Sylvia Earle
Sylvia Earle
American Oceanographer & Explorer
Education + Discoveries...
Sylvia graduated from Florida State with a major in botany & then earned a Masters in
botany from Duke.
She has served as a research fellow at Harvard University’s Farlow Herbarium.
Sylvia is known for her research on marine algae and documentaries designed to raise awareness of the threats that overfishing and pollution pose to the world’s oceans.
A pioneer in the use of SCUBA gear, Sylvia held the world record for the deepest untethered dive.
Female Firsts...
Sylvia led the first all-female team of women aquanauts as part of the Tektite II experiment.
She was the first woman to become chief scientist of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Sylvia was also National Geographic Society’s first female explorer in residence.
Sylvia launched Mission Blue which aims to establish marine protected areas around the globe.
Q & A
As a girl, did you have any female role models that you looked up to?
I think my mom was a role model for me. She restored the health of any animal that was brought to her. Her empathy and respect for life rubbed off on me at any early age.
Another role model was an ocean scientist— Dr. Eugenie Clark, the “Shark Lady.” She really took me under her flipper when I was a teenager and encouraged me to follow my heart.
What first sparked your interest in scuba diving and marine research?
I first fell in love with the horseshoe crabs that came ashore along the New Jersey coast when I was just a child. It’s hard to imagine horseshoe crabs preceded dinosaurs… they’ve been on the planet in one form or another for more than 300 million years!
I found that irresistible and still do.
What kind of challenges did you face along the way in those early years?
I faced challenges then, and there are challenges that still exist today! You’re often looked at as a woman first, and then, if you’re lucky, as a professional human being. There’s definitely a culture that favors men.
But if you really want to be something, don’t worry about what other people say, just go for it. There’s no such thing as “I can’t.” Be willing to take a risk.
"Don’t rely on someone else to make your dreams come true. You have the greatest gift— your mind. Have confidence in yourself and know that you have power. "
more about me...
a cause that's important to me is...
Protecting our seas. I’ve seen first hand the loss of half the coral reefs, half of the mangroves and seagrass meadows. If we continue to see the same rate of decline, by the end of the century, we will no longer see any of them. We need to make better choices.
a proud career moment...
I designed the submersible Deep Rover, a vehicle capable of reaching depths of 3,000 ft beneath the surface of the ocean.
a cool fact about me is...
I've logged more than 7,000 hours of underwater research!
image sources: TIME Magazine