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Title
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Austin Gillespie
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Type
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Primary: Student Argonaut
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Operation
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Resilient Planet
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Mission:
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Mission 1: Invaders , Mission 3: Paradise Lost
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Created On
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3/10/2008
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From: Resilient Planet Mission 1: Invaders , Mission 3: Paradise Lost |
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Austin Gillespie Read more about Austin Gillespie, a Student Argonaut from Operation: Resilient Planet. |
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Austin Gillespie
Student Argonaut,
Seward, AK
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Operation: Resilient Planet was Austin’s first hands-on JASON experience. He was excited to be directly involved after following a JASON program in his hometown several years prior.
Austin was born and raised in a Seward, Alaska, a small town where the mountains meet the sea. This has been an incredible “backyard”: walking the beaches at low tides, whale watching, and fishing. The area was hit by the Exxon Valdez oil spill and Austin has grown up hearing the stories of how the spill changed the ocean and lives of some local people. As a result, he is especially interested in the sciences pertaining to nature.
Austin is active in school sports. He also participated several years in the State Spelling Bee and the National Geographic Geography Bee. He is also involved with the Alaska Lake Ice and Snow Observatory Network (ALISON), taking snow and ice measurements from the lake near his house.
Austin’s biggest challenge was being involved in the People to People World Leadership Forum. He had to raise money to fund a trip to Washington D.C. His teacher from Seward Middle School says that Austin is a self-motivator and can get a job done. It certainly showed when he overcame the above challenge.
In his own words
Thoughts on Dr. Russell Cuhel
In Milwaukee, Wisconsin we met our Host Researcher Dr. Russell Cuhel. He is a great researcher and I looked forward to working with him. His research looks at what is happening to the water column on the Great Lakes when invasive species, such as the Zebra mussel and the Quagga mussel, invade. In order to do his work we headed out on to huge Lake Michigan. We were on the Neeskay, a 71 foot long research vessel. The two to four foot swells made the trip pretty wild. It was like a roller coaster up and down, up and down, up and down. Six hours on the boat went by in a flash. One of the best parts of that day was getting to drive the Neeskay myself. It was harder than I thought it would be because it didn’t have power steering. We put a ROV (remote operated vehicle) over the side to examine the Zebra mussels below and it was fun to watch. You could see the bottom of the lake on a TV inside the boat because the ROV had a camera. The visibility wasn’t that great, but it was still fun to watch. I really enjoyed being on the boat and I was bummed to get off. When we finished Boot Camp and our work with Dr. Cuhel we were assigned to our Field Mission. Mine was to be part of the Chesapeake Bay mission with Dr. Sylvia Earle. I flew back to Alaska and a few weeks later I got on a plane again and headed for Baltimore and the Chesapeake.
Thoughts on Dr. Sylvia Earle
Dr. Sylvia Earle was an amazing scientist to work with. She loves the ecology of the Chesapeake Bay and knows what it should look like when it is healthy. Most of the days on the Chesapeake were hot and sunny. We were in the water almost as soon as we were on location. We went snorkeling in the water over an oyster reef. At some points the water was so dark it was like being in a room with no windows or lights. I was shocked at how few oysters there were in the Bay. The name that the Native Americans used to call Chesapeake translated to “shellfish bay.” We found one live oyster in fifteen to thirty minutes of looking. I couldn’t believe that! It would have been amazing to see the Bay four hundred years ago when the water was clear and the wildlife flourished.
What JASON means to me
I have really learned a lot. I have learned that everything you do, even if you don’t know it, affects the ocean. The oceans are getting polluted and fish are at ten percent of what they used to be. We need to act now before it’s too late.
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