I write as I sit in the library at Hopkins Marine Station. The floor to ceiling windows look out to a rocky beach with a strong surf in overcast light. The incoming waves crash on the rocks and send occasional bursts of spray ten feet in the air. Nearer the window, a slope of coastal succulents are mixed with blooming wildflowers. Sea birds swoop through the picture with cries of the ocean.
We have had one week of classes so far in the SEA program. Our professors are world-class scientists who are doing important research from tagging large marine mammals to get world-wide in situ oceanographic data, to studying the impact of ocean acidification and other stressors on coral reefs. When they aren’t experts in a subject, they invite other world class scientists to be guest speakers. It is a Mecca of scientific knowledge and is overwhelming but so, so inspiring.
Click here for Part 3.
[submitted by Tara, Seven Seas Scuba Divemaster]
