WOODS HOLE, MASS. — 25 undergraduates from a variety of U.S. colleges and universities recently arrived aboard the research vessel SSV Robert C. Seamans to continue their Winter/Spring 2020 SEA Semester program sailing through the waters of New Zealand. Their goal is to study one of the most pressing issues of the 21st century: human impacts on the environment.

WOODS HOLE, MASS. — The college students listed below recently arrived aboard the research vessel SSV Corwith Cramer in San Juan, Puerto Rico, to spend six weeks in the Caribbean studying the region’s environment, culture, and history.

Jonathan Harris, C-112, winner of the 2019 Armin E. Elsaesser III Fellowship, has added more photos and information on his project website, “Pirates, Blockades and Commerce: an expedition to explore the maritime history, fortifications, and lighthouses of the Gulf Islands National Seashore.”  He plans to continue adding more to the website, and describes his research opportunity as “awesome!”

As news about the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV), originating in Wuhan, China becomes available, please know that we are monitoring the information closely and in consult with infectious disease specialists.  We remain alert to developments that may affect our students, crew or programs.

SEA Alumni in the NEWS
LIVESCIENCE, Feb. 5, 2020
What is Ocean Acidification?
By Tom Childers

SEA alumnus and former trustee Scott Doney, professor of Environmental Sciences at the University of Virginia, gives an explanation of the causes and effects of ocean acidification.

Sea Education Association faculty members and alumni are presenting at a number of sessions at the Ocean Sciences Meeting 2020, which convenes in San Diego from Feb. 16 to 21. SEA will also have a presence at booth #119.

With the start of the new year, we are introducing a series of articles by Sea Education Association faculty and staff titled “Study Abroad and the Sea: Perspectives on Climate Change and the Ocean Environment.”  The series is a diverse and varied examination of relevant ocean topics for college students interested in ocean research and policy.  The first of this series examines the value of ocean literacy by SEA Assistant Professor of Oceanography Kerry Whittaker.

Here, on this last day of 2019, I find myself reflecting on another year as Oceanography Faculty with SEA.  Even today, gazing out onto snow falling along the New England coastline and piling onto branches, railings, and roofs, my mind can easily jump back to the quarterdeck of the Robert C. Seamans carried by the humid trade winds of the South Pacific, or aloft on the Corwith Cramer as we glide through the Bermuda blue water.

Former SEA Scientist and Alumna Skye Moret Wins Nat Geo Award

Skye Moret, C-190, has a passion for using data visualization and engagement to bridge the gap between design and science. Recently, that passion took her to a remote beach in Bali where she created ‘Perpetual Plastic,’ a 46-foot diameter data art installation that’s also a flow chart illustrating the transformation and fate of plastic waste.

Q&A with Liz Maloney, W-162, Administrative Assistant for the Dean and Faculty. Liz helps manage the remote shore components that play an important role in many SEA Semester programs.  She recently returned from two weeks on the South Island of New Zealand, where she worked with students of class S-289 as they participated in a shore component prior to their voyage.

For a few weeks this past fall it wasn’t unusual to see students in the hallway attending to an “injured” classmate, or practicing the proper use of an inflatable life raft.  It’s all part of SEA’s mission to provide professional development and training for SEA crew and others. Such training is required for Coast Guard licensing of able seamen, mates and medical officers.