James Ducker Embarks on Research Expedition

2016 Nov 16

James Ducker of Beijing, has been recognized as a scholar apart of the SEA Semester: Oceans and Climate, an opportunity to examine the ocean's role in the global carbon cycle and climate dynamics while applying knowledge to pressing public policy questions.

In September, Ducker arrived with the class at SEA Semester's campus in the oceanographic research community of Woods Hole, Massachusetts for six weeks of intensive scientific and policy coursework on shore. With guidance from SEA Semester faculty and area ocean science and policy experts, they focused on complex questions of climate, sustainability, and policy, and designed their own research projects to be completed at sea. The class used behavioral science as well as current marine policy theory and practice to inform a newly crafted climate resilience program for a Caribbean island. Topics of study also included public health issues exacerbated by climate warming, precipitation patterns and their impacts on freshwater availability, strategies for coastal disaster resilience, fisheries changes linked to changing ocean temperatures, and the use of Marine Protected Areas to aid struggling ocean ecosystems.

Last week, the class flew to the Canary Islands to meet the SSV Corwith Cramer, SEA's state-of-the-art oceanographic research vessel, which will serve as their home, classroom, and laboratory for a six-week transatlantic voyage to St. Croix in the Caribbean. Along the way, the students will become working members of the ship's crew and use advanced oceanographic instruments to research diverse marine ecosystems in the Atlantic Ocean. They will implement their experimental design, analyze their collected data, and present their scientific findings in peer-reviewed poster sessions at the end of the program.

The ship's ports of call form a unique lens for delving into climate science and policy. The class will examine approaches employed by the Canary Islands, which is harnessing abundant renewable resources in innovative hydrowind energy systems that dramatically reduce reliance on fossil fuels. They will then compare such strategies to those used by small Caribbean islands moving toward sustainable development, ecological conservation, and proactive coastal zone management.

Ducker is majoring in Marine Biology and plans to graduate in 2018.