Physicist, Oceanologist and author Helen Chersky speaks to Joe Keard Blue Machineher award-winning book on our ocean physics
By Jo Caird
Helen Chersky had realized that she needed to scuba dive for just a few weeks at the Scripps Oceanography Institute in California.
Although she received her PhD in Explosive Science, the physicist recently embarked on a disciplinary career in the sciences of the Bubble, as she was looking for a new field of research to suit her existing experimental skillset.
“I've never thought about the ocean,” recalls Kazersky. “But it was very clear to me that when there was this light bulb moment when the ocean was a place, I had to learn to dive.”
Czerski quickly advanced, moving from beginner to diving master within three years, training as a scientific diver from the start.
Although she does not dive in the course of her research (bubble science is primarily carried out under broken waves of the open ocean, not a context that specifically encourages safe or fun scuba diving), it is an eye-opening experience in terms of Chersky's attitude towards the underwater world.
“Diving is the closest thing any of us ever come to fly,” she says. “You can explore the three-dimensional world. You see things in a very different way, and it's a great privilege.”
It was this perspective that informed me of the writing. Blue Machine: How the Ocean Shapes Our WorldCzerski's highly acclaimed popular science book on marine physics.
It covers complex topics such as how the ocean stores and redistributes energy, the passage of sound and light through water, but in a very attractive way, it also has access to those who have had physics and final efforts before.
Weaving in are many fascinating stories of how animals and people interact with the ocean, from the neglect of Scottish herring in the early 20th century to the frigid Arctic sharks that have a lifespan of over 250 years.
Blue Machine It is also beautifully written and makes for a very exciting reading experience, especially for those of us who feel at home in watery areas.
To Czerski's surprise, the book recently won the 2024 Wainwright Award. “First of all, I didn't think I wrote a book on conservation, so that was a shock,” she says with a laugh. But winning was a “huge privilege.” I think the award is the recognition that the ocean itself is interesting and one of the most interesting topics of our time. ”
Tell me about writing Blue Machine.
I got a job at the Scripps facility and soon realized I had never thought about ocean physics. I totally got the idea that this is a liquid engine and no one ever told me about it, and it was really annoying.
I earned a postdoc degree and fellowship, continued to learn more about the ocean, and found out there was a story there. There's this big thing that people aren't looking at.
So when I was looking for an idea for my second book [her first, Storm in a Teacup: The Physics of Everyday Life, was published in 2017]This was kicking in my mind. That someone needs to talk about ocean physics, since no one is doing it.
Also, I was able to see so many stories that were not told because they had no place.
Did the reaction surprise you?
The first reaction tends to be “I didn't know that the ocean had done anything.” But as soon as people think about it, they get it. Looking back, it's a very good time. People know much more about everything wrong, but we're past the point of preservation about our list of reusable mugs and plastic straws.
The world is big and complicated, and people want to see the big picture. They want them to understand the world that allows frameworks to make decisions. And in part, I just like to hear about worms with 1,000 anals!
I'm very grateful for the reaction it had. You write a science book and hope it reaches a scientifically favorable audience. This went further and I wasn't expecting it.
This year there are two novels that have been published for the Booker Prize for a long time. Blue Machine As an influence! Suddenly, I feel like I have a lot of responsibility. This is easier to write than you write.
Have you felt pressured to present solutions to the climate and biodiversity crisis?
My role is not to suggest a solution, but there are some obvious ones. My role in this is, “Look at the world. This is what it is, and this is how it works. You take that perspective and you make your own decisions.
Hundreds of books list everything you can and should do, and say the world should do what you can. But the reason they wouldn't work without a book like me at least is because they don't make sense unless you have a bigger perspective. And if you have a bigger perspective, you will solve it for yourself.
What we lack is some of these physical systems that function in this way, these frameworks of the meaning of being a citizen of planet Earth. We live by the rules of the Earth, so we must cooperate with it rather than against it. Others can suggest solutions.
I'm not in that game. These two things are very important except that they don't destroy decarbonization and biology. But they don't change their minds to people, they show them why it's important, and that changes their minds.
What I want to do is show people the physical world exactly as it is and show them how beautiful the interconnections are.
As an oceanographer, what did diving give you?
A healthy fear of what's approaching! One of the most frightening things that have happened to me underwater is that this is not unfamiliar to anyone diving in the UK. YukonThis is truly a large warship that was sunk off the coast of San Diego with turbulent waters.
You stepped down the rope and saw nothing. You are waiting at the bottom, and there is a moment when the soup is clean, and suddenly there is this huge, big battleship.
I hated the moment, it was just terrible. But it was a very interesting memory that we are visual creatures and that the ocean is not a visual place.
Obviously, if I were a dolphin, I would have known it would be there forever. But I relied on a feeling that certainly isn't very useful underwater in coastal areas where you have very turbulent water.
It is reinforcement that it has not evolved for this environment. None of the sea creatures would have experienced what I did. I left my place.
Diving also gives me an understanding of the internal organs of movement. Because you feel a surge and you are attracting you. The sense of the ocean as doing things by moving them, and that this is not just a passive pond.
And just the privilege of seeing another world. Octopus is the closest thing that any of us will ever see alien life.
People are amazed at how many times it has been going on about the chemical signatures of something that may be related to some exoplanet life. It says, “There are octopuses! Have you ever seen octopus hunting?”
Intellectuals evolved completely independently, for different worlds, due to different sets of physical constraints. Why don't you want to go to an alien planet?
When you are placed in the ocean, you will see that your perspective is not only unimportant at all, but there are so many different ways to solve these physical problems.
Just shift the rules differently and you'll see what the world looks like. It's great to experience it.
What do divers in particular get from reading your books?
The thing about human diving is that we just hold hands around the edges. Therefore, even if you have the privilege of seeing a part of this underwater life and knowing what a living sponge looks like, to see how it leads to a global picture is to see what you really, really have to do in your imagination.
But I think what you can do directly is to imagine connections. Once you know what to look for, you can see the connection.
For example, on a remote island in the middle of a large ocean, the sharks are extremely important in fattening coral reefs, where they feed in the ocean, then enter the reef and rebirth to breed, and the shark poo is the fertilizer.
So when you see a shark in that environment, it's a big animal, so you're not just looking at the exciting stuff, but actually looking at the connection.
For divers, I hope reading my books will change the way they see the world they think they already know. You can imagine your connection to the outside world.
Not only are they creatures going to the past, they are part of a larger, physical engine. You're looking at the tip of the iceberg, but hopefully there will be some tools to imagine what it's connected to.
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