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Research & Economic Development
 

Contact Research

Office of Research

Office of Research & Economic Development
vpresearch@uidaho.edu
phone: 208-885-4989

Physical Location
Morrill Hall 105

Mailing Address
875 Perimeter Drive MS 3010
University of Idaho
Moscow, ID 83844-3010
Andres “Gorki” Ruiz standing on cooling lava

Gorki in the Galapagos

Grad Student “Gorki” Ruiz Gets Gritty in the Galapagos

It was supposed to be just another trip to the Galapagos Islands for Andres “Gorki” Ruiz, a graduate student at the University of Idaho, but the volcano had other plans.

Late last spring, Ruiz set off on what has become a routine trip for him to the famous nature reserve. His task was to take measurements and perform routine maintenance on Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) receivers mounted on Sierra Negra, a volcano he frequents on the island of Isabela. However, the trip became anything but routine, and tested his willpower to the extremes.

“The journey to the eruption site was so hard,” remembers Ruiz of his most recent trip. “But I feel very fortunate anyways. I love to work in the field.”

Only hours after arriving at the Charles Darwin Research Station, the main facility in the Galapagos for research expeditions, Ruiz found an urgent message waiting for him from Dennis Geist, his mentor and a professor of geology at the University of Idaho. Mere hours before his arrival, a different mountain—Cerro Azul—began erupting, presenting a unique opportunity for Ruiz and his colleague from British Columbia's Simon Fraser University, Nathalie Vigouroux.

The opportunity was unique because only three volcanoes have erupted in the Galapagos in the past 10 years, averaging just one eruption every four years. So when Ruiz arrived less than 24 hours after an eruption began, the team wasted no time getting to the action.

Geist asked for and received emergency permission to send the team to Cerro Azul, and at 4 a.m. the next day, Ruiz was on a speedboat traversing the 150 miles to the landing point nearest to the volcano. Four and a half hours later, the boat landed, and Ruiz and his partner began a two-day hike from hell.

“It was raining and we were completely drenched,” recalls Ruiz. “We had to hike through bushes, thorns, poisonous plants, small valleys, streams and even cooling lava flows. They weren’t molten anymore, but they were hot. If you fell, you would really hurt yourself. And then there were the cows.”

Ruiz and Vigouroux came across several herds of wild cattle that were none-too-pleased about the volcano erupting nearby. One particularly riled bull gave chase to Ruiz, who tripped and sprained an ankle, making his voyage even more arduous.

“They toughed it out and managed to collect a number of great samples,” says Geist, who was excited that his research students were able to study the volcano so shortly after the eruption. “We’re presenting our results beginning August 18 in Iceland at the annual conference of the International Association of Volcanology.”

According to Ruiz, each volcano is like a person—they’re completely different. But each volcano is also a laboratory revealing not only its own secrets, but providing insight into similar geological structures and processes. Studying each is like piecing together a puzzle from field observations, chemical analyses and remote sensing.

“It’s important to understand each of them,” says Ruiz of all the volcanoes in the Galapagos Islands. “There are many different animal species at risk nearby. Plus, it is a world landmark with many visitors whose safety must be looked after. I will continue to go back and study there because I love the Galapagos. I love the activities, the natural animals, the food, the friendly people, the safe and quiet towns, and of course the volcanoes.”

Learn more about Dennis Geist's laboratory.