Water is Life: SOEST student studies groundwater in Hawai‘i, Galapagos
Aaliyah Thomas at the Charles Darwin Research Station, Galapagos
“In hindsight, my upbringing was full of environmental science: moon phases and tides, geologic processes, ecosystem structure,” said Aaliyah Thomas, who is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in environmental earth science in the University of Hawai‘i (UH) at Mānoa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST). “I was lucky to have been surrounded by people who made it fun and the classes I took in my secondary and post-secondary education helped me realize I had long been learning about environmental earth science.”
Born and raised in Waimānalo on the east side of Oʻahu, Thomas graduated from Kamehameha High School and, after the COVID pandemic settled down, attended Windward Community College (CC). Though she loves musical theater and earned an associate’s degree in Liberal Arts at Windward CC, Thomas really enjoyed her STEM-oriented classes most.
During her transition from Windward CC to UH Mānoa, Thomas enrolled in the Mauka to Makai oceanography course. This six-week summer bridge program proved to be a formative experience.
“This program introduced me to a lot more sophisticated lab work than I had experienced before,” Thomas shared. “This was so much fun because my research to assess the impact of mangrove removal (such as sedimentation and changes in microbial activity) on water quality at Heʻeia allowed me to get to know the ahupua’a of He’eia, both scientifically and historically. I also met mentors, including Rosie Alegado, Kuʻi Keliʻipuleole, and Diamond Tachera, who have become examples of how I hope to do science.”
Galapagos summer internship
While on the UH Mānoa campus, Thomas saw posters advertising an immersive research internship experience in the Galapagos Islands and was thrilled by the opportunity to visit the place that inspired Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection. Additionally, the program emphasized place-based connections and indigenous resource management. Once she was selected for the program, she spent the spring semester preparing a project to analyze the water quality surrounding areas with a high abundance of an invasive algae.
“When I arrived I was told that they had run out of lab equipment crucial for my study, and that if we were to purchase more it would take too long to arrive; thus I was unable to do the water quality analysis.” Thomas explained. “It seemed like the whole research proposal, lugging around my field equipment from Hawai‘i to Galapagos, the hours put into preparation, was all for nothing.”
Turning challenge into opportunity
Living on the research station, Thomas visited the beach frequently and noticed there was always a sheen on the top of the water and that it was more obvious during low tide.
“The ocean water seemed less buoyant than what I was used to in Hawai‘i, and my teaching assistant, James Fumo, noticed little rivulets of water flowing from the rocks at the shore during low tide,” Thomas shared. “Sure enough when we tasted it, it tasted notably fresher than ocean water. Quickly my biggest challenge became the beginning of one of my most enjoyable experiences.”
Thomas suspected that this may be submarine groundwater discharge, a process that brings freshwater into the coastal zone from below ground, rather than over land such as through streams and runoff. Day after day, she tested the salinity across the shoreline at the Charles Darwin Research Center at low tide.
“My daily routine was led by the moon phases and tides, my ‘office’ was the beach, and the gym was a five minute bike ride from my sampling station,” said Thomas. “I was in heaven!”
Research in support of sustainability, restoration
The island of Santa Cruz, Galapagos is thought to be waterless and prior to Thomas’s arrival, she was told by members of the research station that submarine groundwater discharge was not a factor on the island in the same way it is in Hawai‘i. However, all of her chemical data, and the lack of streams, runoff, and rain, suggested it is very plausible that what she was measuring was submarine groundwater discharge.
“This was an exciting discovery!” Thomas said. “My biggest hope is that my work in the Galapagos can help decision-makers who are responsible for that land. I hope that showing there’s SGD going into the Galapagos Marine Reserve will bring awareness to everyone within the watershed that their contaminants or over withdrawal can most definitely impact the coastal ecosystem they are so well known for.”
“I hope that whatever I do with my degree involves me putting my mana back into the land and its rehabilitation,” said Thomas, who anticipates graduating in Fall 2025. “I’m still exploring what that next step will look like.”
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