6
UWI TODAY 100
TH
ISSUE
– SUNDAY 17 DECEMBER, 2017
RESEARCH
We know very little about life
in the deep ocean beds
surrounding Trinidad. But recently, a team of six women
marine biologists made waves with an October 2017 paper
on deep-sea methane vents or cold seeps, and the amazing
life they sustain some 4,000 feet under the sea. Among the
contributing scientists are Cindy Van Dover and Lisa Levin,
two of the world’s top deep-sea biologists from the USA, as
well as our very own Dr. Judith Gobin, Senior Lecturer in
Marine Biology at The UWI Department of Life Sciences
in St. Augustine, Trinidad. Dr Gobin is a major contributor
to the knowledge of marine biodiversity in T&T seas due to
her life’s work studying the animals that live in the coastal
seabed’s soft sediments and rocky areas.
Scientists sailing aboard the ExplorationVessel Nautilus
found 83 deep-sea species, including a purple octopus, living
almost a mile deep in sites off Trinidad’s east coast in the
El Pilar area, a place earmarked for oil and gas exploration.
“These communities are absolutely amazing: hundreds
of thousands of eight-inch deep-sea mussels, as well as
three-foot tubeworms, crabs, shrimp, snails and fishes were
found living at the seeps between 1,000 and 1,650 metres
depth,” (3,281–5,413 feet depth) said Dr. Diva Amon, a
Trinidadian-British postdoctoral deep-sea researcher and
colleague of Dr. Gobin, and the lead author of the October
2017 collaborative paper.
Dr. Judith Gobin is the first woman marine biologist
from Trinidad and Tobago to have been invited aboard the
E/V Nautilus, not just once but twice, in 2013 and in 2014.
The Nautilus is a 64-metre ship on a global mission of
marine exploration, and probably the dreamvessel for many
a marine scientist worldwide. It operates under the Ocean
Exploration Trust, and is led by Professor Robert Ballard,
veteran ocean explorer and Professor of Oceanography at
the University of Rhode Island in the USA.
Prof Ballard is perhaps best known for his discovery
of famous shipwrecks, including the Titanic in 1985. He
was the person who discovered the remarkable existence of
…and other
underwater
treasures
B Y S H E R E E N A L I
Marine biologist Dr Judith
Gobin shares her experiences
aboard the E/V Nautilus
as she forges ahead with
research and calls for
sustainable deep sea policies
hydrothermal vents in the late 1970s. He founded the Ocean
Exploration Trust in 2008, which owns the Nautilus. The
Nautilus voyages around the world, exploring new frontiers
in marine geology, biology, archaeology and chemistry,
while transmitting live audiovisual feeds and data to fellow
scientists and ocean life fans.
Dr. Gobin: ‘Nautilus trip is
the highlight of my career’
For a Caribbean scientist to be invited aboard the
Nautilus is a wonderful opportunity, both for the experience
of collaborative discovery and to publicise the work of local
researchers. All costs for invited scientists are paid for by
the Ocean Exploration Trust.
“It is the highlight of my career so far,” Dr. Gobin said of
her 2014 Nautilus experience – that almost did not happen.
Official T&T permissions to sail in the area were slow to
come, as BHP Billiton had ships earmarked to do seismic
tests near there, and there wasmuch red tape and uncertainty
about maritime access rights. When permissions did finally
come after months of tireless lobbying by Dr. Gobin, the
Nautilus had already set sail elsewhere in Caribbean waters,
and had just a few days to reach and explore the El Pilar site.
Dr. Gobin is very grateful it did happen, and says those few
precious days of discovery were “intense,” with scientists
working round the clock in shifts.
“I’ve always loved the sea,” said Dr. Gobin in a recent
interview for UWI TODAY. Now in her late fifties and
sporting a mane of cascading long dark hair, she is the
mother of two adult children, Graeme and Jeremy, and
radiates youthful energy. She’s married to an orthopaedic
surgeon, Dr. Godfrey Araujo, and juggles her family and
professional academic life with admirable aplomb.
“As a little girl, I enjoyed amazing family vacation
holidays at Mayaro, and was fascinated by the water and
sea animals and fish of all kinds. As I got older, swimming,
PURPLE
OCTOPUS
The E/V Nautilus.
PHOTO: OCEAN
EXPLORATION TRUST
Dr Judith Gobin in the
Lab on the E/V Nautilus in
October 2013, measuring
Bathymodiolus mussels –
one of which was the largest
recorded to date.
PHOTO: COURTESY
DR JUDITH GOBIN
