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This is the first of my two summaries. This was a brief summation of my research as of 10/10/04.
SUMMARY 1
The Galapagos consists of a small group of larger islands, nestled into a large group of scattered, little islands. They belong to the country of Ecuador and lie approximately 650 miles off of its west coast, along the equator. The islands are of a volcanic origin, being similar in its creation to other volcanic archipelagoes, for example Hawaii. The eldest island in the island group is Espanola, while Isabella and Ferdinanda are geologically young in comparison. Unlike their cone-shaped cousins in the Caribbean, the Galapagos are 'shield volcanoes' due to the low viscosity of the magma there. So, the general shape of an island is a large mound. The Galapagos volcanoes are some of the most active ones in the entire world, with eruptions as recent as few years ago. While the volcanoes on our islands may be classified as active, they have not erupted recently (as far as I know, and by recent I mean in the last 20 yrs.) In the last 200 years, there have been between 50 and 60 volcanic eruptions in the Galapagos region.
Along the coastline, there tends to be little rainfall, but in the highlands, rain is far more common. However, the climate is greatly affected by the weather anomaly El Nino (which actually is a reference to the baby Jesus). El Nino is actually the result of a warm current traveling south along the western coast of South America, primarily Peru, during December. While the warm current is normal for the Peruvian coast, every now and then, the warm waters will remain in the area, disrupting the ecosystem, wreaking havoc on fisherman and fish alike. This lingering of the warm water current is dubbed El Nino. El Niño's are not entirely uncommon. They affect many other areas of the world besides simply South America. Weather fluctuations over all continents are resultants of the El Nino anomaly. Specifically, though, the temperatures of the waters around the Galapagos have been seen to rise enormously during periods of El Nino. In the 1982-1983 El Nino events, the temperature of the waters around the Galapagos raised 2 to 4 degrees centigrade. In the more recent 1997-1998 event, the temperature of the surrounding waters rose greater than 4 degrees Celsius. Both of these events, however, are on the extreme end of the El Nino events. Both, ironically, were dubbed 'El Nino of the century'. Another danger of the El Nino events is the outbreaks of waterborne diseases along the Ecuadorian, and presumably the Galapagos, coastline. In 1997 and 1998, Malaria, Dengue, and Cholera were prevalent threats. During the 1982 to 1983 El Nino, the annual precipitation in the Galapagos spiked. The average jumped to the climate around that time remained wet and warm. Weather models under development are currently 2768.7 mm, up nearly 2500 mm from the norm. The average air temperature also jumped 2 degrees Celsius. The ecosystem was again affected immensely, coastal birds, mammals, and iguanas died off in large numbers, while inland species thrived. Cacti collapsed due to rotted roots, while other flora populations skyrocketed. 78 percent of the penguins died, as well as 45 percent of the flightless cormorant, albatross were unable to nest, and anywhere between 45% to 60% of iguana population died, depending on the island. The rest suffered a dramatic decrease in weight. Fish were less abundant. (my guess is that coral probably died to due to warmer water temperatures)
Though not actually physically that close to the Galapagos, the Galapagos rift shares its name. The rift runs perpendicular to the islands, eventually rising as it approaches the islands. The rift is perhaps most well known for the "Rose Garden" (ironically, they no longer exist; they were covered by a lava flow. However, a recent growth nearby has been dubbed the Rosebud) the rift has a Sulfur cycle which keeps many of the animals alive. (I don't fully understand this so I can't really elaborate; it was in one of the theses in the Lindgren Library, if you want to see it) This is most well-known because it showed the existence of life near deep sea hydrothermal activity.
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