Sylvia Earl, the oceanographer was raised by her parents on a farmhouse. Although her parents raised her in a natural and wild environment and they deliberately impressed upon her the value of natural habitat and environment, but she had an inborn and inherent instinct for wild life. In a very young age, she had curiosity and tendency to explore wild life. Her parents always taught her not to have unnecessary fears of the unknown. That’s why she never had reluctance or fear regarding anything throughout her lifetime endeavors.
At the age of 13, Sylvia Earl started learning about the wildlife of the Gulf of Mexico where she had moved with her parents. Her parents did not have enough resources to send her to college but she was exceptionally bright student and won scholarships to the Florida State. She worked in the college labs to bear her expenses herself. Scuba diving was her first stimulator of her interest towards marine life. She decided to specialize in botany.
In 1960’s she had to keep balance between his family and her passion for scientific exploration in her aspired field. She did PhD from Duke. Her thesis on “”Phaeophyta of the Eastern Gulf of Mexico” was sensationally noticed by the oceanographic community. She spent more than a thousand research hours under sea. After her remarkable research work, she became a public speaker as an advocate of marine research. Then she started writing for National Geographic. She produced many films on marine life. She became an icon, a pioneer and an advocate of conservation of marine environment and she worked for the public awareness of the damage being done to marine life and its aftereffects. Today, she works for the National Geographic Society.
Sylvia Earle
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