The Galapagos Islands; an archipelago (chain of islands) of wonder. This four million year-old chain of islands is very unique in it's origin, and physical make-up. They're formed by what we call 'hot spots', or volcanic regions that lie on, or near tectonic plate boundaries. As the tectonic plates move along the hotspot, magma burns through the earth's mantle to reach the surface. Since the magma comes up from the sea-floor, the water cools it, and turns it into land mass. Though the Galapagos are pretty much smack dab on the equator, their climate differs, mostly due to the number of different currents that meet in such a small (comparatively speaking) area. Technically speaking, the archipelago is that of a Tropical Savanna (Aw) climate, but many consider it to be an Equatorial climate, due to the number of currents, weather patterns, etc, that can influence it's atmospheric conditions.

Galapagos of the Future

1,000 years:

For the most part, despite the rapid evolution of the islands, the Galapagos will look much the same in one thousand years as it does now. There will be a couple changes to the landscape, though minor in the grand scheme of things. The floors of valleys (like ones on Isabela Island) will deepen, due mostly to the downcutting of the V-shaped valleys by streams. Also, weathering (and some erosion) will have its place in the shaping of the islands. Tuff cones, like the one seen above, will be weathered over time, mostly by seawater.

10,000 Years:

In ten thousand years, the overall physical evolution of the Galapagos will be much more prominent. Weathering and erosion will continue, though mostly by the sea (weathering). The wind alone won't do much to change the physical appearance (as it's too weak), and the islands are rarely hit with intense storms. Atolls (above) are basically coral reefs surrounding lagoons. They will 'begin' their process in the Southeastern most islands, due to the collapse of the land mass itself. The process by which islands turn into atolls was first theorized by Darwin himself, who, ironically enough, spent a great deal of time studying the Galapagos and it's wildlife. The process by which this happens can be seen in the diagram below.

1,000,000 Years:

Islands (such as Espanola) will, by this time, either become completely extinct, or will have completed the process by which an island becomes an Atoll. Since many of the Galapagos reef systems have been severely damaged by El Nino, it's unclear how prominent these reefs will be this far down the road (chain). By this time, the actual location of the islands will have moved about 30 miles E-SE, along with the movement of the Nazca tectonic plate. As time goes on, the older islands will (SE) continue to decrease in incline, due to weathering and erosion, while the younger ones start out steeper.

In conclusion, due to the nature of the islands birth, they are more susceptible to change. Charles Darwin came to these islands seeking knowledge on his idea of biological evolution, and found it. Now, using the past, and present, hopefully we can come to a better idea of what this beautiful archipelago might look like in the future, near and far.

The polar current that Charles Darwin speaks about in this quote from his journey on the hms Beagle would later become known as the Humboldt, or Peru, current. In specific, the Humboldt current is an ocean current, which is a flow of continuous water produced by anything from breaking waves and wind, to salinity and the Coriolis effect (the result from earth's rotation causing freely moving objects to veer toward the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere). This cool current drifts north along the coast of Chile and Peru, and turns west to the Galapagos. Along with the Cromwell undercurrent, these cool flows of water are most prominent during the Garua (dry) season, which lasts from June to November. These currents bring with them cooler air, creating an inversion layer (areas where the normal decrease in air temperature with increasing altitude is reversed and air above the ground is warmer than the air below it). This can disturb the usual weather pattern linked to the tropics, due to the fact that the moisture that evaporates from the ocean is clustered in this layer. This means that only the higher elevations (such as Voclan Wolf on Isabela Island) receive rainfall during this time. Ironically enough, the highlands usually receive more rainfall than they would in the wet season.

The wet season, which lasts from December to May, brings in the Northeast trade winds. This is also when the hot Panama Current flows in, heating the water's surface. When the water's surface meets the cold currents, convection (The transfer of heat or other atmospheric properties by massive motion within the atmosphere, especially by such motion directed upward) occurs, increasing precipitation. Much of this water simply soaks right through the porous volcanic rock that makes up much of the island's surface. Throughout an El Nino (the Nino) event, water temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific are warmer than normal for usually at least 3-5 months. In basic, the entire equatorial and atmospheric circulation pattern reverses (as seen in the above diagram). While the increase in precipitation can sometimes do wonders for the vegetation, and therefore wildlife, it can have the opposite effect on sea life. These events not only result in a severe change of weather for the Galapagos and Ecuador, but can also effect the likelihood of storms (or lack thereof) worldwide. In relevance to the US, they can cause stormy winters on the west coast,  wet winters in the south, and warmer than normal winters in the north. La Nina is the opposite of El Nino, and can result in fewer Eastern-Pacific hurricanes, and more Atlantic hurricanes. It's also relevant to note that during an El Nino event, more male Galapagos tortoises are born than female, and vice-versa for La Nina.

Sources:

• http://www.abercrombiekent.com/travel-destinations/latin-america-luxury-travel/galapagos-ecuador/
• http://www.geo.cornell.edu/geology/GalapagosWWW/GalapagosClimate.html
• http://geography.about.com/od/geographyglossaryc/g/ggcoriolis.htm
• http://octopus.gma.org/surfing/weather/elnino.html
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvmeUStFvz8
• Caruana, Claudia. Galapagos. New York: Gallery, 1991. Print.

             Though Volcanism is the primary source of resurfacing in the Galapagos Islands, erosion also plays a part in the physical shaping of the islands. The main source of erosion in the islands is water, driven mostly by the sea, but also by rainfall. Spheroidal weathering occurs in the islands as well. This type of weathering occurs when rounded shells of decayed rock are consecutively divided from a block of rock. The islands with these components happen to be the oldest in age, with evidence pointing at the lack of volcanic resurfacing. When surveying the Galapagos physical makeup, Darwin noticed that most of the island's volcanic cones were higher in elevation on northeast side. This is due to the wind blowing volcanic ash to the northeast side of the islands.

            Due to the desert-like climate in the majority of the islands, the plants and animals have to conserve as much water as possible. For example, the Gray Matplant (shown to the left) is widely spaced or even missing altogether on the steeper slopes, while appearing more crowded in places that take advantage of water drainage. This spacing is regulated by the root systems of individual plants battling for a few drops of water underneath the surface.

            The soil makeup of the Galapagos isn't very well developed, due to the young age of the volcanic islands. In the older parts of the islands, in the higher elevations, red soil can be found. These red soils usually form from iron-rich sedimentary rock, and are generally poor for growing due to their lack of nutrients and humus. On the more recent land surfaces, black soils, such as Vertisol, can be found. These soils have a high content of expansive clay, known as Montmorillonite, that form deep cracks in dryer seasons. Vertisol is also quite poor for cultivating. The most well known soil (actually a component of soil) of the islands is the green sand (shown above) found on the beaches of Floreana. The green tint is in fact caused by large deposits of Olivine crystals, a magnesium iron silicate, that have been eroded over time from lava rocks.

Sources: http://www.doc.ic.ac.uk/~kpt/terraquest/galapagos/atlas/geology/geology.html
http://www.ehow.com/info_8098663_ocean-beaches-sand-types.html
Hess, John. The Galápagos: Exploring Darwin's Tapestry. Columbia: University of Missouri, 2009. Print.