Sylvia Earle

Sylvia Earle is an American marine biologist, oceanographer and explorer known both for pioneering deep-sea research and for decades of advocacy for ocean conservation. In 1970 Earle led the first all-female team of aquanauts living in the Tektite II underwater habitat off the United States Virgin Islands, a landmark project studying how humans could live and work for extended periods beneath the sea. In 1979 Earle made an open-ocean dive to a depth of 381 meters, or about 1,250 feet, off the coast of Oahu wearing a pressurized JIM diving suit, setting a women's depth record that has still not been surpassed. Earle served as the first female chief scientist of the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration from 1990 to 1992 and became a National Geographic Explorer at Large in 1998, the same year Time magazine named her its first Hero for the Planet. In 2009 Earle used the TED Prize she was awarded that year to found Mission Blue, an organization that works to establish marine protected areas it calls Hope Spots around the world, with a stated goal of protecting 30 percent of the ocean by 2030.