Week 4

[Ian Hebert]

Week 4 in Woods Hole started with seeing Robert Ballard at multiple talks which proved extremely interesting and informative. His first talk focused on the history of his discoveries and the progression of how he formed his research group. I was surprised at how many other discoveries that he had made, that he isn't as well known for, but seem far more pertinent. Including the discovery of Hydrothermal vents in the Mid Ocean Ridge, which he mentioned multiple time that he would much rather be known for than the discovery of the Titanic. His use of Alvin early in his career has seen much controversy at WHOI with some people thinking that the time that it was used to find the Titanic could have been used for more scientific projects. The talk went on to cover his discoveries of the Bismark and the Aircraft carrier Yorktown. His newest projects are focused in the Black Sea, where wooden ships see little to no degradation due to the lack of oxygen in the anoxic layer. His Institute for Exploration is a new group that works on oceanographic exploration with ROVs and AUVs. He is also a big enthusiast of the concept of telepresence which would allow scientists to be on land while observing discoveries being made at sea. Telepresence would also allow for low impact exploration of areas like the kelp forests of California. The talks were all very interesting and I found Ballard to be a very animated speaker. After the talks there was a BBQ where I had an opportunity to talk with him and found him to be a large proponent of offshore drilling and exploitaion of resources, which surprised me immensly. The chance to listen to Ballard was extremely interesting but his stance on resource management surprised me.

[Jo McKearnan]

Maybe the great Robt. Ballard would like to have an experienced sailor acompany him some time. That would be you of course. Keep up the good work! Marnie

[Sonchia Jilek]

Ian - Great post...so interesting! I hope you are enjoying Woods Hole. I can't wait to learn more about your experience upon your return.

[Shawn McKearnan]

Hello Ian,
Well, it's your biggest fan here: or one of them! Your post about Ballard is really interesting: especially his opinion of off shore drilling.
How are the other aspects of life in Woods Hole? Has the weather improved? How is the science work going? I wish I could be a fly on the wall...
It is sunny and hot here, Dad and I are just back from a hike with Dottie and DV. Time to eat cookies!
We miss you, but it is great to hear all your stories...
Love,
Mom