As part of our regular series introducing the women scientists onboard the Nansen, we’d like to introduce you today to Lindsay Beazley.
Lindsay works as a biologist for Fisheries and Oceans Canada, a department of the Canadian government. Her job is focused on studying and mapping the distribution of vulnerable marine species, such as corals and sponges off the east coast of Canada and in international waters.
In the earlier years of her education, Lindsay never thought her interests in marine biology would lead her to study the deep sea, but in the third year of her Bachelors degree she participated in her first oceanographic cruise where a remotely operated vehicle was used to explore the deep ocean off Canada. Her work has been focused on deep-sea ecosystems ever since.
Lindsay’s interest in marine biology began at a very early age. She first began to love the ocean after watching the Disney movie The Little Mermaid. Other movies, such as Jaws, furthered her interests in marine biology.
On board R/V Dr. Fridtjof Nansen Lindsay’s task is to analyse and identify benthic marine invertebrates from video and sediment samples collected using the Video Assisted Multi Sampler (VAMS) system. Lindsay is surprised to see some of the same deep-sea animals in the southern Indian Ocean that she has observed off Canada, and is really excited about the diversity of animals observed so far on the trip.
Lindsay wants to continue to work in the field of deep-sea biology, and expand her knowledge to different deep-sea ecosystems around the world. She hopes that she will have many more opportunities like this one to study other deep-sea ecosystems around the world.
03/08/2015