"Then I got to thinking about the possible significance of a person going on a long and expensive trip, coming back with nothing but a few specimens, some notes, and lists of animals–the lists themselves necessarily incomplete and subject to error. I thought 'if you can’t sum it up, what good is it?'
"I got to thinking about the ecological method, the value of building, of trying to build, whole pictures. An ecologist has to consider the parts each in its place and as related to, rather than subsidiary to the whole. But how much of a whole picture can a person build? In a sense, all I end up with is a list of animals. But even that’s a contribution towards the whole picture. The cataloguing of what we’ve got and how and where it occurs is the first step in any inquiry. Until we have that, we can’t start."
-Ed Ricketts, after Vancouver Island Expedition, 1945
It is reassuring that the post-expedition blues has historical precedent. When John Steinbeck and Ed Ricketts motored out of the Sea of Cortez in 1940, they returned to a country on the verge of cataclysm and resigned to the prospect of global warfare. A silver lining of our return to DC today is that we are living an authentic Steinbeck experience.
Perhaps we can add an addendum to Ricketts' thought: you go out in the world to find what it is there, but also what is latent within us. Rebecca showed extra human tenacity in bringing the 2026 Return to the Sea of Cortez Expedition to life. She showed why we have faith in human connection by bringing people together from different professions, backgrounds, and perspectives into a beautiful mosaic of love for the sacred ecosystem of the Gulf of California. And she created a blueprint for the future of science: that even a small group of people can dream up a wild scientific expedition and make it happen.
Thank you, Rebecca, for pouring yourself into this dream. I may be the only person besides you to understand the magnitude of sacrifice and dedication it took to pull this off, and I am in awe of the way that this ecosystem you created proved to be greater than the sum of its parts.
Our last day of sampling was a magical one. We saw bottle nose dolphins, common dolphins, jumping manta rays, and sea lions on our way to the sampling site - no matter how many times I see these animals in the wild, this will never get old.
We are so thankful to have the opportunity to work in the Gulf of California and experience its magic. We now have a better understanding of why John Steinbeck and Ed Ricketts fell in love with this place, its biodiversity, and the wonderful people who live here.
So long, and thanks for all the fish!
Hasta luego, Baja!
#greenflash #seaofcortez #steinbeck #conservation #science
A quiet and beautiful morning in one of the most beautiful places we have ever been to.
I finished the painting this morning in the sunlight with a delicious cup of Mexican coffee and enjoyed the company of our wonderful hotel owner, who has become a dear friend. He and his family have helped us in so many ways and believed in us and our scientific mission, even when we were just strangers that showed up on the shores of Loreto.
Our 2026 Sea of Cortez Expedition is coming to a close, and it will be difficult to say goodbye to this special place, but we know we will be back soon!
#greenflash #seaofcortez #steinbeck #conservation #scienceandart
I started this jumping manta ray painting on the ship, but never had time to finish it. So today, after our last bit of sampling, we bottled some sea water from our last site and I sat on the roof of our hotel to finish the water color painting.
Have you ever tried to use seawater for a watercolor painting? 😂
I also had to rush and finish the painting before it got completely dark outside and the mosquitoes ate me alive.
The jumping rays against the dramatic volcanic mountains of Baja really stole my heart, and I thought it might be cool to paint it using water from the Sea of Cortez itself. It definitely handles differently than regular water and watercolor paint.
Steinbeck and Ricketts wrote about the manta rays they encountered in 1940 in their Sea of Cortez book. While we did see many of them jumping and swimming and flapping through the surface of the water, the current population is likely smaller than what Steinbeck and Ricketts encountered 86 years ago. The manta rays have fortunately been making a great comeback in recent years as more conservation and protection efforts are put into place in the Gulf of California. They are a great example of the hope and recovery that can take place when people work together.
There are several theories as to why the manta rays jump out of the water and do summersaults through the air before bellyflopping back into the sea with a loud smack. Some theories include removing parasites from their bodies or using the splashing sound as a way of communication and signalling to potential mates or as a warning to potential enemies. But I'd like to also think it's simply because it is fun to try and flap your wings and see how far you can make it before gravity wins, and maybe because they are also in awe of the dramatic mountain landscape of Baja and just want to take a quick peak.
#greenflash #seaofcortez #steinbeck #conservation #scienceandart
We managed to squeeze in one last day of sampling before leaving the magical place that is Baja and the Gulf of California.
We checked out a really cool and unique ecosystem - a hypersaline mangrove lagoon that was created by a sandbar that changes size and shape with strong winds and rains from hurricanes.
In the dry months without rain, the lagoon water begins to evaporate, leaving salt ponds and thick layers of salt on the rocks and mudflat. Certain types of bacteria 🦠 are adapted to live in these extreme environments and it was really cool to find bacterial mats with different layers of bacterial life living on top of each other. You can see the layers of pink, green, and orange bacteria stacked on top of each other like a cake!
Other animals such as snails, crabs, and fish are able to survive in these pools, as well as certain seagrass and algae!
Biology is so amazing and strange!
Steinbeck and Ricketts visited sandbars and mangrove lagoons, but they didn't mention any salt flats in their Sea of Cortez book. If they had come across this site and understood the role bacterial mats play in the evolution of life, I'm sure they would have loved it here!
#greenflash #steinbeck #seaofcortez #conservation #science
Can you guess the animals that made these footprints?
We found them today while we squeezed in one last sampling trip into our 2026 Sea of Cortez Expedition.
#greenflash #seaofcortez #steinbeck #conservation #science
Wrapped up a great week at the GSA @geosociety meeting! We saw some old friends and made some new ones and learned a lot more about the geology and biodiversity of Mexico!
It was the perfect way to end our 2026 Sea of Cortez Expedition retracing John Steinbeck and Ed Ricketts' 1940 voyage to understand how the marine ecosystem is changing.
#greenflash #seaofcortez #steinbeck #conservation #science
Who said science can't be fun?
John Steinbeck and Ed Ricketts mission in life was to live deeply and work hard to understand how life of all shapes and sizes fit together - while enjoying a good beer with even better company.
I think we're in good company here at the Geological Society of America (GSA) @geosociety meeting in Loreto!
There is something magical about Baja, especially when brilliant and passionate minds come together!
We couldn't ask for a better way to wrap up our 2026 Sea of Cortez Expedition, retracing Steinbeck and Ricketts footsteps 86 years ago. A lot has changed since they visited the region in 1940, but hopefully they'd be proud that so many people from all walks of life are so passionate about understanding the beautiful world we live in.
#greenflash #seaofcortez #steinbeck #conservation #science
The geology of the Baja Peninsula region and Sea of Cortez is so complicated and fascinating, and plays a big role in both terrestrial and marine biodiversity, so we are really excited to be attending the Geological Society of America (GSA) @geosociety !
It is rare that the geology conference is held outside of the US, so we knew we couldn't pass up the opportunity to attend the meeting while we are here in Baja.
Max, our team geologist is in his happy place.
And Adrian, one of our team members will be presenting on how the unique geology of the region impacts biodiversity.
The Gulf of California is an active rift zone where a new ocean is opening up. The Baja Peninsula was once attached to mainland Mexico.
The geology contains the remnants of ancient volcanoes, which are preserved as lava flows, ash layers, pyroclastic flows, and lahars. These monuments to cataclysmic eruptions are interwined with outcroppings of granite-- magma bodies that cooled tens of millions of years earlier. And to complicate matters further, the opening of the Sea of Cortez has resulted in more recent volcanic eruptions.
The menagerie of rock types creates lots of different environments for the intertidal animals we saw on our expedition, as well as important nesting sites for sea birds, sea lion rookeries, and nursing grounds for many different whales. It is another beautiful dimension of the Baja Peninsula, where ancient volcanoes created habitats for animals that love today.
We can't wait to learn even more about the geology and biodiversity of the Gulf of California and Baja during this science meeting!
#greenflash #seaofcortez #steinbeck #geology #science
Yesterday, Ivone and I shipped the last of our Sea of Cortez eDNA samples back to her university in Ensenada and then Max and I took a road trip back north to Loreto!
While on our expedition we learned that the Geological Society of America (GSA) meeting was going to be here in Baja Sur, and that Adrian, one of our team members was leading a session on biodiversity and geology! So Max, Ivone, and I extended our stay in Baja a little bit longer to attend the conference!
The 4 and a half hour drive was beautiful through the cordon cactus forests and up the mountains that really captivated Max's heart. He really nerded out when we crossed the drainage divide in the mountains - before the divide, all the rain and water in the region flows west to the Pacific Ocean, after the divide, all of the rain and water in the region flows to the Gulf of California, where we spent the last month sailing and sampling marine intertidal biodiversity.
We also saw our lives flash before our eyes as a huge truck rounded a corner on the curvy mountain road!
#greenflash #seaofcortez #steinbeck #gsa #science
Packing day! The car was so full and such a tight squeeze with the 4 of us and all our science gear and bags.
We shipped off a big chunk of our equipment back north today and got all of our eDNA samples packed up. It's crazy to believe that a month of sailing and visiting 12 of Steinbeck and Ricketts' sites are contained within just 2 ziplock bags.
Steinbeck and Ricketts traveled north back to California on the Western Flyer with the ship stocked full of their glass jars of animal specimens. Our team chose to not take any animal specimens or tissue samples during our expedition because we had hypothesized that the intertidal biodiversity would be much lower than what Steinbeck and Ricketts encountered in 1940, and we didn't want to stress the animals anymore than we had to. Additionally, now, the permit process to take animal specimens is much more difficult and complicated than back in 1940.
#greenflash #seaofcortez #steinbeck #conservation #science
