Millions of people fly above 11,000 meters above sea level every day, nearly half a thousand humans have traveled to space and man has stepped on the Moon on several occasions. Although the first time the deepest known point in the ocean was reached, the Mariana Trench, in the Pacific, located at 11,034 meters deep, was in 1960, only 13 people have reached it so far. And between 1960 and 2012 there were only three.
The study and research of the depths of the sea are much more limited than those of the surface of the earth or sky. Not for the marine biologist and explorer Sylvia Earle (New Jersey, USA, 88 years old), who has dedicated her entire life to exploring the life of the oceans, and who answers with “it’s a mystery” to the question why There is more interest in space than in the sea. “The ocean is also part of the universe and it is right here,” she points out, and she points out, with some sarcasm, as a cause that some say that the sky, in a religious sense, “is up there when, in reality, the darling is under”.
Earle, known as the Lady of the depths and Princess of Asturias Award for Concord in 2018, has several records in his possession. More than 7,000 hours of diving, several weeks of work in underwater laboratories, he was the first person in the world to walk on the world’s ocean floor and considers that the predilection for the space world to the detriment of the underwater world is, for some, a great frustration. “because the technology exists. Water is essential for life, if there is no water, there is no life. We know that we have to be more sustainable, greener, and I understand that, but we also have to take water into account because the majority of the planet, 97%, is water and it is the part of the planet that has the most life, the most diversity. . Therefore, the biosphere is practically blue,” she says.
Petite, agile, always smiling, curious, kind and with the virtue of fascination almost intact, Sylvia Earle continues diving. She equally shares her time with children, surrounded by scientists or admirers who approach her looking for a photo of her at the Oceanogràfic in Valencia, where she has participated in Science Week. In this interview with EL PAÍS, she explains that, unlike astronauts, who do not build their own spaceships, she had to work with engineers to be able to go to the bottom of the sea. She even founded a group for the development of underwater technologies that facilitate scientific advancement. He considers that, since the Earth began to be observed from space, we are more aware of “how deep and immense the ocean is” but that it can be stated that “we know the surface of Mars better than the bottom of the sea.” “If you don’t know it, you can’t care,” she says and that is why she continues with her task of disseminating the importance of life in the oceans. For Earle, the great era of discovery and exploration “is beginning.” And she should take into account “the magnitude of what we don’t know so as not to base everything only on what we know.” “We should care more about what we don’t know,” she claims.
“We need to give access to children, teachers and scientists,” he says, and that is why he has embarked on a project to build two submarines that allow diving to 1,000 meters in a section where you can see squid, crustaceans, jellyfish, many types. of fish, the largest emigration on earth: “Very few have had the privilege of witnessing that and I want everyone to go,” he says.
He does not believe that massive over-interest is a risk that will lead to overcrowding or conquest of the deep sea. “We are destroying it because of ignorance. “Ignorance is killing the ocean,” she warns. “We are taking life away from it,” she insists, and states that one of the big problems is that “we just call incredible things from the sea fish. Only the dead animal is known. If you have only seen dead animals, how are you going to care,” she wonders. “We care about dogs because we know them, we don’t see them as a piece of meat, we love them, they matter to us. We don’t know that much about life in the ocean and its ocean animals also have faces, they have personalities,” she says.
Dr. Sylvia Earl knew, from a very young age, that she wanted to dedicate herself to the marine world. She had to break many stereotypes and, although she was told to be a stewardess or nurse, she considers herself “lucky” because she had the opportunity to be a scientist. She believes that times have changed “but not enough” and, perhaps for this reason, she cares and encourages girls to immerse themselves in her world. “There are still prejudices,” she maintains, and not only gender-based, but imposed by others. “Never let anyone tell you that you can’t,” she repeats.
At 88 years old, she will soon embark for Patagonia, where she participates in a project “A sea of hope” organized by Mission Blue, led by Earle herself, and in which the Azul Foundation collaborates. Marino who, in turn, collaborates with the Valencia Oceanogràfic Foundation. Accompanied by Maximiliano Bello, expert in International Ocean Policy, and Juan Antonio Romero, biologist and ocean explorer, the Lady of the Deep seeks the protection of that part of Chile, which is home to the most extensive forests of kelp algae, with the ability to capture carbon and emit oxygen up to 20 times greater than that of tropical forests. He will work in the area, threatened by salmon farming, for more than a month, in his tireless fight to raise awareness of the importance of the oceans in protecting the environment and because, as he says, “life is precious.”
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