{"id":1862,"date":"2019-07-11T13:18:56","date_gmt":"2019-07-11T17:18:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/?p=1862"},"modified":"2019-07-23T16:04:24","modified_gmt":"2019-07-23T20:04:24","slug":"blue-minds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/issues\/summer-2019\/blue-minds\/","title":{"rendered":"Blue Minds"},"content":{"rendered":"

Blue Minds<\/h1><\/div><\/div>
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Photo: Ayla Fox<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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.<\/p>\n

By Marybeth Reilly-McGreen<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/div>

Got Blue Mind?<\/h2>

What is blue mind? English and public relations major Lauren Poirier '21 explains.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/a><\/div><\/div>\n

To hear Alexandra Moen \u201915 describe it, seeing spider crabs molt is kind of like watching a Burning Man event underwater: It\u2019s 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\u2019s Blue Planet II<\/em>.<\/p>\n

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. \u201cWhat we saw was massive. Probably a 6-foot-tall ball of thousands of spider crabs,\u201d she recalls. \u201cThey were shedding their exoskeletons for yards and yards. All visibility was taken up by spider crabs molting. It just blew my mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

It also provided Moen with a teachable moment beyond the scope of the day\u2019s diving lesson.<\/p>\n

\"Alex
Alex Moen emerges from a dive while teaching a class at 溏心vlog免费B站’s Narragansett Bay Campus. \u201cYou see seasons underwater,\u201d says Moen. \u201cYou see this incredible fluctuation of productivity with life.\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n

“When you put yourself in an environment like that, you\u2019re 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\u2014I mean, there\u2019s no better way to understand what\u2019s going on.”<\/p>\n

What exactly is going on?<\/p>\n

\u201cYou 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,\u201d Moen says. \u201cCome 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\u2019re like, \u2018Ah, this is beautiful.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cYou also see balloons, empty chip bags, six-pack rings, and fishing line. It\u2019s one of the greatest perks about my job that I can break that disassociation that we have\u2014that what we do to the environment doesn\u2019t matter,\u201d Moen says. \u201cI can show students that it does matter; I literally submerge them in an environment where they can see the effect of that thinking.<\/p>\n

“The ocean is home to me. And as wild as it sounds, I’ve never been so certain about something in my life.”
\n\u2014Alexandra Moen, 溏心vlog免费B站 Diving Safety Officer<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cYou just have to make the connection.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the book, Blue Mind: The Surprising <\/em>Science That Shows How Being Near, In, On, or Under Water Can Make You Happier, Healthier, More Connected, and Better at What You Do<\/em>, author and scientist Wallace J. Nichols argues that people like Moen who\u2019ve experienced \u201cblue mind\u201d\u2014an at-homeness in the environment, in general, and the ocean, in particular\u2014should share that experience with others\u2014for the good of humankind and the planet.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur deepest, most primordial emotions drive virtually every decision we make, from what we buy to the candidates we elect,\u201d Nichols writes. \u201cWe 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nowadays, Moen\u2019s blue mind finds its expression in surfing as well as diving.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat 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?\u201d Moen says. \u201cI am learning things every single time I paddle out. My god, does it humble me.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut, 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,\u201d Moen continues. \u201cSomething 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.<\/p>\n

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\u2014and lives\u2014in ways big, small, and surprising.<\/p>\n

\n

Richard C. \u201cRick\u201d Rhodes III figures he\u2019s been surfing for 50 years, three to four days a week. \u201cAs frequently as there are waves,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

<\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>\n
Rick Rhodes ponders the waves at Point Judith Lighthouse in Narragansett, Rhode Island. “When you surf,” says Rhodes, “the power of the ocean just surges under your feet.”<\/p>\n
Courtesy Rick Rhodes<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Rhodes had just returned from a work trip to Morocco, where he\u2019d surfed intense waves. \u201cI returned to winter in Rhode Island and these puny, little waves about head-high in Matunuck,\u201d Rhodes recalls. \u201cA wave caught me right in the back and I started falling down. The wind caught my board and it hit my head.\u201d<\/p>\n

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. \u201cI looked like I\u2019d been in an axe fight.\u201d<\/p>\n

“Change starts with having a personal environmental ethic, and that ethic is to do no harm. Take care of what you have.”
\n\u2014Richard 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<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Rhodes called his wife, telling her he was headed to the hospital. He\u2019d likely need a stitch or two\u2014or so he thought. \u201cIn the ER, two nurses and the PA on duty were surfers. They said, \u2018Wow, that\u2019s so gnarly. How\u2019d you do that?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

He laughs, still amused that they were impressed. Rhodes\u2019 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut when I tell the story, seven stitches grows to 70,\u201d Rhodes quips. \u201cThe worst day of surfing is better than the best of a whole lot of other things. Even if you get skunked, you\u2019re still in the water.\u201d<\/p>\n

While he is quick to point out that he came to 溏心vlog免费B站 for his career\u2014\u201cThe really strong attraction was the job\u201d\u2014Rhodes considers the Atlantic to be quite the job perk.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I enjoy is being able to tap that source and utilize the power of the ocean for pure, unadulterated fun. It\u2019s unlike anything else. That thing that you\u2019re riding is moving, and you\u2019re moving in a different dimension, and that is the coolest feeling in the world,\u201d Rhodes says. \u201cThe power of the ocean just surges under your feet.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u2014and 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\u2019s pollution. Every year, approximately 9 million tons of plastic waste enter the ocean, according to a May 2019 National Geographic<\/em> article, \u201cLittle Pieces, Big Problems.\u201d<\/p>\n

How to change things?<\/p>\n

\u201cChange starts with having a personal environmental ethic, and that ethic is to do no harm. Take care of what you have,\u201d Rhodes says. \u201cWe were taught as graduate students to be unimpassioned observers of science. But your job\u2014as a scientist, as an educator\u2014is to provide a context for data. You are also responsible for providing environmental literacy.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are all caretakers in this, and we all have a stake in this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Brian Caccioppoli \u201911 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\u2019s work monitoring and documenting change provides answers to such questions as why and how beaches are altered\u2014by single events (like storms) and over time\u2014which, in certain cases, places Rhode Island in a better position to seek federal funding. \u201cWhat I do is pragmatic science,\u201d Caccioppoli says.<\/p>\n

“The ocean is an almost magnetic thing to people who are drawn to it.”
\n\u2014Brian Caccioppoli, Marine Research Specialist, Graduate School of Oceanography<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Pragmatic science can be disheartening. For instance, beach replenishment\u2014adding sand to an eroding shoreline to reduce storm damage and coastal flooding\u2014can feel futile because, says Caccioppoli, \u201cIt\u2019s not unheard of for a beach to lose a third of replenished sand within just two years.\u201d But Caccioppoli presses on. His stake in this work extends beyond the bounds of professionalism. \u201cI want to know what\u2019s going on and how it will affect what I love to do,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s all intertwined for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Brian
Brian Caccioppoli at work on Ninigret Pond, a coastal salt pond in Charlestown, Rhode Island. Caccioppoli, an avid surfer, says his work mapping shorelines and seafloor depth is completely intertwined with his love of surfing. \u201cWhen you go out on the water,\u201d he says, \u201cyour brain clears.\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n

What Caccioppoli loves to do is surf. He\u2019s 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. \u201cThe first wave I caught, I knew I was in trouble. I knew it was going to change decisions I made on a daily basis,\u201d he says. \u201cThe first time you get your feet on the board and catch a wave, it feels like you\u2019re flying.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you go out into the water, your brain clears. You stop focusing on anything other than the pure experience of being on the ocean,\u201d Caccioppoli continues. \u201cYour burdens are gone. You come out and the tasks you have to do don\u2019t seem so huge. It\u2019s such a mood elevator, such a stress reliever.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u2014Matunuck, 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.”<\/p>\n

In talking of his fellow New England surfers, Caccioppoli characterizes them as \u201cfully committed\u201d to the sport. In observing him talking about his research and his chosen sport, the phrase fits him, too. Caccioppoli smiles at the suggestion.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ocean is an almost magnetic thing to people who are drawn to it,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Emily
Emily Clapham works with Tessa Eagan in Catching Waves for Health at Narragansett Beach. Clapham has observed the positive effects of surfing and surf therapy on children in the program and has experienced
it herself: \u201cI\u2019m calmer when I\u2019m surfing,\u201d she says.
Photo: Michael Salerno<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n

For the past nine years, Emily Clapham \u201902, M.S. \u201904 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\u2014Catching Waves for Health, 溏心vlog免费B站 Xtreme Inclusion\u2014serves 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\u2019s near decade of experience, she has seen surfing and surf therapy have a positive effect on children\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know I have a clearer head on the water,\u201d Clapham says. \u201cI\u2019m calmer when I\u2019m surfing, when I\u2019m experiencing the rhythmic motion of the waves.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clapham\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

“Children will stop and cheer for others when they catch a wave. They get excited for each other as they learn and grow together.”
\n\u2013Emily Clapham, Associate Professor, Department of Kinesiology<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And while the benefits are myriad for anyone who surfs\u2014improvement in core and upper-body strength, cardiorespiratory endurance, balance, self-esteem, and confidence\u2014for children with disabilities, these gains are amplified, and other gains are also apparent.<\/p>\n

\u201cGoals are focused around cognitive, physical, and social gains,\u201d Clapham says. \u201cChildren will stop and cheer for others when they catch a wave. They get excited for each other as they learn and grow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Participants also aren\u2019t held to a single right way to surf. Some kids want to boogie board, some stay in the white water. \u201cOne little boy wanted to sit on the board backward to watch the waves,\u201d Clapham recalls.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s attention and respect. \u201cIt is not an easy activity and takes strength, patience, and perseverance to be successful,\u201d says Clapham. \u201cThe ocean can be very humbling.<\/p>\n

\u201cSurfing gives them street cred because they\u2019re doing this cool thing\u2014they\u2019re surfers,\u201d Clapham says. \u201cThey\u2019re actually out there doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

“I never really get away from my work. That\u2019s how I operate\u2014by being completely immersed. We’re trying to push the limits of the technology out there now.”
\n\u2014Brennan Phillips, Assistant Professor of Ocean Engineering, Graduate School of Oceanography<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Brennan Phillips \u201904, Ph.D. \u201916 is in the midst of packing up much of his deep-sea robotics lab\u2014溏心vlog免费B站’s Undersea Robotics and Imaging Laboratory\u2014for a trip. There is much to see and wonder at\u2014hardware, electronics, 3D printers, and computers everywhere. Phillips and his group create complex machines\u2014Phillips calls them \u201csystems\u201d\u2014for 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. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to push the limits of the technology out there now, much of which is big, heavy, and clunky. We\u2019re trying to make it smaller and lighter,\u201d Phillips says.<\/p>\n

\"Brennan
Brennan Phillips at work in the Solomon Islands, where he was part of a team investigating an unexplored underwater volcano.
Photo: Courtesy Brennan Phillips<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was the hardest thing I\u2019ve 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.\u201d The next day, Phillips went to a local surf shop, bought a 9-foot board, and brought it home to Peck Hall.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy junior and senior years, I got serious. It was like joining the mob,\u201d Phillips jokes. \u201cThis is my sport. I run, ski, and bike, but surfing is my number-one favorite thing to do in the whole world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Phillips is a year-round surfer. \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

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?<\/p>\n

Like his fellow surfing scientists, Phillips\u2019 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never really get away from my work,\u201d Phillips notes. \u201cThat\u2019s how I operate\u2014by being completely immersed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Austin Humphries estimates he spent about 200 days on the water last year\u2014nearly seven days a week from May to September and all of January.<\/p>\n

<\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>\n
\nAustin Humphries dives on a coral reef in Raja Ampat, Indonesia, to survey fish communities.<\/p>\n
Photo: Fakhrizal Setiawan<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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. \u201cI interact and interface with the ocean on a daily basis. I fish, surf, dive, and sail.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u2019 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.<\/p>\n

“The fluidity of the ocean is comforting to me. The boundless nature of it. It\u2019s amazing.”
\n\u2014Austin Humphries, Assistant Professor of Ecosystem-Based Fisheries Science, Department of Fisheries, Animal and Veterinary Sciences<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cWe look at the influence or ramifications of different management strategies and how those strategies translate into fisheries\u2019 catches and well-being,\u201d Humphries says. \u201cIt\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re hard problems, and there\u2019s never one answer,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\"Austin
Austin Humphries talks to a Ph.D. student on a boat about site selection for a survey.
Photo Courtesy Abbyan Fairy<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n

The work suits Humphries, a Virginian, who worked as a fisher in Alaska after graduating from college. \u201cI recognize and sympathize with the plight of fishers. They face wicked problems.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWicked\u201d 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fluidity of the ocean is comforting to me,\u201d Humphries says, \u201cthe boundless nature of it. For the amount of time I\u2019ve spent around it, for the marine life I\u2019ve had the opportunity to react and respond to\u2014it\u2019s amazing.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom an intellectual point of view,\u201d Humphries says, \u201cthe ocean\u2019s vastness provides perspective on life and problems.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd if you look at it the right way, it offers a form of hope.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Photo: Ayla Fox 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 \u201915 describe it, seeing spider crabs molt is kind of like […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[80,87,78,86,84,82,85,81,83,41],"class_list":["post-1862","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-summer-2019","tag-alexandra-moen","tag-austin-humphries","tag-blue-mind","tag-brennan-phillips","tag-brian-caccioppoli","tag-diving","tag-emily-clapham","tag-marybeth-reilly-mcgreen","tag-richard-rhodes","tag-surfing","architecture-features"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1862","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1862"}],"version-history":[{"count":36,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1862\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2401,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1862\/revisions\/2401"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1862"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1862"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1862"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}