Research divers get to see amazing sights below the surface, but there is a lot that goes on behind the scenes to make it all possible. Thanks to Richard Pyle, we are able to follow along on an exciting expedition of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands on the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum blog.
Although we are following along on the blog written by Pyle, both him and Brian Greene have joined NOAA’s expedition to the NWHI under Chief Scientist Dr. Randall Kosaki, along with HIS team of Jason Leonard, Brian Hauk, Dan Wagner and John Hansen as they visit the Papahnaumokukea Marine National Monument to explore deep coral reefs in the little-known but hugely important Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. As the team notes, this year’s cruise takes on a special meaning as there is a movement to expand the Monument out from its existing 50-mile boundaries to the full extent of the U.S. Economic Exclusive Zone (EEZ) at 200 miles.
The expedition has just started and it is exciting to get an ongoing perspective of the entire trip. It is amazing the team is taking the time to document the journey on the museum blog, so make sure you follow along to keep up with this amazing experience.
[via Bishop Musuem, photos courtesy Richard L. Pyle, Kenneth R. Weiss]
