Over 85 years ago, author John Steinbeck and marine biologist Ed Ricketts set out for the Sea of Cortez as friends chasing curiosity, connection, and adventure. Their book Sea of Cortez became both a landmark biodiversity record and a meditation on humanity’s relationship with nature. Today, as climate change and coastal development reshape the ocean, their tidepool observations offer a rare window into long-term ecological change — and their reflections on the human spirit feel more relevant than ever.
In 2025, the Green Flash Conservation Science team of early-career scientists from the U.S. and Mexico was awarded seed-funding from the nonprofit Sea Education Association to undertake the ambitious plan of retracing Steinbeck and Ricketts’ 1940 intertidal biodiversity expedition to understand how biodiversity has changed since they last set foot on the shores of Baja. Led by Dr. Rebecca Trinh, the Green Flash team began planning for a 2026 Sea of Cortez expedition and worked to establish connections with respected environmental science groups — including partnering with Blue Marble Space Institute of Science as their fiscal sponsor and recently joining the MBON Pole-to-Pole initiative .
Joining the MBON Pole-to-Pole initiative transforms their 2026 Sea of Cortez scientific expedition into something bigger. Dr. Trinh shared that “being part of MBON connects our small, grassroots expedition to a global network of scientists, communities, and observing systems working together to understand biodiversity change across the globe. That affiliation brings credibility and access to shared expertise, standardized methods, and a culture of open, collaborative science.”
Standardized methods, global context
For their 2026 expedition, the Green Flash team will implement MBON Pole-to-Pole’s rocky intertidal photo-quadrat protocol at 12 of Steinbeck and Ricketts’ original intertidal sites, in conjunction with traditional intertidal species surveys. They have been working with MBON Pole-to-Pole collaborators in Argentina to construct their photo-quadrats using MBON’s schematic and protocol, and with collaborators at NOAA AOML Omics to implement environmental DNA (eDNA) sample collection and processing protocols.
This allows the new Sea of Cortez intertidal data to be directly comparable with observations from other regions along the Americas, helping reveal large-scale patterns in coastal biodiversity, climate stress, and ecosystem change.
Figure 1: Green Flash Conservation Science team members Dr. Rebecca Trinh and Dr. Maxwell Cunningham testing the photo-quadrat they built using MBON Pole-to-Pole’s protocol.
Dr. Trinh states that “MBON allows us to bring Steinbeck and Ricketts’ historic survey into the modern era and a new generation, linking their careful natural history with today’s molecular tools and long-term observing frameworks. Our 2026 biodiversity data will be compared directly to the data collected by Steinbeck and Ricketts to understand how the biodiversity of these important intertidal ecosystems has changed since 1940.”
86 years of change at Cabo San Lucas
In 1940, Steinbeck and Ricketts described the Sea of Cortez intertidal ecosystem as “ferocious with life.” Since then, coastal development, pollution, warming waters, and overharvesting have reshaped these ecosystems. Local communities have reported declines in overall biodiversity and a northward shift of warm-water species.
Figure 2: Photographs illustrating how Cabo San Lucas has drastically changed over the years. The top left photo shows Cabo San Lucas in 1966, 26 years after Steinbeck and Ricketts studied intertidal biodiversity at the location marked by the blue arrow. The bottom left photo shows the same location in 1993. The Green Flash team will be revisiting this exact site and 11 others in 2026.
Science, community, and open data
MBON also strengthens the team’s work beyond data collection. The network’s commitment to education, inclusion, and community engagement aligns deeply with the 2026 Sea of Cortez project. The Green Flash team is working with local Baja partners to build long-term monitoring sites, train students and community scientists, and share results through bilingual storytelling. By following open data practices, their observations will move more quickly from field notebooks to shared knowledge that can inform research, management, and conservation.
“Most of all, being part of MBON reminds us that we are not working in isolation. We are one node in a living, global effort to understand life in the ocean — and to make that knowledge useful for people and ecosystems alike.” — Dr. Rebecca Trinh
Rebecca Trinh
Mississippi State University (MSU) · Northern Gulf Institute (NGI)
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) · Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML)
