KneeDeep Times: Working and Playing in the Coastal Zone
- Species conservation
- Climate change
- Marine science careers
Out in the waves with a biologist and a surfer, whose lives are focused on the ocean’s edge.
Published in KneeDeep Times: January 17, 2024
Every person’s relationship to the coast is unique. Some are drawn to play in the coastal zone; others work there and study the mysteries of the deep.
Of all the habitats on earth, the ocean remains one of the most impenetrable to human beings—there is a point at which the depth or the weather or the access becomes impossible for us to navigate. Surf boards and boats help extend the reach of some, while others use wetsuits and diving gear.
KneeDeep profiles two people deeply engaged in the coastal zone of California. One studies whales for The Marine Mammal Center; the other surfs and manages coastal dredging and restoration projects for the Army Corps of Engineers’ San Francisco district.
Both have a passion for the ocean and the coast is their place of access. Climate change—and its effects on the creatures, wave patterns, ecosystems, and infrastructure that is the object of their work—is their newest challenge.
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