Oceanography | Vol.29, No.2
It’s June, when my brain starts thinking of ocean temperatures
in degrees Fahrenheit rather than degrees Celsius. Clearly, I
am readying for ocean swims. In anticipation of your summer
vacation and mine, I have asked a handful of my (favorite) fel-
low oceanographers to name their favorite beaches and beach
reads. Essentially, I have compiled a top-ten list of beaches and
books for oceanographers. You will see that some oceanogra-
phers can’t get enough of science, even at the beach; some are
looking for total escape, some for culture, others for adventure;
and at least one oceanographer reads papers that will give him a
good beach sleep! Who knew?
Enjoy the selections below and your next beach vacation!
Rick Murray, Boston University
My favorite beach is East Beach on Chappaquiddick Island,
Martha’s Vineyard. I’ve been to hundreds of beaches all around
the world, but this one is tops, perhaps because I’ve had the priv-
ilege of going there since I was a wee laddie.
As for my favorite beach read, I bounce around between
forget-as-soon-as-finished spy novel silly readings or long books
about, well, the ocean, such as Voyage by Sterling Hayden or
Melville’s Moby Dick. I like good yarns that in essence offer a
commentary on the human condition. In that vein, I’m also par-
tial to the history of aspects of science or medicine (including
biographies) or the development of a particular component of
civilization (e.g., of maritime commerce).
Kim Martini, JISAO, University of Washington, and
Deep Sea News science blogger
While some may go to the beach for the sun and sand, I say,
go for the physics. Turnagain Arm is just an hour’s drive south
of Anchorage, Alaska, and boasts some of the largest tides in
the world. When the tide floods, vast quantities of water are
squeezed into this narrow inlet, forming a tidal bore surfed for
miles by humans and followed by opportunistic beluga whales
searching for food. When the tide ebbs, vast mud flats painted
with ripples and etched with miniature canyons are revealed.
The dynamical beauty of this beach is best matched with a blan-
ket and the captivating “The origin and growth of ripple-mark”
by Hertha Marks Ayrton, a pioneering scientist, engineer, and
fluid dynamicist. Written with an irrepressible sense of wonder
and accompanied by delightful hand-drawn illustrations, this
century-old text is both an ode to science and to the beach.
Stefanie Mack, Old Dominion University, graduate
student, TOS Council student representative
My favorite beach is probably North Carolina’s Emerald Isle. I
have fond memories of vacationing there with my grandparents
as a child, and steaming our own fresh caught crabs!
I love using books to temporarily disconnect from reality. I’m
currently enjoying Brandon Sanderson’s fantasy writing, specifi-
cally his logical and almost scientific treatment of magic.
Fiamma Straneo, WHOI, 2016 Sverdrup Lecturer
Black Beach on Buzzards Bay is my favorite beach. It owes its
name to the outcropping peat layers formed by salt marshes
retreating inland as sea level rose and glaciers retreated. Even
when distracted by the turquoise waters, the glacial boulder sit-
ting in the water reminds you of its origins. Getting to Black
Beach is part of its charm: it is only accessible by boat, a long
walk from Chapoquoit Beach, or by bike. Biking is my favor-
ite because you pass through the teeming Great Sippewissett
Marsh—where you can see striped bass, quahogs, blue crabs,
and more kinds of herons that I can name. Any visit to this beach
is incomplete if you don’t hop over the sand dunes and explore
its multitude of colors and sounds, before settling back down in
the warm, peat-rich sand.
My kids’ seemingly endless energy at the beach (and else-
where really) leaves little room for captivating novels or thought-
provoking nonfiction. Poetry collections work best because
I can get from start to end of a poem in a few stolen breaks.
Mary Oliver’s collection What Do We Know, inspired by many
of the same surroundings, gives me the same sense of awe as the
nature around me.
Mark Cane, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of
Columbia University, 2016 TOS Fellow
I can’t decide on one favorite beach, so here are contenders:
1. Nostalgic choice: Riis Park in New York City, because I went
there a lot as a child and teenager. So did Arnold Gordon.
2. Current use: Miami Beach, where I spend the winters now.
Interesting crowd.
3. Best I’ve seen: Canoa Quebrada, in Ceara, Brazil. Tudo biem.
My favorite beach read is M.S. Lozier, 2010 Science,
“Deconstructing the conveyor belt.” A great read, and short, so I
can lie on the beach and think deep thoughts.
Oceanographers at the Beach
FROM THE PRESIDENT