Solutions for clean-up, recovery, and prevention
Speakers:
Dr. Asha de Vos, Founder/Executive Director, Oceanswell, Sri Lanka
Dr. Chris Reddy, Senior Scientist and Marine Chemist, WHOI
Host: Veronique LaCapra
Wednesday, April 6th, 2022 | 7:30-8:30 PM ET | 4:30 PM PDT
Solutions for clean-up, recovery, and prevention
Speakers: Dr. Asha de Vos, Founder/Executive Director, Oceanswell, Sri Lanka
Dr. Chris Reddy, Senior Scientist and Marine Chemist, WHOII
Pollution is a growing threat to the health of the ocean and the lives and livelihoods of people who rely on marine resources worldwide. Hear how a team of scientists and community members responded to a spill of plastic and oil off the coast of Sri Lanka and what is being done to counter the effects of marine pollution more broadly.
Hosted by Veronique LaCapra, Director of Special Projects, WHOI.
Dr. Asha de Vos, Founder/Executive Director, Oceanswell, Sri Lanka
Dr. Chris Reddy, Senior Scientist and Marine Chemist, WHOI
Dr. Veronique Lacapra, Director of Special Projects, WHOI
Season 4 of Ocean Encounters is made possible by the generous support of our sponsors the Avatar Alliance Foundation and Dalio Philanthropies and is an endorsed activity of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.
Wednesday, February 16th, 2022 | 7:30-8:30 PM ET | 4:30 PM PDT
How scientists, ocean farmers, and policy makers are looking to kelp as a sustainable solution to some of the toughest issues facing our world today.
Speakers: Scott Lindell, Aquaculture Research Specialist, WHOI, Robert Jones, Global Aquaculture Lead, The Nature Conservancy, and Briana Warner, CEO Atlantic Sea Farms
As our climate continues to change and food insecurity grows worldwide, scientists and others are looking to solve these problems without harming marine ecosystems.
Learn how seaweed aquaculture has the potential to play a major role in creating climate-friendly food systems for a growing population and to produce new types of carbon-neutral animal feeds, fuels, and other products for a more sustainable future.
Hosted by Veronique LaCapra, Director of Special Projects, WHOI.
Scott Lindell, Aquaculture Research Specialist
Robert Jones, Global Aquaculture Lead, The Nature Conservancy
Briana Warner, CEO Atlantic Sea Farms
Wednesday, March 9th, 2022 | 7:30-8:30 PM ET | 4:30 PM PDT
Antarctica and the Southern Ocean make up the most remote part of our planet. Learn how changes happening in this harsh and distant place matter to us all.
Speakers: Jamie Coleman, Naturalist, Lindblad Expeditions, Rebecca Gast, Microbiologist, WHOI, Sven Lindblad, Founder/Chairman, Lindblad Expeditions, Catherine Walker, Glaciologist, WHOI
Antarctica and the Southern Ocean make up the most remote part of our planet—one that few people have experienced. Learn how changes happening in this harsh and distant place matter to us all, and how witnessing these changes firsthand is helping inform our understanding of sea level rise, ocean food webs, and the future of climate change.
Hosted by Veronique LaCapra, Director of Special Projects, WHOI.
Jamie Coleman, Naturalist, Lindblad Expeditions
Rebecca Gast, Microbiologist, WHOI
Sven Lindblad, Founder/Chairman, Lindblad Expeditions
Catherine Walker, Glaciologist, WHOI
January 27, 2021 | 7:30 - 8:30 EDT
Combining science, community, and policy for a sustainable future
Achieving success in ocean conservation is a complex navigation of science, policy, and the needs of local communities. But it is achievable. Join us to explore how scientists, communities, and NGOs are joining forces to inform policy and together create workable, sustainable strategies for critical ocean ecosystems. With a video message from UN Special Envoy for the Ocean Peter Thomson, and host Véronique LaCapra.
Speakers: Anne Cohen, Tenured Associate Scientist, WHOI; Ann Singeo, Executive Director, Ebiil Society, Palau; and Staci Lewis, Stanford Center for Ocean Solutions. With a video message from UN Special Envoy for the Ocean Peter Thomson, and host Véronique LaCapra, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
Staci Lewis
Stanford Center for
Ocean Solutions
February 10, 2021 | 7:30 - 8:30 EDT
Exploring partnerships and solutions for survival
Speakers: Michael Moore, Whale Trauma Specialist, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution; Rob Martin, Commercial Fisherman; Michael Asaro, Ecological Economist, NOAA Fisheries, and host Véronique LaCapra, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
The North Atlantic right whale is one of the most endangered whales in the world, with an estimated 366 left on the planet. These animals are often found on the Continental Shelf of the East Coast of North America, making them vulnerable to human activities including fishing gear entanglements. In recent years, more whales have died than have been born. Join us as we examine the top threats facing North Atlantic right whales, and discuss the crucial efforts by the scientific community, fishing industry, and policy makers to develop the most effective and viable solutions to ensure the long-term survival of this critically endangered species.
Michael Moore
Michael Asaro
Rob Martin
March 24, 2021 | 7:30 - 8:30 EST
Speakers: Ken Buesseler, WHOI, Shaheen Azim Dewji, Texas A&M University, Ryo Morimoto, Princeton University, and host Véronique LaCapra, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
We live on a radioactive planet. With the 10th anniversary of the accident at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Japan, we take a look at the radiation all around us—its natural sources, its human applications, and their impacts on us and our environment. We’ll also delve into some of the beneficial uses of radioactivity and the way we perceive—or misperceive—the threats that radiation poses.
Ken Buesseler, Marine radiochemist, WHOI
Shaheen Dewji, Assistant professor of Nuclear Engineering - Health Physics, Texas A&M Univ.
Ryo Morimoto, Nuclear anthropologist, Princeton Univ.
April 28, 2021 | 7:30 - 8:30 EDT
Speakers: Bruce Strickrott, Alvin program manager, Patricia “Trish” Gregg, Marine volcanologist, and Peter Girguis, Marine biologist, with host Véronique LaCapra, WHOI
Within months Alvin will be able to explore 99% of the ocean floor. A feat of engineering and vision, this expansion of range for the human-occupied submersible will bring scientists into extreme environments across the globe.
Hear from a volcanologist, a marine biologist, and Alvin’s senior pilot about how the iconic sub enables scientific discovery in the far reaches of Earth’s ocean.
June 9, 2021 | 7:30 - 8:30 EDT
Speakers: Joel Llopiz, Fish Biologist, WHOI, Vincent Pieribone, Vice Chairman, OceanX and Director, John B. Pierce Laboratory, Yale University, and Heidi Sosik, OTZ Lead Scientist and Biologist, WHOI with host Véronique LaCapra, WHOI
Dive with us into the ocean twilight zone—the weirdest place on Earth. This vast, dark, barely explored layer of the ocean is home to countless weirdly wonderful creatures whose uniqueness also gives them superpowers to survive in a world of darkness, extreme pressure, frigid cold, and superpowered predators. The twilight zone is a place of wonder, mystery, and abundance that reminds us our choices mean the difference between a future of loss and sustainability.
Wednesday, December 8th, 2021 | 7:30-8:30 PM ET | 4:30 PM PDT
Speakers: Anna Michel, Chief Scientist, NDSF, WHOI, Loral O' Hara, NASA Astronaut and former WHOI engineer, Gwyneth Packard, Senior Engineer, Software, WHOI, Kaitlyn Tradd, Research Engineer, Mechanical, WHOI with special guest host Carol Anne Clayson, WHOI climate scientist and Associate Director of Research Strategy
JOIN US TO HEAR FROM FOUR ENGINEERS who explore extreme places in the ocean and outer space. Learn about hostile environments that demand special tools and special people with the “right stuff” to test their own limits and push the boundaries of knowledge deeper into the unknown.
Anna Michel, Chief Scientist, NDSF, WHOI
Loral O'Hara, NASA astronaut and former WHOI engineer
Gwyneth Packard, Senior Engineer, Software, WHOI
Kaitlyn Tradd, Research Engineer, Mechical, WHOI
Special Guest Host Carol Anne Clayson, WHOI climate scientist and Associate Director of Research Strategy
Date: September 16, 2020 | 7:30 - 8:30 EDT
Speakers: Lunar and Planetary Institute astrobiologist and geomicrobiologist Kennda Lynch, WHOI marine microbiologist Julie Huber, WHOI marine geoscientist Chris German, and special guest, comedian Eugene Mirman
Host: Véronique LaCapra, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Chris German, WHOI
Kennda Lynch, LPI/USRA
Julie Huber, WHOI
Eugene Mirman, Comedian
Date: September 23, 2020 | 7:30 - 8:30 EDT
Speakers: Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, marine biologist, founder of Ocean Collectiv and Urban Ocean Lab and Dr. Jeff Donnelly, WHOI senior scientist and marine geologist
Host: Dr. Véronique LaCapra, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, Ocean Collectiv
Dr. Jeff Donnelly, WHOI
Date: October 7, 2020 | 7:30 - 8:30 EDT
Speakers: Amy Bower, WHOI Physical Oceanographer, Skip Finley, Author and historian, and Tobias Vanderhoop, Aquinnah Wampanoag Storyteller
Host: Véronique LaCapra, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Amy Bower, physical oceanographer, WHOI
Skip Finley, author and historian
Tobias Vanderhoop, Aquinnah Wampanoag storyteller
Date: October 21, 2020 | PRIMETIME 8:00 - 9:00 EDT
PRESENTED BY THE WHOI DALLAS CHAPTER
Speakers: Peter de Menocal, WHOI President and Director and Jeffrey Sachs, University Professor, Columbia University and Senior UN Advisor
Host: Véronique LaCapra, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Peter de Menocal
Jeffrey Sachs
October 28, 2020 | 7:30 - 8:45 EDT
Featuring: a special composition played on giant conch shells by “High Tide” Harold, live performance by the Boston Dance Theater with WHOI collaborator Dr. Larry Pratt, special piano performance by Boston Pops Orchestra conductor Keith Lockhart, short film by ocean scientist and creative projects liaison for the Ocean Exploration Trust Megan Lubetkin with WHOI collaborator Dr. Daniel Fornari, live spoken-word performance by Victoria Bautista, and live musical “soul massage” by multi-instrumentalist Zach Deputy.
Host: Véronique LaCapra, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Wednesday, April 22, 2020 | 7:30 - 8:30 p.m. EDT
Filmmaker Jennifer Berglund and researchers from the expedition will be answering all your questions during the premiere via Youtube Chat.
Wednesday, April 29, 2020 | 7:30 - 8:30 p.m. EDT
Speakers: NASA Astronaut Sunita Williams, Captain, U.S. Navy, (Ret.) and Timothy Shank, Deep-Sea Scientist, WHOI Emcee: Barbara Moran, Senior Producing Editor, WBUR Radio Environmental Vertical
Tim Shank, Deep-Sea Biologist
Captain Sunita WIlliams
Wednesday, May 6, 2020 | 7:30 - 8:30 p.m. EDT
Speakers: Ocean Explorer Robert Ballard and
WHOI Biologist Kirstin Meyer-Kaiser
Emcee: Barbara Moran, Senior Producing Editor, WBUR Radio Environmental Vertical
Robert Ballard, Ocean Explorer
Kirstin Meyer-Kaiser, WHOI Biologist
Wednesday, May 13, 2020 | 7:30 - 8:30 p.m. EDT
Speakers: Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries Shark Biologist Greg Skomal and WHOI Ocean Ecologist Simon Thorrold
Host: Véronique LaCapra, WHOI
Greg Skomal
Simon Thorrold
Wednesday, May 20, 2020 | 7:30 - 8:30 p.m. EDT
Guest host: James Cameron, renowned ocean explorer and filmmaker
Panelists: Mark Dalio, Founder and Creative Director, OceanX; Orla Doherty, Producer of the BBC’s Blue Planet II; Andrew Bowen, Principal Engineer and Director of the National Deep Sea Submergence Facility, WHOI; Vincent Pieribone, Vice Chairman of OceanX and Director of the John B. Pierce Laboratory, Yale University
Q&A moderator: Véronique LaCapra, WHOI
James Cameron
Andy Bowen
Orla Doherty
Mark Dalio
Vincent Pieribone
Wednesday, May 27, 2020 | 7:30 - 8:30 p.m. EDT
Speakers: Fabien Cousteau, Aquanaut, Oceanographic Explorer, Environmental Advocate and Founder of the Fabien Cousteau Ocean Learning Center and Mark Abbott, WHOI President and Director
Host: Véronique LaCapra, WHOI
Mark Abbott
Fabien Cousteau
Wednesday, June 3, 2020 | 7:30 - 8:30 p.m. EDT
Speakers: Marine biologist, ocean explorer, and conservationist Sylvia Earle, University of the Virgin Islands coral disease ecologist Marilyn Brandt, and WHOI marine microbial ecologist Amy Apprill.
Host: Véronique LaCapra, WHOI
Sylvia Earle
Amy Apprill
Simon Thorrold is an ocean ecologist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. He uses techniques that span isotope geochemistry, next generation DNA sequencing, and satellite tagging to study the ecology of a wide variety of ocean species. He recently discovered that blue sharks use warm water ocean tunnels, or eddies, to dive to the ocean twilight zone, where they forage in nutrient-rich waters hundreds of meters down. Born in New Zealand, Simon received his B.S. from the University of Auckland, and Ph.D. from James Cook University, North Queensland, Australia. With much of his work in the South Pacific and Caribbean, Simon has been on many cruises, logging 1,000 hours of scuba diving and 800 hours in tropical environs. He has been a scientist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution since 2001.
Dr. Gregory Skomal is an accomplished marine biologist, underwater explorer, photographer, and author. He has been a fisheries scientist with the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries since 1987 and currently heads up the Massachusetts Shark Research Program. He is also adjunct faculty at the University of Massachusetts School for Marine Science and Technology and an adjunct scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). He holds a master’s degree from the University of Rhode Island and a Ph.D. from Boston University. For more than 30 years, Greg has been actively involved in the study of life history, ecology, and physiology of sharks. His shark research has spanned the globe from the frigid waters of the Arctic Circle to coral reefs in the tropical Central Pacific. Much of his current research centers on the use of acoustic telemetry and satellite-based tagging technology to study the ecology and behavior of sharks. Greg has been an avid SCUBA diver and underwater photographer since 1978. He has written dozens of scientific research papers and has appeared in a number of film and television documentaries, including programs for National Geographic, Discovery Channel, BBC, and numerous television networks. His most recent book, The Shark Handbook, is a must buy for all shark enthusiasts. He is a Boston Sea Rover and a member of The Explorers Club; his home and laboratory are on the south coast of Massachusetts.
Robert D. Ballard is Founder and President of the Ocean Exploration Trust; Director of the Center for Ocean Exploration and Professor of Oceanography at the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography. He is an Explorer-At-Large at the National Geographic Society, Commissioner for the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy, and a Research Scholar at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. He served in the U.S. Navy for more than 30 years and continues to work with the Office of Naval Research. A pioneer in the development of deep-sea submersibles and remotely operated vehicle systems, he has taken part in more than 155 deep-sea expeditions. In 1985, he discovered the RMS Titanic, and has succeeded in tracking down numerous other significant shipwrecks, including the German battleship Bismarck, the lost fleet of Guadalcanal, the U.S. aircraft carrier Yorktown, and John F. Kennedy’s boat, PT-109. He has also discovered hydrothermal vents and “black smokers” in the Galapagos Rift and East Pacific Rise in 1977 and 1979. The author of numerous books, scientific papers, and articles, he has been featured in several National Geographic television programs, including “Secrets of the Titanic” a five-part mini-series, “Alien Deep with Bob Ballard.” and, in 2019, “Expedition Amelia.” He was a special advisor to Steve Spielberg on the futuristic television show seaQuest DSV. His honors include 22 Honorary Doctorates, National Geographic’s highest award, the Hubbard Medal, and a National Endowment for the Humanities Medal. He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2014.
Timothy Shank is a deep-sea biologist, Associate Scientist in the Biology Department, and former Director of the Ocean Exploration Institute at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. He is known for his research on the ecology and evolution of fauna in deep-ocean hydrothermal, seamount, canyon and deep trench systems. He has conducted more than 60 scientific expeditions in the Arctic, Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. Tim has completed more than 50 dives in the human operated submersible Alvin, and more than 100 dives with autonomous underwater and remotely-operated vehicles, including the first use of a hybrid ROV (Nereus) in the ocean’s deepest trenches. He is the author of the award-winning, best-selling book “Discovering the Deep.”
Sunita L. Williams (Suni) was selected as an astronaut by NASA in 1998 and is a veteran of two space missions Expeditions 14/15 and 32/33. She is currently training for the first post-certification mission of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft – the second crewed flight for that vehicle – and her third long duration mission aboard the International Space Station. Williams and her crewmates are working closely with Boeing to develop their new spacecraft systems, which will provide roundtrip crew transportation services to the International Space Station and, along with SpaceX’s CrewDragon, return the ability to launch humans into space from United States soil.
Kirstin Meyer-Kaiser is an Assistant Scientist in the Biology Department at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Her research explores how the larvae of seafloor invertebrates such as anemones and sea stars disperse to isolated, island-like habitats, how larvae settle and colonize new sites, and how their communities change over time. Kirstin is currently Principal Investigator for an interdisciplinary project on shipwrecks in Stellwagen National Marine Sanctuary, including the steamship Portland, often termed “New England’s Titanic.” This project uses cutting-edge technology to construct 3D photogrammetric models of the Portland and other wrecks for archaeological and biological research and resource management. Kirstin also has ongoing projects in the Arctic and on coral reefs in Palau. Her work frequently takes her underwater using remotely operated vehicles and SCUBA and carries her to the far corners of the world.