Deep Thinker

Marine biologist and explorer Sylvia Earle has studied the sea and its creatures for more than 50 years. Now she’s campaigning for a new wave of marine parks

- Oliver Giles

On a hot, breezy morning in September 1979, the oceanographer Sylvia Earle donned an armoured diving suit, was strapped to the front of a small submarine and dropped into the Pacific Ocean off the Hawaiian island of Oahu. A few metres down, the thunder of the surf and squawking of the seagulls had disappeared. At 100 metres the light started to fade. By 200 metres it was almost pitch black. At an incredible 381 metres, the sub hit the seabed with a clunk and Earle untethered herself and stepped into the darkness.

For many this would have been a nightmare. But for Earle this record-breaking dive into the unknown was the culmination of a long-held dream—a dream to explore the oceans from balmy shallows to icy depths, from whitewashed poles to colourful coral reefs. “I want to explore everywhere, everywhere, everywhere,” says Earle with a laugh. And explore she has. Over the course of her career, Earle has led more than 100 scientific expeditions, clocked more than 7,500 hours underwater and, among other roles, held the position of chief scientist at the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.