Green World Adventures. 1999. (16 October 2004)
 <http://www.galapagosislands.com/html/environment.html>

Rogers Environmental Management, Inc. 1982. (20 October 2004)
<http://rogersenv.com/galapogo.htm>

Broehl, Jesse. Renewable Energy Access. 1998. (20 October 2004)
<http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/search/home>

Green, Kenneth Edward. Geothermal Processes at the Galapagos Spreading Center. E&PI. Sci. 1980.  Ph. D

Pearson, David L and David W. Middleton. The New Key to Ecuador and the Galapagos. Ulysses Press, Berkeley, Ca. 1999.

Geist, Dennis. Introduction to the Galapagos Islands. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. 2000. (23 October 2004)
<http://www.divediscover.whoi.edu/cruise5/daily/hottopics_galapagos.html>

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<http://www.fe.doe.gov/international/Western%20Hemisphere/ecuaover.html>

2nd Annual Renewable Energy in Latin America: Regulatory Incentives, Bankability and Project Opportunities. 20-21 September 2004. The Power Marketing Association. (9 October 2004)
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"ECUADOR: E7 Fund to harness 'clean energy' for Galapagos." Latinnews Daily. 1 May 2003. (19 October 2004)
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"WWF and Ecuador Sign Accord to Transform Galapagos: Milestone Agreement to Create Model for Renewable Energy Use." U.S. Newswire. 7 March 2003. (14 October 2004)
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Bow, C.S.; Geist, D.J. Geology and petrology of Floreana island, Galapagos Archipelago, Ecuador. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, v52, n 1-3, Sep, 1992, p 83