Sylvia Earle, Aquanaut For Life
All around the world, folks are checking out the Twitter feeds about the Mars Lander. With so much focus on the Mars expedition and the rush to get tourists into space, it’s easy to forget that we still have a lot to learn about Planet Earth.
Enter the rare breed of scientist known as the oceanographer.
Sylvia Earle, Ph.D., is one of the world’s most experienced explorers. For over forty years - Earle will celebrate her 73rd birthday at the end of this month - she has spent record amounts of time diving the world’s oceans, and sharing her findings with the scientific community, as well as the world at large. Her accomplishments are so extensive, they can’t all be listed here, but include the following milestones:
- Led the first all-female aquanaut team to the Tektite II Underwater Habitat.
- Written or co-written not several, but many books on her chosen subject.
- According to the Academy of Achievement, Earle “walked untethered on the sea floor at a lower depth than any living human being before or since” in 1979.
- Served as Chief Scientist of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
- Currently an explorer-in-residence at the National Geographic Society.
According to National Geographic, “Earle has led more than 60 expeditions and logged more than 6,000 hours underwater” in connection with her research. She was also recently featured on NPR’s “Talk of the Nation” in this broadcast.
Take a look at the National Geographic podcast titled “Aquarius”, which features a brief look at Aquarius, an undersea laboratory, and includes a few comments from Dr. Earle herself.
For more information about Dr. Sylvia Earle, be sure to visit her home page.
Related posts:
- WomenInScience: Review of Earle & Glover’s “Ocean”
- WomenInScience: Jill Tarter and SETI
- WomenInPhysics: Mars Lander And More
- Women (Sort of) On Mars!
- Stargate Worlds: Beggin’ for beta access
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