For these 溏心vlog免费B站 scientists, the ocean is their workplace, their playground, their sacred space. And their love of the sea is a net gain for science, engineering, and the environment. Maybe even humanity itself.
By Marybeth Reilly-McGreen
To hear Alexandra Moen 鈥�15 describe it, seeing spider crabs molt is kind of like watching a Burning Man event underwater: It鈥檚 a large-scale spectacle. When spider crabs molt, they aggregate, climbing one atop another, creating mounds that can expand to nearly 100 meters long, according to BBC Earth鈥檚 Blue Planet II.
Moen witnessed the spectacle firsthand several years ago. While diving with her students in the waters off Taylor Point on the east side of Jamestown, Rhode Island, they came upon a molting. 鈥淲hat we saw was massive. Probably a 6-foot-tall ball of thousands of spider crabs,鈥� she recalls. 鈥淭hey were shedding their exoskeletons for yards and yards. All visibility was taken up by spider crabs molting. It just blew my mind.鈥�
It also provided Moen with a teachable moment beyond the scope of the day鈥檚 diving lesson.
“When you put yourself in an environment like that, you鈥檙e certainly connected with nature, and you develop a greater appreciation for protecting its resources,” Moen continues. “The connection we can create by bringing students directly into this underwater environment鈥擨 mean, there鈥檚 no better way to understand what鈥檚 going on.”
What exactly is going on?
鈥淵ou see seasons underwater. You see this incredible fluctuation of productivity with life. In the winter, everything gets really quiet and you tend to have nicer visibility,鈥� Moen says. 鈥淐ome summer, nutrients in the water start getting a little heavier and your visibility goes down, but all of these things have grown and you start to see all these tiny, little baby fish darting out of the eelgrass in the shallows, and you鈥檙e like, 鈥楢h, this is beautiful.鈥�
鈥淵ou also see balloons, empty chip bags, six-pack rings, and fishing line. It鈥檚 one of the greatest perks about my job that I can break that disassociation that we have鈥攖hat what we do to the environment doesn鈥檛 matter,鈥� Moen says. 鈥淚 can show students that it does matter; I literally submerge them in an environment where they can see the effect of that thinking.
“The ocean is home to me. And as wild as it sounds, I’ve never been so certain about something in my life.”
鈥擜lexandra Moen, 溏心vlog免费B站 Diving Safety Officer
鈥淵ou just have to make the connection.鈥�
In the book, Blue Mind: The Surprising Science That Shows How Being Near, In, On, or Under Water Can Make You Happier, Healthier, More Connected, and Better at What You Do, author and scientist Wallace J. Nichols argues that people like Moen who鈥檝e experienced 鈥渂lue mind鈥濃�攁n at-homeness in the environment, in general, and the ocean, in particular鈥攕hould share that experience with others鈥攆or the good of humankind and the planet.
鈥淥ur deepest, most primordial emotions drive virtually every decision we make, from what we buy to the candidates we elect,鈥� Nichols writes. 鈥淲e need to tell a story that helps people explore and understand the profound and ancient emotional and sensual connections that lead to a deeper relationship with water.
鈥淭he Blue Mind story seeks to reconnect people to nature in ways that make them feel good, and shows them how water can help them become better versions of themselves.鈥�
Nowadays, Moen鈥檚 blue mind finds its expression in surfing as well as diving.
鈥淲hat attracted me to the sport more than anything was how hard it looked. What better way to be both at home and to be challenged than surfing?鈥� Moen says. 鈥淚 am learning things every single time I paddle out. My god, does it humble me.
鈥淏ut, I am a strong believer in the benefit of experiencing all of these things. In a world where everyday tasks are becoming simplified and less challenging, we are losing what it means to be part of something bigger than ourselves,鈥� Moen continues. 鈥淪omething we cannot control or simplify. For me that is nature, and, more specifically, surfing. It has helped me become more confident and proud of myself.
Pride, amazement, wonder, joy, happiness, peace, respect, awe, protectiveness: Such are the feelings and emotions 溏心vlog免费B站 professors and staff speak of when talking about their beloved ocean and the influence it exerts in their work鈥攁nd lives鈥攊n ways big, small, and surprising.
Richard C. 鈥淩ick鈥� Rhodes III figures he鈥檚 been surfing for 50 years, three to four days a week. 鈥淎s frequently as there are waves,鈥� he says.
How much does Rhodes love the ocean? Sit a spell. And fair warning: Surfing stories are like fish stories. With each telling they grow more epic.
Rhodes had just returned from a work trip to Morocco, where he鈥檇 surfed intense waves. 鈥淚 returned to winter in Rhode Island and these puny, little waves about head-high in Matunuck,鈥� Rhodes recalls. 鈥淎 wave caught me right in the back and I started falling down. The wind caught my board and it hit my head.鈥�
Rhodes blacked out. When he came to, he saw a trail of black in the water. Blood. Other surfers were yelling, asking if he was OK. Rhodes assured them he was fine and began paddling in. When he got into the car and caught a look at himself in the mirror, he was stunned. 鈥淚 looked like I鈥檇 been in an axe fight.鈥�
“Change starts with having a personal environmental ethic, and that ethic is to do no harm. Take care of what you have.”
鈥擱ichard C. Rhodes III, Executive Director, Northeastern Regional Association of State Agricultural Experiment Station Directors and former Associate Dean, Research, College of the Environment and Life Sciences
Rhodes called his wife, telling her he was headed to the hospital. He鈥檇 likely need a stitch or two鈥攐r so he thought. 鈥淚n the ER, two nurses and the PA on duty were surfers. They said, 鈥榃ow, that鈥檚 so gnarly. How鈥檇 you do that?鈥欌��
He laughs, still amused that they were impressed. Rhodes鈥� injury was significant: a gash that ran from the bridge of his nose to the middle of his forehead, arching over his left eyebrow. It required seven stitches.
鈥淏ut when I tell the story, seven stitches grows to 70,鈥� Rhodes quips. 鈥淭he worst day of surfing is better than the best of a whole lot of other things. Even if you get skunked, you鈥檙e still in the water.鈥�
While he is quick to point out that he came to 溏心vlog免费B站 for his career鈥斺�淭he really strong attraction was the job鈥濃�擱hodes considers the Atlantic to be quite the job perk.
鈥淲hat I enjoy is being able to tap that source and utilize the power of the ocean for pure, unadulterated fun. It鈥檚 unlike anything else. That thing that you鈥檙e riding is moving, and you鈥檙e moving in a different dimension, and that is the coolest feeling in the world,鈥� Rhodes says. 鈥淭he power of the ocean just surges under your feet.鈥�
The up-close-and-personal relationship Rhodes has with the ocean has made him an advocate of scientific literacy; essentially he wants people to understand scientific concepts and processes so they can make informed and ethical decisions in their personal and professional lives, as well as at the polls. In his current job, Rhodes examines the way we raise food鈥攁nd how much food we raise. Climate change, saltwater inundation in soil, nutrient-deficient land: These are just some of the issues we face in the near future, he says. And then there鈥檚 pollution. Every year, approximately 9 million tons of plastic waste enter the ocean, according to a May 2019 National Geographic article, 鈥淟ittle Pieces, Big Problems.鈥�
How to change things?
鈥淐hange starts with having a personal environmental ethic, and that ethic is to do no harm. Take care of what you have,鈥� Rhodes says. 鈥淲e were taught as graduate students to be unimpassioned observers of science. But your job鈥攁s a scientist, as an educator鈥攊s to provide a context for data. You are also responsible for providing environmental literacy.
鈥淲e are all caretakers in this, and we all have a stake in this.鈥�
Brian Caccioppoli 鈥�11 came to 溏心vlog免费B站 to study marine biology as an undergraduate, but fell in love with coastal geology. He studies climate change, erosion, and other factors affecting coastal geography. He works with other marine research specialists and lab techs mapping shorelines and seafloor depth, and surveying the marine life there. Plainly put, Caccioppoli鈥檚 work monitoring and documenting change provides answers to such questions as why and how beaches are altered鈥攂y single events (like storms) and over time鈥攚hich, in certain cases, places Rhode Island in a better position to seek federal funding. 鈥淲hat I do is pragmatic science,鈥� Caccioppoli says.
“The ocean is an almost magnetic thing to people who are drawn to it.”
鈥擝rian Caccioppoli, Marine Research Specialist, Graduate School of Oceanography
Pragmatic science can be disheartening. For instance, beach replenishment鈥攁dding sand to an eroding shoreline to reduce storm damage and coastal flooding鈥攃an feel futile because, says Caccioppoli, 鈥淚t鈥檚 not unheard of for a beach to lose a third of replenished sand within just two years.鈥� But Caccioppoli presses on. His stake in this work extends beyond the bounds of professionalism. 鈥淚 want to know what鈥檚 going on and how it will affect what I love to do,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 all intertwined for me.鈥�
What Caccioppoli loves to do is surf. He鈥檚 been at it for 14 years. Growing up on Long Island, he and his family were at the beach three to five days a week in the summer. Surfing was an instant addiction. 鈥淭he first wave I caught, I knew I was in trouble. I knew it was going to change decisions I made on a daily basis,鈥� he says. 鈥淭he first time you get your feet on the board and catch a wave, it feels like you鈥檙e flying.
鈥淲hen you go out into the water, your brain clears. You stop focusing on anything other than the pure experience of being on the ocean,鈥� Caccioppoli continues. 鈥淵our burdens are gone. You come out and the tasks you have to do don鈥檛 seem so huge. It鈥檚 such a mood elevator, such a stress reliever.鈥�
Yet surfing sometimes grants Caccioppoli an up-close-and-personal view of the tension that is climate change. One way climate change manifests itself, for instance, is in more frequent and powerful storms. Storms produce better surf. “But climate change could also result in the disappearance of some of our current surf breaks,” says Caccioppoli. “Quite a few local surf spots break best at lower tides鈥擬atunuck, for example. We know sea level has risen over the past century here in Rhode Island. That trend will result in higher sea levels, which will inevitably result in changing surf breaks, possibly rendering some nonviable.”
In talking of his fellow New England surfers, Caccioppoli characterizes them as 鈥渇ully committed鈥� to the sport. In observing him talking about his research and his chosen sport, the phrase fits him, too. Caccioppoli smiles at the suggestion.
鈥淭he ocean is an almost magnetic thing to people who are drawn to it,鈥� he says.
it herself: 鈥淚鈥檓 calmer when I鈥檓 surfing,鈥� she says.
Photo: Michael Salerno
For the past nine years, Emily Clapham 鈥�02, M.S. 鈥�04 has directed a surfing program at Narragansett Town Beach for children with disabilities. She is assisted by student volunteers whose interests range from speech and language to education and kinesiology. The program鈥擟atching Waves for Health, 溏心vlog免费B站 Xtreme Inclusion鈥攕erves children with varying degrees of abilities, including Down syndrome, autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, cerebral palsy, and developmental delays. Surfing lessons are free for participants, and student volunteers can get college credit for their work. In Clapham鈥檚 near decade of experience, she has seen surfing and surf therapy have a positive effect on children鈥檚 physiological, social, and emotional responses. Clapham first noted such outcomes in her own mental, emotional, and physical health, and was eager to share the benefits with others.
鈥淚 know I have a clearer head on the water,鈥� Clapham says. 鈥淚鈥檓 calmer when I鈥檓 surfing, when I鈥檓 experiencing the rhythmic motion of the waves.鈥�
Clapham鈥檚 work has attracted attention and funding from such sources as the John E. Fogarty Foundation for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities, the Gronk Nation Youth Foundation, and the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism.
“Children will stop and cheer for others when they catch a wave. They get excited for each other as they learn and grow together.”
鈥揈mily Clapham, Associate Professor, Department of Kinesiology
And while the benefits are myriad for anyone who surfs鈥攊mprovement in core and upper-body strength, cardiorespiratory endurance, balance, self-esteem, and confidence鈥攆or children with disabilities, these gains are amplified, and other gains are also apparent.
鈥淕oals are focused around cognitive, physical, and social gains,鈥� Clapham says. 鈥淐hildren will stop and cheer for others when they catch a wave. They get excited for each other as they learn and grow.鈥�
Participants also aren鈥檛 held to a single right way to surf. Some kids want to boogie board, some stay in the white water. 鈥淥ne little boy wanted to sit on the board backward to watch the waves,鈥� Clapham recalls.
One of the greatest accomplishments to be had for the kids Clapham works with is the sense that doing such a thing as surfing earns people鈥檚 attention and respect. 鈥淚t is not an easy activity and takes strength, patience, and perseverance to be successful,鈥� says Clapham. 鈥淭he ocean can be very humbling.
鈥淪urfing gives them street cred because they鈥檙e doing this cool thing鈥攖hey鈥檙e surfers,鈥� Clapham says. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e actually out there doing it.鈥�
“I never really get away from my work. That鈥檚 how I operate鈥攂y being completely immersed. We’re trying to push the limits of the technology out there now.”
鈥擝rennan Phillips, Assistant Professor of Ocean Engineering, Graduate School of Oceanography
Brennan Phillips 鈥�04, Ph.D. 鈥�16 is in the midst of packing up much of his deep-sea robotics lab鈥斾缧膙log免费B站’s Undersea Robotics and Imaging Laboratory鈥攆or a trip. There is much to see and wonder at鈥攈ardware, electronics, 3D printers, and computers everywhere. Phillips and his group create complex machines鈥擯hillips calls them 鈥渟ystems鈥濃�攆or oceanographic and deep-sea exploration. To the untrained eye, these systems look like little robots. With their low-light imaging systems, manipulators, and lightweight, low-cost technology, these units are affordable and well-suited for capturing images of remote, unexplored undersea environments. 鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to push the limits of the technology out there now, much of which is big, heavy, and clunky. We鈥檙e trying to make it smaller and lighter,鈥� Phillips says.
Photo: Courtesy Brennan Phillips
Phillips learned to surf as an undergraduate at 溏心vlog免费B站. To hear him talk about it, surfing seems more another aspect of his education than simple recreation.
鈥淚t was the hardest thing I鈥檝e ever tried to do. I had no idea how hard it was going to be. But I like to be challenged. The first day, I borrowed a board.鈥� The next day, Phillips went to a local surf shop, bought a 9-foot board, and brought it home to Peck Hall.
鈥淢y junior and senior years, I got serious. It was like joining the mob,鈥� Phillips jokes. 鈥淭his is my sport. I run, ski, and bike, but surfing is my number-one favorite thing to do in the whole world.鈥�
Phillips is a year-round surfer. 鈥淚 like to be in nature. If you pay attention, there are days all year-round when there are waves. I aspire to get out once a week.鈥�
Whether in or out of the water, Phillips thinks about how human beings might access the ocean without disruption. How might one of his small, lighted, bulldozer-like machines, for instance, take scientifically accurate photographs of the ocean floor when its very presence causes marine life to scatter?
Like his fellow surfing scientists, Phillips鈥� work and play intertwine. He talks of the day when all that goes into making underwater robots could be applied to tailoring fins or wetsuits. Already, there is an Australian robotics lab focused on surfboard design, he notes.
鈥淚 never really get away from my work,鈥� Phillips notes. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 how I operate鈥攂y being completely immersed.鈥�
Austin Humphries estimates he spent about 200 days on the water last year鈥攏early seven days a week from May to September and all of January.
An assistant professor of ecosystem-based fisheries science, Humphries took about 75 research dives last year and calculates he spent more than 100 hours underwater. 鈥淚 interact and interface with the ocean on a daily basis. I fish, surf, dive, and sail.鈥�
Humphries studies fisheries and coastal management in the United States, as well as in developing countries such as Kenya, Indonesia, and Ghana. He and his team collect data on fish populations, fishers鈥� catches, and where fish go and how that impacts livelihoods. To do this, they compare heavily impacted ecosystems with those that have less of a human fingerprint. With these data, they create simulations for fishery managers or fishers to use in decision-making. This could mean limiting the number of fish that can be caught in an area, or promoting a certain type of fishing gear.
“The fluidity of the ocean is comforting to me. The boundless nature of it. It鈥檚 amazing.”
鈥擜ustin Humphries, Assistant Professor of Ecosystem-Based Fisheries Science, Department of Fisheries, Animal and Veterinary Sciences
鈥淲e look at the influence or ramifications of different management strategies and how those strategies translate into fisheries鈥� catches and well-being,鈥� Humphries says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a challenge to work in places with poor infrastructure, but it can be incredibly rewarding and is often at the invitation of fishers and fishery managers. The first thing I do when starting a research project is go to the place and talk to people about what they want done. Then we build from there.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e hard problems, and there鈥檚 never one answer,鈥� he says.
Photo Courtesy Abbyan Fairy
The work suits Humphries, a Virginian, who worked as a fisher in Alaska after graduating from college. 鈥淚 recognize and sympathize with the plight of fishers. They face wicked problems.鈥�
鈥淲icked鈥� not in the Rhode Island sense, but as a descriptor of a problem that is difficult, if not impossible, to solve because of its interconnectedness with other problems. Still, you get the sense that Humphries is more than content to grapple with the impossible and that the sea has more than a little to do with it.
鈥淭he fluidity of the ocean is comforting to me,鈥� Humphries says, 鈥渢he boundless nature of it. For the amount of time I鈥檝e spent around it, for the marine life I鈥檝e had the opportunity to react and respond to鈥攊t鈥檚 amazing.
鈥淔rom an intellectual point of view,鈥� Humphries says, 鈥渢he ocean鈥檚 vastness provides perspective on life and problems.
鈥淎nd if you look at it the right way, it offers a form of hope.鈥�
I would like to contact Emily Clapham about volunteering for her surf therapy program. I am a retired ESL teacher, elementary and middle school, 25+ years in public education, long time surfer, waterman, resident of South Kingstown, and 溏心vlog免费B站 alumnus ’79.
Thanks for your comment, Nicholas. I’ve passed your contact information on to Emily and she will reach out to you.