Sylvia Earle
Oct. 6, 2016 | 7 p.m. | Chenery Auditorium, 714 S. Westnedge Ave., Kalamazoo MI 49007
“Exploring the Deep Frontier”
Sylvia Earle is an oceanographer, explorer, author, lecturer, Explorer in Residence of the National Geographic Society, leader of the NGS Sustainable Seas Expeditions, Council Chair for the Harte Research Institute, Founder of the Deep Search Foundation, and formerly the Chief Scientist of NOAA. Founder of three companies, she serves on various corporate and non-profit boards. A graduate of St. Petersburg College and Florida State University, she holds an MA and PhD from Duke University and 19 honorary doctorates. Named as Time Magazine’s first Hero for the Planet and a Living Legend by the Library of Congress, she has authored 175 publications, led more than 100 expeditions, lectured in more than 70 countries, and has more than 100 national and international awards.
More has been learned about the nature of the ocean in the past century than during all preceding human history, but at the same time, more has been lost owing to the growing impact that people are having on the sea through what is being put into it, and what is being taken out. Rapid global warming, sea level rise, ocean acidification and other troubling trends require urgent attention. This presentation will consider new technologies and a new era of ocean exploration vital to understand these phenomena , as well as the changes in ocean chemistry, biodiversity and the composition and structure of marine ecosystems, with special reference to the present and future consequences to humankind.