Sylvia Earle

Sylvia Earle
After winning a TED Prize in 2009
Born	August 30, 1935 (1935-08-30) Gibbstown, New Jersey
Residence	Oakland, California
Nationality	American
Fields	Oceanography
Institutions	Deep Ocean Engineering, NOAA, National Geographic Society, Mission Blue Foundation
Alma mater	Florida State University (B.S.) Duke University (M.S. and Ph.D.)
Known for	Exploration and environmental advocacy
Notable awards	Order of the Golden Ark TED Prize (2009)

Sylvia Alice Earle (born August 30, 1935 in Gibbstown, New Jersey) is an American oceanographer. She was a chief scientist at the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration from 1990 to 1992. Since 1995 she has been a National Geographic explorer-in-residence, sometimes called "Her Deepness" or "The Sturgeon General".

Education and career

Earle received a B.S. degree from Florida State University (1955) and a M.S. (1956) and Ph.D. (1966) from Duke University. 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), Radcliffe Institute Scholar (1967–1969) and Research Fellow or Associate at Harvard University (1967–1981).

Earle led the first team of women aquanauts during the Tektite Project in 1970. In 1979, she made an open-ocean JIM suit dive to the sea floor near Oahu, setting a women's depth record of 381 metres (1,250 ft). She also holds the women's depth record for a solo dive in a submersible: 1,000 metres (3,300 ft).

From 1980 to 1984 she served on NACOA (the National Advisory Committee on Oceans and Atmosphere). In 1985 she founded Deep Ocean Engineering along with her husband, engineer and submersible designer Graham Hawkes, to design, operate, support, and consult on piloted and robotic sub sea systems. In 1987 The Deep Ocean Engineering team designed and built the Deep Rover research submarine, which operates down to 1,000 metres (3,300 ft). She left the company in 1990 to accept an appointment as a chief scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

In 1992 she founded Deep Ocean Exploration and Research (DOER Marine) to further advance marine engineering. The company, now run by her daughter Elizabeth, continues to design, build and operate equipment for deep ocean environments.

Today, Earle serves as an explorer in residence at the National Geographic Society. In 2011, she received an honorary doctorate from Smith College, and delivered the commencement address at Warren Wilson College.

Accomplishments

Earle has led more than 60 expeditions worldwide involving in excess of 7,000 hours underwater in connection with her research. 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.

Earle 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.

She was instrumental in adding a new feature of displaying oceans in version 5.0 of Google Earth.

Earle founded Deep Search (also known as the Sylvia Earle Alliance, Deep Search Foundation, and Mission Blue Foundation), a non-profit foundation for protecting and exploring the Earth's oceans. In addition, she serves on several boards, including Marine Conservation Biology Institute (MCBI).

Sylvia Earle displays samples to aquanaut inside TEKTITE

Mission Blue

In 2009, Earle won a TED Prize. With TED's support, she launched Mission Blue, which aims to establish marine protected areas (dubbed "hope spots") around the globe.

“I wish you would use all means at your disposal — films! expeditions! the web! more! — to ignite public support for a global network of marine protected areas, hope spots large enough to save and restore the ocean, the blue heart of the planet.” - Sylvia Earle

With Mission Blue and its partners, Earle led expeditions to prospective hope spots: Cuba in 2009, Belize in January 2010, the Galápagos Islands in April 2010, and the Mesoamerican Reef in July 2011.

Quotes

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

—Sylvia Earle

Publications

• Earle, Sylvia (1996). Sea Change: A Message of the Oceans. Ballantine Books. ISBN 0449910652. 
• Earle, Sylvia (1999). Dive: My Adventures In the Deep Frontier. National Geographic Children's Books. ISBN 0792271440. 
• Earle, Sylvia and Linda K. Glover (2008). Ocean: An Illustrated Atlas (National Geographic Atlas). National Geographic. ISBN 1426203195. 
• Earle, Sylvia (2001). Hello, Fish!: Visiting The Coral Reef. National Geographic Children's Books. ISBN 0792266978. 
• Earle, Sylvia (2009). The World is Blue. National Geographic Books. ISBN 1426205414. 

External links

• The Sylvia Earle Alliance, Mission Blue
• Watch Sylvia Earle at The underwater Channel
• Home Page for Sylvia Earle
• National Geographic Profile
• Project Deepsearch
• DOER Marine
• TED Prize Wish: Sylvia Earle's TED Prize wish to protect our oceans at TED in 2009