Aaliyah Thomas, who is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in environmental earth science at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST), was selected to participate in an immersive research internship experience in the Galapagos Islands in summer 2024.
Born and raised in Waimānalo, Thomas graduated from Kamehameha High School and attended Windward Community College. Though she loves musical theater and earned an associate’s degree in liberal arts at Windward CC, Thomas enjoyed her STEM-oriented classes most. During her transition from Windward CC to UH Mānoa, she enrolled in the Mauka to Makai oceanography course.
Galapagos summer internship
Thomas was thrilled by the opportunity to visit the place that inspired Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection. Once she was selected for the program, she spent a semester preparing a project to analyze the water quality surrounding areas with a high abundance of an invasive algae.
“When I arrived I was told that they had run out of lab equipment crucial for my study, and that if we were to purchase more it would take too long to arrive; thus I was unable to do the water quality analysis,” Thomas said.
Turning challenge into opportunity
Living on the research station, Thomas visited the beach frequently and noticed there was always a sheen on the top of the water and that it was more obvious during low tide.
“The ocean water seemed less buoyant than what I was used to in Hawaiʻi, and my teaching assistant, James Fumo, noticed little rivulets of water flowing from the rocks at the shore during low tide,” Thomas said. “Sure enough when we tasted it, it tasted notably fresher than ocean water. Quickly my biggest challenge became the beginning of one of my most enjoyable experiences.”
The island of Santa Cruz, Galapagos is thought to be waterless and prior to Thomas’s arrival, she was told by members of the research station that submarine groundwater discharge was not a factor on the island in the same way it is in Hawaiʻi. However, all of her chemical data, and the lack of streams, runoff and rain, suggested it is very plausible that what she was measuring was submarine groundwater discharge.
“This was an exciting discovery!” Thomas said. “My biggest hope is that my work in the Galapagos can help decision-makers who are responsible for that land. I hope that showing there’s SGD going into the Galapagos Marine Reserve will bring awareness to everyone within the watershed that their contaminants or over withdrawal can most definitely impact the coastal ecosystem they are so well known for.”
For more information, see SOEST’s website.
–By Marcie Grabowski
