Sylvia Earle

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Sylvia Earle
Sylvia Earle
Sylvia Earle
Born August 30, 1935
Gibbstown, New Jersey
Nationality American
Fields oceanography
Alma mater Duke University

Sylvia Alice Earle (born August 30, 1935 in Gibbstown, New Jersey) is an American oceanographer. She was chief scientist for the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration from 1990-1992. She is a National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence, sometimes called "Her Deepness" or "The Sturgeon General".[1]

Earle received a B.S. degree from Florida State University (1955), M.S. (1956) and PhD. from Duke University (1966). She was Curator of Phycology at the California Academy of Sciences (1979-1986) and a Research Associate at the University of California, Berkeley (1969-1981), Radcliff Institute Scholar (1967-1969) and Research Fellow or Associate at Harvard University (1967-1981). She led the first team of women aquanauts during the Tektite Project in 1970. In 1979, she made an open-ocean JIM suit dive, setting a women's depth record of 1250 feet (381m); she also holds the women's record for a solo dive in a deep submersible(3280 feet, 1000m). From 1980 to 1984 she served on NACOA (the National Advisory Committee on Oceans and Atmosphere) from 1980-1984. In 1992 she founded Deep Ocean Engineeering along with her husband, engineer and submersible designer Graham Hawkes, to design, operate, support, and consult on piloted and robotic sub sea systems. The Deep Ocean Engineeering team designed and built the Deep Rover research submarine, which operates down to 1000 meters.

Earle has led more than 400 expeditions worldwide involving in excess of 7000 hours underwater in connection with her research.[2] From 1998 to 2002 she led the Sustainable Seas Expeditions, a five year program to study the United States National Marine Sanctuary sponsored by the National Geographic Society and funded by the Goldman Foundation. An expert on the impact of oil spills, she was called upon to lead several research trips during the Gulf War and following the spills of the ships, Exxon Valdez and Mega Borg.

She is the author of more than 125 publications concerning marine science and technology including the books Exploring the Deep Frontier, Sea Change (1995), Wild Ocean: America's Parks Under the Sea (1999) and The Atlas of the Ocean (2001), she has participated in numerous television productions and given scientific, technical, and general interest lectures in more than 60 countries. Children's books that she has written include Coral Reefs, Hello Fish, Sea Critters, and Dive!

Earle was named Time magazine's first "hero for the planet" in 1998. She is a Knight in the Netherlands Order of the Golden Ark.

Sylvia Earle displays samples to aquanaut inside TEKTITE
Sylvia Earle displays samples to aquanaut inside TEKTITE

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ http://www.nationalgeographic.com.au/front/adventurers/Sylvia.asp
  2. ^ Home Page for Sylvia Earle

[edit] Quotes

I want to get out in the water. I want to see fish, real fish, not fish in a laboratory

Sylvia Earle

I can still feel that leap of enthusiasm, and real joy, at the prospect of finally getting out to the beach, and running around. But probably the most important thing, to me, aside from just the freedom of it and the power of it, was the kind of creatures that you could see along the beach, that you can't find anywhere else

Sylvia Earle

[edit] External links