Posted: January 31st, 2006, 10:03am PST
From early December 2005 to early January 2006, a team of 38 scientists set forth on a voyage of exploration to the Galapagos Spreading Center about 200 miles above the equator, which is part of the global mid-ocean ridge. The ridge is a giant volcanic seam where ocean plates continuously rip apart and erupt lava.