Stories drive our understanding of the world allowing us to intimately share our connections to place in both time and space. From academics to aesthetics to AI, these scientists and artists are weaving together wildly creative ways to tell the diverse stories from the sea and through the eyes of its inhabitants With fresh perspectives and new technologies, each lens offers a way to connect with the natural world and a pathway to understanding our impacts and place in the nearly four billion year old pantheon of life on this watery planet we call Earth.
Tektite II Mission 6 Aquanaut Dr. Alina Szmant, coral reef ecologist and former Professor of Marine Biology at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, and her colleague, Dr. Rob Whitehead, a Research Specialist at the UNCW Center for Marine Science, have developed systems and enabling technologies for bringing the lab to the ocean. One of these tools is an instrument called CISME which stands for Community In Situ MEtabolism, and is pronounced ‘kiss-me’ to reflect the gentle interaction between the instrument and the coral/substrate. Her countless hours underwater quietly observing entire undera communities have fueled her desire to develop portable tools that can make non-destructive, non-invasive measurements in situ under ambient conditions.
Planning experiments that further exploration and discovery of the ocean requires an integrated design, ecological, and engineering approach. The work of Dr. Katija centers on three approaches: 1) developing tools and techniques that reveal the hidden processes of ocean organisms in their natural environments, 2) recording and modeling live organisms using advanced imaging equipment and 3D printers and 3) applying the lessons learned to develop new bio-inspired technologies that will spark deeper questions and discoveries.
Rachel Butler Scott knows that fish have distinct personalities, pelicans can be very cheeky and sea lions can work together like a pack of wolves to hunt yellowfin tuna. From thousands of hours spent underwater, filming for such landmark series as the Blue Planet II and more recently Frozen Planet II and IMAX movies, she has had the privilege of getting to know the undersea world in a way few others have. Her natural history knowledge coupled with the right equipment helps to reveal these secret behaviors.
Inspired by the Coral Triangle and California's Kelp forest, Okeanos was developed in collaboration with world-renowned marine biologists and oceanographers. This dance/cirque performance incorporates choreography, apparatus, and set design by Capacitor Artistic Director Jodi Lomask and the voices of Dr. Sylvia Earle and Dr. Tierney Thys. Okeanos includes video art by RJ Muna and Toshi Hoo, underwater cinematography by David Hannan, sound composition by EO, Kaya Project, Beats Antique, edIT, and Tipper, vocalizations by Anka Draugelates, violin by Julia Ogrydziak, and costumes by Kimie Sako and Becky Karthage.
Welcome to Tektite2020 a mix of live presentations and performances free online here 17-18 July 2020. This event was initiated and hosted by Dr Sarah Jane Pell and co-pilot Dr. Tierney Thys and enthusiastically welcomed by the Tektite II Team. Web content includes reflection and reporting on the 50th Anniversary of Mission 6, and presentations by leading Sea and Space professionals on the most recent exploration, achievements and pressing issues today. Outcomes will help set the vision for the next 50-years commencing with a 10-day all-women undersea mission at Aquarius Reef Base in 2021. Attendees share in the celebrations, share in knowledge, new perspectives and tools to transform the ocean world for a better future!
