Drifting away in the Atlantic
In: Science (Washington). American Association for the Advancement of Science: New York, N.Y. ISSN 0036-8075; e-ISSN 1095-9203, more
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| Abstract |
Floating 20 meters below the surface, in the warm Atlantic waters around the desert islands of the Cape Verde archipelago, my dive buddy and I beheld a marine biologist’s dream: schools of thousands of fish, sharks, and a beautiful underwater landscape of barely explored habitats. We were 2 weeks into a sailing trip retracing the steps of the second voyage of the HMS Beagle, the ship that carried Charles Darwin around the world in the 1830s. Our mission was to explore how biodiversity had thrived in the relative absence of human pressure. We had jumped from the deck of our boat, the Captain Darwin, just 1 hour before. The current was stronger than expected, and dusk was approaching, but we lingered as long as we could to enjoy the amazing view. As we ascended, we tried to express to one another how incredible the dive had been using hand signs and screaming and laughing into the water. Then we surfaced and looked around for our boat. It was gone. |
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