Oana and Roger make their way down the rocky coastline

The sea erodes fossil dunes from the last interglacial making spectacular cliffs

The sea erodes fossil dunes from the last interglacial making spectacular cliffs

Roger takes in the view

A lovely beach waits beyond the dune

Roger takes in the view

Fossilized dunes break up the modern beach on Middle Caicos

An old house in the hills of Middle Caicos

The team heads inland after a hot walk

Over the dunes is considerably easier than through the forest

Coastal caves and speleothems are suggestive of a higher sea level

The team ascends a fossil dune to start the long hike back to the car

Platico Point

A holocene coral (orbicella anularis?) clast sitting in lithified holocene beach

Lithified holocene beach and dune sediments

Rounded and abraded beach rock clasts encased in lithified holocene beach

Last interglacial aeolianite at Gamble Point

Last interglacial aeolianite

A 7 meter diameter orbicella annularis (organ pipe morph) from the last interglacial

A 7 meter diameter orbicella annularis (organ pipe morph) from the last interglacial

The team sets out on our morning traverse to Juniper Hole and Highas Cay

Close up of last interglacial fossil corals

The team surveying a fossil coral reef from the last interglacial

A rock boring urchin hanging out on a hardground just below low tide

The team discusses the history of the fossil reef beneath their feet

Oana samples a large Orbicella Annularis (Organ Pipe Morph)

Billy and Oana carry their kayak across a carbonate hardground

Billy and Oana bring their kayak in to harbor

A nice landing spot when you are looking for fossil reefs

The team lands on Highas Cay and finds treasure

Tidal notches in last interglacial aeolinite from Highas Cay

The modern reef front seaward of Highas Cay

The team sets off for Highas Cay

Tidal notches in last interglacial aeolianite from Highas Cay

Roger and Billy get to work

Billy takes some notes while Oana learns that the drone controller is out of battery

Sand grains marching along

Roger uses the packraft to ferry our gear across the tidal creeks

Sandy tidal creeks between Middle Caicos and East Caicos

Roger and Oana crossing over to Dickish Cay

Dickish Cay is loaded with the endemic Iguana to the Turks and Caicos islands

Billy and Oana crossing Dickish Cay

Roger bringing the packraft in to the beach on Joe Grant Cay

The team heads to a soft spot for lunch

The team enjoying some food and the view

Oana is happy to find a nice fossil coral after the long and hot trek

Billy disappears into the landscape of Joe Grant Cay

The drone checks in to see if Billy is working

Good spirits all around, in spite of the extreme heat back in the bush

Oana and Billy discussing sediment transport while the GPS samples

Thick calcite cements hide these beautiful carbonate sands from the world

Roger finishing up a survey of a fossilized last interglacial reef

Oana is impressed with the quality of this Psuedodiploria sample

A fossil reef hugs the landward flank of last interglacial aeolinites

You can't tell, but Roger's face is expressing joy at another successful day

A fossilized red coralline algae sits atop fossil coral reef

Preparing the packraft to transport gear to the distant cay

Small stony brain corals are common in the upper layer of this fossil reef

Roger hands a sample of the lithified reef sand to Oana and Steve

Cerion snails weathering out of a fossilized terrestrial dune

The team enjoys the view during lunch from Three Mary Cays

Differential erosion causes these elkhorn corals to stand out from this fossil reef outcrop

Billy manages the GPS while the drone looks on

Marine sands entomb this fossil reef

This gap in the fossil coral reef collects sand today, resulting in a nice pocket beach

Billy balances the GPS on an Orbicella Annularis while Steve and Oana discuss a coral sample

Alternating bands on coarse and fine sand provide clues to the environment these sands were deposited in

The team finishes the final steps of another survey site

The sun and heat is brutal in the late afternoon, but the team pushes on

Billy collects a GPS point during the heat of the late afternoon

These fossilized air bubbles formed as waves pushed air into the sand of this ancient beach

A lively discussion of the last interglacial on West Caicos

These fossilized air bubbles formed as waves pushed air into the sand of this ancient beach

Oana and Steve exploring a fossilized last interglacial reef

Sand and coral rubble cover this ancient reef

A close up view of a Knobby Brain Coral

A close up view of a Knobby Brain Coral and a resident Christmas Tree Worm

Differential weathering etches the limestone surrounding this fossilized Finger Coral colony

Some Fire Corals and Elkhorn Corals just getting started

Roger gets close for a better look at the Elkhorn Coral and Banded Butterflyfish

Algae colonize most rocky surfaces underwater in the tropics

Roger exploring the deep

A few small Elkhorn Coral colonies

A sand filled groove in the reef surface