Floriana restoration in the Galapagos and Antarctica subglacial topography mapping

This episode highlights two major conservation and earth-system topics. First, Sophia Qalala reports from Floriana Island in the Galapagos, detailing an ambitious restoration program to remove invasive species, control feral animals, and protect native wildlife, including a novel nest-based pesticide approach to combat avian vampire flies, with strong community involvement and a target to restore multiple locally extinct species by the mid-2030s. Second, glaciologist Helen Ockenden discusses mapping Antarctica’s subglacial topography by integrating radar ice thickness data with high-resolution satellite ice surface maps and physical ice-flow models to reveal hidden hills and valleys beneath the ice. The work informs sea level projections and highlights future radar advancements. Funding is a collaborative effort across government and NGOs.

Galapagos restoration on Floriana

Sophia Qalala follows a long-running restoration program on Floriana Island in the Galapagos, focusing on invasive species such as rats, goats, and feral pigs, along with Himalayan blackberry. The effort began with removing larger herbivores in the late 1990s and moved toward tackling the harder problems of rats and cats in the 2010s. Manual removal has proven effective in pilot phases but is not scalable, so researchers are evaluating biocontrol options, including rust fungi, to curb blackberry spread while carefully assessing ecological side effects. A notable strategy targets the avian vampire fly in a hands-off approach by deploying nest boxes treated with pesticides so birds inadvertently carry the compounds back to their nests. The project aims to restore Floriana to a balanced ecosystem by the mid-2030s, with 12 locally extinct species being reestablished. Local communities and farmers are deeply involved, ensuring livelihoods such as cattle farming and tourism can coexist with rewilding.

"we're creating a formula here, and then we can tweak the formula, improve the formula, and use this to continue making sure that we course correct" - Sophia Qalala

Antarctica subglacial topography mapping

In the Antarctica segment, glaciologist Helen Ockenden explains how researchers map the landscape beneath the thick ice sheet. Traditional methods relied on airborne radar along linear flight lines, leaving large gaps between observations. The team combines comprehensive satellite maps of the ice surface with physics-based ice-flow models to infer the subglacial topography, revealing hills, valleys, and channelized features that influence how ice moves toward the coast. The thickness data from radar observations provides the absolute elevation when integrated with surface maps and flow equations, enabling high-resolution reconstructions of the underlying rock. This refined topography is crucial for ice-sheet models predicting future sea-level rise, because small-scale roughness can slow or accelerate ice flow, affecting uncertainty in projections used by policymakers. A broader goal is to extend radar swaths so future mappings can cover larger swaths of the continent in three dimensions.

"We know more about the surface of the planet Mercury than we do about Antarctica's surface" - Helen Ockenden

The work also has geological implications, allowing researchers to better trace tectonic boundaries and basin outlines beneath the ice. The team notes that features smaller than the ice thickness remain invisible with current methods, but advances in radar technology may enable swaths that map the three-dimensional subglacial landscape. The scale of Antarctica means field campaigns are lengthy and resource-intensive, but the payoff is a more reliable framework for predicting ice-sheet response to warming and informing climate policy.

Cross-cutting themes and collaboration

Both segments underscore collaboration among governments, NGOs, and local communities, illustrating how conservation and climate research can align with livelihoods and sustainable development. The Floriana project ties ecological restoration to local farming, tourism, and governance, while the Antarctica effort links data-rich satellite science with physical modeling to better understand future sea-level scenarios. Taken together, the episode showcases practical strategies for ecosystem restoration and advances in cryospheric science that support robust decision-making in a changing world.

"This framework can be replicated and adapted elsewhere, building a scalable approach to island restoration and a more accurate, uncertainty-aware view of sea-level rise" - Sophia Qalala