Navassa Island: Scientific Discoveries
The first scientific reports are now becoming available from the summer 1998 scientific expedition and subsequent trips.
Marine Life
Scientist Margaret Miller from the NOAA Southeast Fisheries Science Center accompanied an April 2000 visit to Navassa and found healthy coral colonies and populations of reef fish. For a report online, see here. Dr. Miller warns that the distance of the island makes management of artisanal fishing and more serious pressures on the ecosystem difficult.
Flora
A multi-institution effort is underway to discover and study the many species of plants on Navassa. For an overview, see the New York Botanical Society's Navassa page.
Fauna
A member of the 1998 expedition's land team, Professor Robert Powell of Avila College in Kansas City, Missouri, has uploaded his findings on the animal life (amphibians and reptiles) of Navassa. Professor Powell also provides links to other scientific sources and sites related to the island.
Earth Science
A 1999 mapping mission conducted by NASA's planetary geodynamics research program will help NASA better understand how planets form topography like Navassa's.
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