A Night of Ocean Exploration

Join local authors, explorers, and scientists for a night of ocean exploration at the newly renovated St. Michaels Library.

Barbara Lockhart: An author of fiction, memoir, and history, Barbara Lockhart tells the story of Dr. William Beebe and his famous expedition on the Arcturus in 1925 to explore deep sea life in the South Seas. Titled Half Pass Six, the story is told in part by the author’s father who witnessed the bravery of Beebe in his early descents into the dark blue abyss. Celebrating the 100 year anniversary of the voyage along with establishment of the St. Michels Library is the 100th anniversary of the emigration of a sixteen year old boy from war torn Germany.

Tales from the Limitless Abyss: Deep-sea mining, cold war espionage, and a 500 million year old mystery. Deep-sea ecologist, conservation technologist, and ocean educator Andrew D Thaler will share three stories about the deep sea from his forthcoming book, Limitless Abyss: The Use and Misuse of the Deep Sea.

Life in the Open Ocean: Dr. Rebecca Helm is a marine biologist studying life in the open ocean and at the ocean’s surface. Her research focuses on the ecology of the high seas, and how biodiversity on this ‘other half’ of Earth is impacted by human activity. She is an assistant professor in the Earth Commons Institute at Georgetown University.