Rapid seafloor mapping of the northern Galapagos Islands, Darwin and Wolf

• Main Authors: Peñaherrera-Palma, César, Harpp, Karen, Banks, Stuart
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2016
• Subjects: Oceanography; Darwin Island; Wolf Island; bathymetry; Triangular Irregular Network; spatial analysis; mapping; Galapagos
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1834/36348

Darwin and Wolf are the most remote of the Galapagos islands and are famous for their remarkable pelagic and benthic marine species abundance and diversity. However, little is known about their surrounding bathymetry. Rapid surveys were carried out in 2008 and 2009 to collect geo-referenced depth soundings down to 100 m around both islands, as a step towards a better understanding of their habitat and species distribution. Five spatial interpolation methods were tested on the data, to find the most accurate. The Triangular Irregular Network (TIN) was the best interpolator for these data sets with the fewest interpolation errors, and was then used to create contour and three dimensional maps of the seafloor topography of both islands. Darwin has a bigger insular platform with gentle submarine slopes whereas Wolf has very steep slopes with a smaller platform.