Island Visit

This is the island from afar. Just as we were about to go to the island, I misplaced my camera, so I had to take pictures with my mind's eye.

Today, I visited a tiny uninhabited island.  I had been eyeing it from afar all day. All the other atolls along our cruise track are inhabited, so we are obliged to request permission before setting foot on land.  However, this atoll, Olimareo, is uninhabited, so I saw this as my only opportunity to explore an island freely.  After our work was done, I managed to convince the boat driver to take us to the island.  

The first thing I did was run away from the others.  I tried to imagine what it might feel like to travel by canoe and land here on this island, finding it untouched. I tried to imagine that I was truly alone, surrounded by water and more water for hundreds of miles. 

Circling the small island, I noticed that the sand changes around the perimeter. First, the white sand was soft like powdered sugar, but solidly packed.  It gradually became coarser, until it was very much unlike sand and more like a loose collection of very small pieces of coral rubble into which my feet sank deeply.  I imagine the sand composition depends on the orientation of the circular band of beach relative to the reef, waves, and open ocean.  

Finally, I entered into the thick greenery of the interior. I found many small coconuts sprouting new shoots at the base of the tall palm trees.  Perched in the branches overhead were nests for the large frigate birds that dominate the island – there were hundreds of frigate birds circling the island in a swarm high up in the air. In one nest was a downy young bird, warbling. Back on the beach again, I found small bits of red coral debris washed up and intermingled with the white coral debris. I collected these small bits as my souvenir from this sandy speck in the middle of the ocean, towering above the sea floor. 

Footnote: I am sorry to report that there was also a lot of trash on this island. I presume the trash is left behind by fisherman from neighboring atolls who camp on this island, as I found a small shelter made from palm branches.  Plastic bottles leave no place untouched.

Deploying the Drifter

Shortening the line on the drifter so it does not get caught on the coral. (Photo by Luis Lamar)

On our second afternoon at Woleai, I had the opportunity to deploy my drifter.  I went out to the reef in one of the small boats that we use to move from the big ship, anchored in deep water, to the shallow reef area, near the shore.  

To begin, I looked around to observe the water movement, and I jumped in the water to feel which way the current was going.  Once I knew which end was upstream, I went to the upstream end of the reef and dropped the drifter in the water. At this point, I sampled the water and I left the drifter to float along with the water across the reef. The drifter tracked where the water was going.  After the water (and drifter) crossed the reef, I sampled it again.

In effect I sampled the same chunk or parcel of water, before and after it passed over the coral reef.  While it was passing over the reef the water was interacting with the coral community.  As the coral were growing, they were extracting the chemical building blocks for their skeletons directly out of the water. When I measure the chemistry before and after the water interacts with the coral reef, I can determine how much they grew during that time. This means that I can calculate how fast the community is growing, collectively. The community is comprised of corals that generate carbonate (limestone) skeletons, coralline algae that also deposit carbonate mineral, sand which is dissolving carbonate back into the water, and a multitude of organisms with carbonate shells.  Measuring the net growth of this community is one way to evaluate the health of a community and to assess its sensitivity to changes in the environment.

The Chief's Neighborhood

The drill team celebrating after a good day's work.

 It was a great day! This morning, Konrad and the camera crew visited the chief of one of the islands to request permission to work in their reefs.  Fifteen men received him in a formal meeting. The chief spoke English and wore a blue loin cloth. Most of the other men were clad in board shorts and basketball jerseys.  Konrad explained his intentions and asked where he could find the biggest corals.

There happened to be an enormous coral colony right in front of the village!  Konrad and Justin spent the day drilling. Sujata and I assisted with the drilling and documented the process and the surrounding reef with photos and video. A WHOI videographer also documented the process with his 3D camera.  We are all thrilled with the results: 4.5 meters of coral skeleton representing more than 400 years for growth!

We are wrapping up the day with a BBQ on the top deck to celebrate!

Welcome to Woleai Atoll

One of the islands of the Woleai Atoll.

We Arrived at Woleai yesterday evening at sunset. I was amazed to think how the ancient migrants of Southeast Asia found such small islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. They traveled phenomenal distances in outrigger canoes for several months at a time, eating both fresh and fermented fish. Without the aid of compass, they navigated by the stars and the patterns in the waves. 

What drove them to set out on these treacherous journeys? Growing populations on islands with limited resources likely created pressure to search for new islands. Curiosity was probably also a factor. And then, it was also simply the way of life for seafaring people.  So they found this small atoll, and some stayed, and some moved on. In the 2000 census, there were 1081 people living on the 22 islands (1.7 sq miles total) within the atoll. They live off of the sea, the land, and the meager provisions delivered by the ship every few months. I want to read a book about  these island people...and recommendations?

The chief's hut.

Port of Call - Yap Island

Port of Call - Yap. Ahead, you can see the old Chinese ship that is now the hot bar in town.

While we were on Yap, we were thrilled to get off the boat and walk around. The crew laid out BBQ dinner on the dock. Afterward, we went down to a neighboring boat that has been converted into a bar and restaurant. It was lovely, having beers on the top deck with a refreshing cross-breeze.  Old movies were projected on the sails and the moon and stars were out.  

On our way home, we saw some of the famed stone money – large disk shaped stones as tall as 12 feet! The value of the money is based on the difficulty in acquiring it.  Although they accepted our US$ at the bar, they still use stone money for certain transactions to this day! To read more about the stone money, check out the Wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yap_Islands

 

Chad, Maryann, Louis, on the top deck.

Drill Team

So far, we steamed two days to Yap Island, worked for one day on the Yap reefs, and are now steaming two days to Woleai Atoll.  Yap Island was our first field site. I worked with the “drill team”.   

First, we all jumped in the water in snorkel gear and swam around looking for giant coral colonies. I like this part, because it is like a treasure hunt, and because the opportunity to swim long distances keeps me from getting cabin fever. We are looking for something very specific: a large Porites colony with a smooth top and a symmetrical shape. The larger the colonies are older and are thus more likely to yield skeletal material deposited over several hundred years.

We drilled a core from a medium-sized colony of Porites coral, shown in the picture.  We use an underwater hydraulic drill run by a motor on the boat.  The drill bit is like a hollow tube that takes a 'biopsy' of the coral skeleton.  When the bit has drilled all the way down its full length (80 cm or about 32 in), we pull it out and push a 'breaker' tool like a spear tip down the hole to break the core loose.  Then we use a 'grabber' tool, also a hollow tube with little teeth, to reach into the hole and pull out the core.  We add extension rods to the drill bit, breaker and grabber, and drill sections of core like this until we reach the bottom of the coral. 

We hope to drill corals that are more than 4 meters in length, because depending on the growth rate, this could yield more than 400 years of annual skeletal bands (like tree rings).

(Post adapted from an entry by Konrad Hughen).