Between September 26th and October 5th, I accompanied Dr. Ian Enochs and Mr. Nate Formel to Union Island in the Grenadines to investigate, characterize, and sample corals from a carbon dioxide vent near the locally famous “Mayreau Gardens” dive site off the namesake island of Mayreau. Despite carbon dioxide acidifying the waters near the vent, corals there are flourishing, and we aim to uncover just why and how this is so. This represents an exciting “natural laboratory” experiment in which we can gauge the “future” behavior of reefs in the now (since all reefs will be dramatically acidified in the coming decades as a result of climate change).

I will start uploading pictures piecemeal, as I want to do them justice. In the mean time, here are some photos of beautiful Union Island: