Stomatolite City

A record of earth's oldest life

Our link to 3 billion years ago

An investigation of Cyanobacteria fossils and their current     presence in the Western Hemisphere

Geographic Region: Exumas Cays, Bahamas

Country of Destination:  Bahamas

GPS :     Latitude 23.47.047N  Longitude  076. 07.100W         

Purpose/Objectives:

Stromatolites are believed to represent the earliest form of life on earth as cyanobacteria (prokoryatic bacteria) from 2.5 billion years ago.  While not strictly "fossils" in the technical sense, their residual structures provide us with the basic constructs of earliest life.  Our first objective was to further research the arresting connections between the living and fossil counterparts of existing Exumas stromatolites and their fossil records and secondly identify possible locations of present stromatolite formations other than those currently known to exist in the tidal channels betweens islands.

Accomplishments:

Identified and video documented stromatolite locations

 Collected core samples of substrate.

Collected selected samples of intact stromatolites petal appendages

Filmed a video mosaic of  the major stromalite field

Took still photographs and video documented all processes

Stromatolite City Mosaics (click to enlarge)

Challenges:

Tidal currents of 2-3.5 knots imposed working  constraints on both diving and drilling activities.  Work periods were planned around the brief time frame of slack tide, (generally a scant hour), with potentially two to three opportunities per day.  Consequently, preparation for and execution of work activity required pre-planning as well as flexibility, to cope with the unexpected.   

Two experienced divers were tasked with coring and drilling duties. 

 Mike Miller identified some of the challenges of this operation, including;

Unfamiliarity with the equipment, thus a self-training period was required.

Various methods were attempted to find the best process for different occasions

Tidal current conditions adjustment -slack current provided better working conditions for the divers in terms of stationary footing, but hampered visibility, while swifter current enabled better visibility during drilling, but was a challenge to the divers' stability.

Operating with a previously unknown partner

Logistics of communication

Modification of diving weights due to tidal current conditions

Dr. Robert N. Ginsburg 

Professor Robert Ginsburg, is known worldwide for his research, leadership and teaching. Some know him through his pioneering works on Florida's reefs and sediments; others know him through publications that revealed unexpected processes inside reefs of Bermuda. Still others have built on his arresting findings on the origins of reef walls of Belize or the evolution of the Bahamas during the glacial epochs Three generations of graduate students and young researchers feel fortunate to have been inspired by his teaching. He has long taken a leading role in international science as the organizer and chairperson for two international conferences on reefs, as the originator of a program of Global Sedimentary Geology, and most recently, as the head of the International Year of the Reef (1997) that will be a focus of research and education worldwide. Educating divers, boaters and the public about reefs has a high priority for Ginsburg. He believes the more people understand about reefs, the more likely they are to take care to preserve them. Florida's remarkable living coral reefs and their fossil counterparts exposed on the Florida Keys, offer a special opportunity to explain how these undersea cities are established, develop and become limestone. Widely know for his geological research on tropical marine sediments in Florida, the Bahamas, Bermuda and Belize, Ginsburg has committed his energy and experience to the development of the International Year of the Reef. Instead of his former focus on the geological record of reefs, he now is concerned with diagnosing the condition of living reefs and the effects of natural and people-produced impacts on this remarkable ecosystem. Instead of teaching how reefs and sediments become limestones, he now emphasizes the efficient recycling in reefs and how their functions resemble those of cities. Born in Texas and schooled in Illinois, he holds a doctorate in geology from the University of Chicago. His scholarly works have earned him recognition from several scientific societies in the United States and Canada. And his success as the organizer of national and international scientific initiatives is widely appreciated.

Captain Tim Taylor

Captain Tim Taylor is an accomplished naturalist and explorer with over 25 years of underwater experience. He is currently President and CEO of the Research Vessel Tiburon, Inc., based in Key West Florida.

Learning to dive in Maine in 1979 Tim followed his passion to Florida, where he has spent the last 25 years full time, on or under the water. Over the past 18 years Tim has owned several innovative diving operations, specializing in exploring new locations and sharing them with the scientific community and public. In recognition of his achievements he has been accepted as a Fellow in the prestigious Explorers Club for his discovery of Sherwood Forest Reef in the Dry Tortugas. This reef is considered a centerpiece of the Tortugas Ecological Reserve and has become world famous since its discovery in 1997.

Tim’s experience includes 18 years as a US Coast Guard Captain, numerous instructor ratings, underwater still and video expertise and extensive field work.  He produced, shot and directed “The Florida Keys Sportsman”, founded Scubaworld Online; one of the first scuba industry databases on the Internet, and has guided many world famous researchers and explorers such as Dr Sylvia Earle and Dr Eugene Clarke on expeditions in the Bahamas, Cuba and the Florida Keys. The ocean and Key West are home to Tim, his 10 year old Son Garett and 8 year old daughter Brooke.

Expedition Members:

• Tim Taylor, FNO4, captain - R/V Tiburon, expedition coordinator, photographer

• Dr. Robert Ginsburg, RSMAS, University of Miami, principal scientist and expedition leader

• Mark Palmer, Sponsor

• Maryanne Palmer, Sponsor

• Noah Planasky, research assistant, RSMAS University of Miami

• Henning Peters, PhD. candidate and research assistant, University of Brenen, Germany

• Michael G. Miller, diver and drill team member

• Pat Ayers, drill team member

• Dave F. Cox, IIIl ,diver and drill team member

• Ken Marks, Diver

• Jacqueline Morales, R.N., Captain, Chef

• Currier Randall, DVM, crew

• Richard Von Trapp, crew

• Alex Lancey and Chad Barcellona, crew