Sylvia Earle

Aliases: “Her Deepness” Role: Oceanographer, marine biologist, explorer, conservationist Affiliation: Mission Blue (founder and president), NOAA (former chief scientist), Rolex ambassador First appearance: 2017 (Wetpixel coverage)

Biography

Dr. Sylvia Earle (born 1935) is one of the world’s most renowned oceanographers and ocean conservation advocates. A pioneering marine biologist and explorer, she has logged more than 7,000 hours underwater over her decades-long career. She earned the nickname “Her Deepness” for her depth of expertise and record-setting dives.

Earle was the first woman to become chief scientist of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). She was featured in TIME magazine’s book FIRSTS: Women Who are Changing the World (2017) in recognition of this achievement. (^[1])

She founded Mission Blue, an organization that leads a global coalition to inspire public awareness, access, and support for a worldwide network of marine protected areas — designated as “Hope Spots.” Under her leadership, Mission Blue uses documentaries, social media, traditional media, and tools like Google Earth to elevate Hope Spots to the world stage. (^[2])

In June 2017, Mission Blue formalized a partnership with PADI (led by CEO Drew Richardson), uniting the organizations to empower the global diver community as ocean conservation advocates. (^[3])

Earle is also a Rolex ambassador and continues active advocacy into her eighties.

Wetpixel Coverage

Wetpixel covered Earle’s activities in 2017 across multiple articles:

ADEX 2017, Singapore — At the Asian Dive Exhibition in April 2017, with the theme of climate change, Earle was among the luminaries presenting talks on climate change and its ocean impacts. The show was described as placing “a great deal of important emphasis on climate change.” (^[4])

TIME FIRSTS book — Earle was featured as the “Oceanographer” in TIME’s FIRSTS: Women Who are Changing the World book (2017), recognized for being the first woman to become NOAA chief scientist. Her quote: “The cultural bias is what it is. Men and women are different, and the society of men as leaders has predominated the society in which I came along. It’s still very much there, but it’s getting better.” (^[5])

DEMA 2017, Orlando — Earle and Drew Richardson (PADI CEO) held a press event at DEMA 2017 to encourage the dive community to be a force for ocean conservation. Earle stated: “Change comes when people care, and there are no better messengers to communicate the beauty and fragility of the ocean than divers who have a direct, emotional connection to the ocean.” (^[6])

HATCH Ocean Film Challenge — In December 2017, Earle launched the HATCH Ocean Film Challenge, hosted by Audience Awards, calling for short films (8 minutes or under) addressing ocean threats including overfishing, plastic pollution, ocean acidification, sea temperature rise, and lack of marine protected areas. Films were slated to premiere at the DC Environmental Film Festival, International Wildlife Film Festival, and AudFest. (^[7])

Her words for the HATCH challenge: “How we treat the oceans in the next 10 years will determine the fate of our planet for the next 10,000 years… There is no other planet. No water anywhere else. We have to save this.”

Timeline

• 2017-04-15: Presents at ADEX Singapore on climate change (age 81) (^[8])
• 2017-09-07: Featured in TIME FIRSTS book as “Oceanographer” (^[9])
• 2017-11-08: DEMA 2017 joint press event with PADI’s Drew Richardson (^[10])
• 2017-12-15: Launches HATCH Ocean Film Challenge (^[11])

References

• ^[12] — editorial (Drew Wong)
• ^[13] — editorial (Abi Smigel Mullens)
• ^[14] — editorial (Abi Smigel Mullens)
• ^[15] — editorial (Adam Hanlon)