Anthroposea Expedition
By Arzucan Askin and Rosalie Wright
Coinciding with the UN Decade for Ocean Science for Sustainable Development and the recent #WorldOceansDay, the Anthroposea Expedition team set out for two weeks sailing the British coast to investigate human interactions with our oceans.
Oxford Seascape Ecology lab member Arzucan Askin led an interdisciplinary team of women from the University of Oxford to explore Britain’s coastlines and the local communities most closely connected to these areas. The team aimed to record the relations between people and the oceans in light of ongoing anthropogenic change and increasing threats to marine and coastal ecosystems. The expedition partnered with SailBritain, the University of Oxford Exploration Club, and the School of Geography and Environment.
“Bringing the social sciences out to sea, our aim is to explore human connections to the ocean and document stories of hope that are defying the consequences of unprecedented environmental change.”
The team sailed for two weeks from Southampton to Helford and back to Plymouth, and have now returned to Oxford with much to share about their expedition. Their work tied into the Oxford Seascape Ecology lab research theme of Cultural Seascapes and Ecosystem Services, investigating the intersection of coastal conservation and coastal communities across British shores.
“Our expedition was a success, and we were able to explore the many ways that the social sciences can bolster marine research, as well as the grassroots realities of anthropogenic entanglements in ocean issues. Our discussions, interviews, and landscape reading led to many new (and sometimes surprising!) way of examining both sea and land.”
To follow the outcomes of this project and meet the rest of the team, check out their website.