Thursday, June 11, 5:30 p.m., Orcas Center
— from Michael Riordan —
On Thursday, June 11, marine geologist Gary Greene will treat islanders to an absorbing visual tour of the hidden subsea world around the San Juan Archipelago, showing the strikingly beautiful sonar images he has been recording for the past 20 years. Co-sponsored by Coates Vineyards and the Northwest Straits Foundation, working with the San Juan County Marine Resources Committee, his Orcas Currents lecture will begin at 5:30 pm in Orcas Center, with a reception to follow sponsored by the Orcas Food Co-op.
Formerly the Director of the Moss Landing Marine Labs on Monterey Bay in California and currently a research faculty member at Friday Harbor Labs, Greene has pioneered sophisticated sonar techniques to map the sea floor in many regions of the Pacific Ocean. Now working with the SeaDoc Society and heading its Tombolo Mapping Lab on Orcas Island, he has been making high-resolution 3D images of the Salish Sea floor. In the process, he has uncovered previously unknown benthic habitats and discovered geological features such as submarine faults and folding.
In his talk, Greene will bring alive the deep undersea world around us. Of interest to biologists and ecologists, as well as fishermen, sailors and kayakers, his exquisitely detailed maps have revealed the habitats of rockfish, Pacific sand lance, forage fish and other organisms critical to the local marine food chain.
Greene has also discovered a significant new geological fault he dubbed the Skipjack Fault, which begins near South Pender Island and extends eastward to pass between Orcas and Sucia Islands. He will discuss his current research on this and other local submarine faults, including whether or not they might be active.
Based on this research and other work, Gary will survey the region’s recent geological history and address what may await us in the future due to potential sea-level rise, tsunami inundation and oil spills from passing vessels.
Please join Orcas Currents supporters and friends for what promises to be a stimulating visual voyage into the hidden subsea world surrounding our islands. Old salts are especially encouraged to attend. Admission is free.
For more information, contact: Michael Riordan, (360) 376-3717, email: mriordan137@gmail.com
