Abbey Dias Discusses Her Role as UC Davis’ Assistant Diving and Boating Safety Officer
Abbey Dias was always drawn to the mysteries of the ocean. Growing up outside of Seattle, Washington, she’d head to the shore during low tide, the waters drawing back like a curtain to reveal the life beneath the waves. She’d comb the beach and tide pools for sand dollars, sea stars and other creatures. She’d snorkel in the shallows. But all the while, her eyes and mind would wander back to the deep, to the waters just beyond her reach.
“What exists in the rest of the ocean was always very intriguing to me,” said Dias. “I’ve always had a perspective of humans being part of the environment, but I think too often we separate nature and humans.”
But what happens in the oceans affects humanity. Shifts in one ecosystem affect the others. It’s a chain of change, one that can be cataclysmic without care towards the environment.
As an assistant diving and boating safety officer for UC Davis based at Bodega Marine Laboratory, Dias works with UC Davis researchers to coordinate and provide guidance for critical fieldwork that’s helping us understand the health of our oceans and waterways, and in turn, our global climate.
“My work is focused on training researchers who use boating and diving for their science, which includes training them in technical safety and communication skills,” said Dias, who teaches everything from introductory boating classes to scientific diving. “People will submit their diving and boating plans to us, and we’ll check them out, make sure they’re good to go, and give them a thumbs up so that they can go and do their work with the endorsement of our team.”
Witnessing a changing climate
Helping inform Dias’ training of UC Davis researchers is her own background as a scientist. As a master’s student studying biology at Sonoma State University, Dias studied the collapse of Northern California’s bull kelp forests and participated in efforts to restore them. Researchers estimate that around 95% of these forests have vanished.
“Kelp forests are really important ecosystems,” Dias said. “They provide the habitat, the protection, the environmental conditions that other animals need to survive.”
The case of these disappearing kelp forests directly shows the interconnectedness of our biosphere and how one shift kickstarts a chain of change. Between 2013 and 2017, the sunflower sea star — a major predator in the region — severely declined. Ocean warming spurred the toxic outbreak of sea star wasting syndrome, causing them to necrose and die. Researchers estimate nearly 90% of the species’ population was eradicated.
“That has set the ecosystem totally out of balance and led to an overpopulation of purple sea urchins, which are natural part of the ecosystem, but right now, they don’t have predators to keep them in check, so they’re eating everything,” Dias said.
And a staple of a sea urchin’s diet: kelp.
In her previous research work, Dias participated in projects that partnered with commercial divers to remove excess purple sea urchins from kelp ecosystems.
“Historically, they have fished for urchins to sell for uni, but now the market has shifted a bit where a lot of them are getting involved with restoration,” she said.
Dias, who has spent countless hours diving in kelp forests, has been a witness to and documented their decline. The loss of these ecosystems marks the loss of a magical, and ecologically pertinent, place.
“You truly are transported to this like absolutely other world, and you go through different layers of the kelp forest,” Dias said. “When you get underneath the canopy, your eyes adjust and you can see fish swimming around and the beautiful beams of light that penetrate through the forest. It’s like you’re literally flying through a tree canopy.”
“Then you turn around and you see that this is just a small patch and there are urchins encroaching on the area; you really feel that loss,” she added.
Supporting UC Davis research
On top of teaching classes and providing guidance on scientific diving and boating safety, Dias sometimes accompanies UC Davis researchers in the field. Recently, she spent four weeks in Antarctica supporting research efforts at Lake Fryxell. There, researchers like Professor Dawn Sumner, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, are studying the microorganisms living in the lake. These microbial ecosystems are like time capsules of Earth’s ancient past, when processes like photosynthesis were first developing.
“My role was to offer up that high-level safety perspective and support the team on safe diving practices while also collecting data,” Dias said.
During the fieldwork, Dias dove beneath the lake’s icy surface, acting as the researchers’ eyes and collecting samples of microbial mats for later analysis. Every morning, Dias conducted a risk assessment of the day’s research activities, which included gauging the weather, the complexity of the day’s plan and the fitness of each team member, among other aspects. Each assessment ended with a number score that correlated with either low, medium or high risk. The number dictated whether dives were a go or no-go, or if the plan simply needed changing.
“I really care a lot about making that connection between science and safety,” Dias said. “We do a lot of training to support various teams, like we trained the Antarctica team in first aid and other diving techniques before getting out there.”
In addition to facilitating UC Davis research and training, Dias and the rest of the UC Davis diving and boating safety team also work with a variety of organizations affiliated with the university's research, including local kelp restoration teams, Sonoma State University and the Greater Farallones Association.
“I am especially interested in organizing specialized trainings to meet unique research needs, whether that’s launching boats in challenging places or using underwater photography for science,” said Dias. “I really, really, really love the work.”
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