In recognition of the epic voyage of the SSV Robert C. Seamans last year, Tall Ships America last week honored SEA Captain Sean Bercaw, the crew of the Seamans, and SEA’s Marine Operations and Academic Program teams with its 2020 Tall Ships America Reimagination Award.

SEA Professor of Oceanography Jan Witting is the co-author of a research article, “Historical Trends of Sperm Whale (Physeter macrocephalus) Distribution in the Phoenix Archipeligo,” published January 12th in Frontiers in Marine Science.

SEA Semester alumnus Bryant Jew, C-276, has been selected as the recipient of the 2021 Armin E. Elsaesser III Fellowship Award.

Later this year, SEA Semester students will begin beta testing new advanced technology to measure microplastics in the ocean, thanks to a partnership with an innovative company co-founded by a SEA Semester alumnus.

SEA Semester student (and new alumnus!) Elijah Greiner recently sailed aboard the SSV Corwith Cramer from Woods Hole to Key West with class C-294,  Atlantic Odyssey / Ocean Exploration, arriving in Key West on November 18th.

On November 5th, the North American Marine Environment Protection Association (NAMEPA) honored SEA as a recipient of its 2020 Marine Environment Protection Awards.

SEA Semester in the NEWS
SEA Semester Overcomes Challenges To Launch Sea Program
The Falmouth Enterprise

The challenge was daunting, the outcome never assured, but on October 11 students enrolled in SEA Semester set sail from Woods Hole aboard the SSV Corwith Cramer.

The departure was the culmination of months of detailed planning and weeks of careful preparation on shore to ensure a safe and healthy educational experience. The ship is expected to arrive in Key West on Wednesday, November 18.

While the faculty, staff and crew at Sea Education Association are used to organizing ambitious sea expeditions, safely launching a program in the midst of a global pandemic meant navigating uncharted waters.

It’s crazy what a difference 12 hours makes. Last night when C Watch took the deck, menacing clouds loomed, lightening flashed and the engine roared as we motor-sailed into yet another squall. Gathering today for our pre-afternoon-watch-meeting, we searched in vain for a patch of shade in which to hide. We gybe, heave-to, set and strike sails on most watches.

SEA Research Professor of Oceanography Kara Lavender Law is the lead author of a research article published today in Science Advances. The article, “The United States’ contribution of plastic waste to land and ocean,” reveals that the exportation of plastic waste abroad has masked the actual U.S. contribution to the plastic pollution crisis, and that the United States is actually a top source of plastic pollution in coastal environments.

Onjalé Scott Price, acting director of this past summer’s Woods Hole Partnership Education Program (PEP), along with co-authors Kelly Luis, André Price, SEA Assistant Professor of Oceanography Ben Harden, Joniqua Howard, Luis Valentin, George Liles, and Ambrose Jearld, Jr., have published a report on the program, with lessons learned for other organizations seeking to adapt summer internships for virtual delivery. The paper, “Same Program Different Delivery: Adapting the Woods Hole Partnership Education Program for a Virtual Era,” was published today in the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO) Bulletin.