Hi, my name is Kathy and I’m going to be your leader for this year’s Maldives expedition starting soon. I’m going to be leaving the UK at the weekend to ensure that everything is well prepared for your arrival on 9 July. Once I have made it to Male’, I’ll be in touch again with my local mobile number and some updates.
We are expecting a substantial amount of bleaching to have occurred this year, so be prepared for some strange sights on our surveys. Our scientist, Jean-Luc, knows a lot about the phenomenon that has caused this and the extent of the impact around the world, so expect to learn a lot about it and the work that has been going on around the problem. We will be documenting an exceptional event and your work on this will be crucial.
This is what Jean-Luc has said about the expedition this year: “The reason we’re doing this route is unfortunately one of sadness – to see the impact of climate change. As everyone’s probably aware, a massive bleaching event has hit the Maldives in May as a result of a strong and long El Niño. It has killed many shallow water Maldives reefs. El Niño increases surface sea water temperatures in coastal and oceanic waters, stressing many corals. Our trip is to see the extent of the damage caused by the hot water that was over Maldives reefs in early May. As our trip is in July, it allows us to see the short-term recovery of the reefs that we’ve been surveying since 2011. Our work this year, and in subsequent years, is to see which sites are more resilient.”
Below is our proposed survey route FYI.
I’m really looking forward to meeting you all and I hope your travels go well.
Regards
Kathy Gill
Biosphere Expeditions
From our scuba diving conservation holiday with whale sharks and coral reefs of the Maldives
Biosphere Expeditions: blogs from the frontline of wildlife conservation and the fight for a more sustainable planet 