Today we moved on to Pagan Island; two volcanoes joined by a narrow strip of land with one that is still smoking from an earthquake a few months ago. The island is ~ 18 square miles in total area and is the fourth largest in the Northern Marianas Chain. It was inhabited in historic times, however a 1981 eruption forced all inhabitants to evacuate and no one has returned. There are still a few buildings remaining and wild cows and pigs that were left behind. The above-water landscape is amazing with sea cliffs, black sand beaches, coconut palms, and ironwood trees with a bare cinder cone in the background. The underwater portion is less than spectacular. I was surprised but our first dive site was covered almost entirely in a type of bacterial mat that normally only forms when there are too many nutrients in the water. I am curious to see if this is the case, possibly from recent volcanic activity? I’ll have to ask the oceanographers after they analyze their water samples for nutrients. The water is also very warm, 84, so that may have something to do with it. The second and third dives were boulders in black sand with more coral colonies perched on them. The highlight was seeing the tow team twice underwater. It is becoming quite familiar to hear the distinctive whir of their engines as they are now making a habit of including our dive sites in their surveys for data consistency. Most of the time when we hear that whir we stop working and start watching for the tow line so that we are not surprised when they come past. When I am not paying attention, I have often felt someone grab the back of my SCUBA tank and start towing me along with them. But this time I was watching and I was able to take my first towing lesson. As Ben went past, he motioned to me to take the towboard as he hung on to a trailing line behind it. Molly, my dive buddy had grabbed on to trailing line on the other board. I loved skimming above the bottom, much faster than I could swim. I had to remind myself that I had work to be doing and eventually Molly and I went back to our work. I think I’ll be watching for the tow team more often.
I hope you have a wonderful day,
Cristi
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