Oceanic Explorer and Researcher
Are you intrigued by the ocean, what lives within it and how it works? Do you have a desire for adventure on the high seas anywhere in the world aboard ships of exploration and research? If so, then becoming an ocean scientist — an ocean explorer and researcher — just might be the life for you. Exploring and studying the ocean require an inquisitive mind and a good academic education. You will need a solid foundation in the sciences and the math that is available to you in high school. Ultimately, you will need to obtain a college and, most likely, a graduate degree. Dr. Stephen Hammond is an oceanic explorer and researcher. He works for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Ocean Exploration and Research. I had a great time talking with him about his work! Truman: When and why did you first become interested in working in this field? Hammond: I became interested in oceanography by accident. I was a business major in a community college, and for my science requirement, I took a geology course. The instructor was excellent, and I knew immediately that studying the Earth was what I really wanted to do. So I completed my first college degree in geology. At the time I was getting my bachelor’s degree, there was a major discovery in the field of oceanography — the discovery that plates of the Earth’s crust move and the record of their movements is recorded in seafloor volcanic rocks — and I immediately decided to go to graduate school in marine geophysics (a marine geophysicist is a seagoing geologist). I completed a master’s and a PhD in marine geology and geophysics and have been exploring and studying the ocean and the ocean’s seafloor ever since. My specialty is the study of submarine volcanoes. Truman: What is the hardest part of your job? Hammond: I am a firm believer that everyone should choose what one does for a career very carefully so that during one’s working career, one is always excited and challenged by one’s chosen career mission in life. I did that, and as a result, there is no hardest part of my job. There are always issues to confront and resolve. Sometimes, for example, it is hard to find the money necessary to pay for the ships and submersibles that we use, but we always find a way, and working hard for a goal definitely makes one appreciate what he or she has accomplished. Conducting exploration and research can be hard work, but since I truly love what I’m doing, it’s very satisfying. Truman: What is the most exciting/interesting part of your job? Hammond: The most exciting part of my job is being in the field aboard a ship or a submarine and exploring a part of the Earth’s surface (in this case, the seafloor) that has never been seen by anyone else. We make lots of discoveries, things like new species of marine life and observations of geological processes like deep volcanic eruptions. The ocean remains well over 90 percent unexplored, and the discoveries we are making have important implications for issues including global warming and understanding the effects of a globally changing ocean environment (due to the ocean becoming more acidic, for example) on important fisheries resources. Truman: What is your favorite thing to do when you are not at work? Hammond: My favorite things to do when I’m not at work include playing tennis, riding my bike, fly fishing and, especially, reading. Truman: What are some cool things about the ocean that most people don’t know? Hammond: Most people don’t realize that the ocean remains virtually unexplored. The ocean is critical to life on Earth. We all need oxygen to breathe, for example. Well, about 50 percent of the Earth’s atmospheric oxygen is produced by marine phytoplankton. With the ocean becoming more acidic (due to the fact that it is absorbing the increasing amounts of carbon dioxide that we humans are putting into the atmosphere), we need to figure out what the impacts on ocean life may be. Another fascinating thing that marine (micro)biologists are just beginning to understand is that there is a vast universe of microorganisms under the seafloor, especially in areas heated by submarine volcanic activity. These bacteria and bacteria-like organisms live in extreme physical and chemical conditions. Some of these microorganisms live in water that is hotter than 100 degrees Centigrade and their chemistry would be poisonous to humans. These microorganisms are of great interest to marine biologists because they may hold prospects for enabling the creation of new medicines and biotechnical applications. Truman: What is it like to watch an underwater volcano erupt, and how is this important to the ecosystem? Hammond: Watching a submarine eruption deep in the ocean is both visually and acoustically astounding! Although we’ve only managed to see two such eruptions in actual action (even though these kinds of eruptions are the most common eruptions on Earth), it is very clear that they are responsible for impacts on marine life. And not just impacts like being engulfed by lava flows. These eruptions also produce huge amounts of carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide, both of which result in making the areas around the volcanoes acidic. The acidity, in turn, affects seafloor life in surprising ways that we are just beginning to understand. Many animals like living around active volcanoes because the fluids and gases that are produced during eruptions contain nutrients. Since we have only begun the study of deep volcanic eruptions, however, there are undoubtedly many important discoveries yet to be made. (Here is a link to our website where you can find some video clips of a major eruption observed in 2009: http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/09laubasin/welcome.html. Tune into our website this Fall when we will be featuring more live video as we explore undersea mountains, the seafloor and the animals that live in the deep, dark ocean. http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov. Truman: Thank you, Dr. Hammond!
