Índex per Summer 2022 a The Explorers Journal

BY USING PAPER MADE WITH 100% POST-CONSUMER RECYCLED CONTENT, THE FOLLOWING RESOURCES HAVE BEEN SAVED: TREES 33.1 FULLY GROWN WATER 9,842 LITRES ENERGY 13,900,000 BTU SOLID WASTE 50 KILOGRAMS GREENHOUSE GASES 6,486 KILOGRAMS THE EXPLORERS JOURNAL IS PRODUCED WITH FSC® CERTIFIED, 100% POST-CONSUMER RECYCLED PAPER STOCK. AS WE EMBRACE UV PRINT TECHNOLOGY, OUR VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUND (VOC) EMISSIONS CONTINUE TO SHIFT TO VIRTUALLY ZERO. THE QUARTERLY IS PRINTED BY HEMLOCK, A CARBON-NEUTRAL GREEN PRINTER. THE EXPLORERS CLUB IS COMMITTED TO ELIMINATING SINGLE-USE PLASTICS. THE USE OF PAPER ENVELOPES IN PLACE OF PLASTIC MAILERS IS GENEROUSLY SUPPORTED BY DONORS TO THE WORLD OCEAN WEEK PROGRAM. by Hemlock Printers www.hemlock.com/zero ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ESTIMATES WERE MADE USING THE ENVIRONMENTAL PAPER NETWORK PAPER CALCULATOR VERSION 4.0. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT: WWW.PAPERCALCULATOR.ORG. FSC® IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR…

PRESIDENT Richard Garriott de Cayeux HONORARY CHAIRMAN Jeff Bezos Buzz Aldrin HONORARY DIRECTORS HRH Albert II, of Monaco Robert D. Ballard, PhD Sylvia A. Earle, PhD Dan Goldin Gilbert M. Grosvenor Donald C. Johanson, PhD Frederik D.A. Paulsen, PhD Bertrand Piccard, MD Roland R. Puton Johan Reinhard, PhD Edward P. Roski, Jr. George B. Schaller, PhD Kathryn D. Sullivan, PhD Don Walsh, PhD HRH Jigyel Ugyen Wangchuck, of Bhutan DIRECTORS EMERITI Brian P. Hanson William J. Liss BOARD OF DIRECTORS CLASS OF 2023 Constance Difede Barbara Doran Kellie Gerardi David Isserman Brianna Rowe CLASS OF 2024 Devon Chivvis J. Robert “J.R.” Harris Martin Kraus Timothy A. Radke, MD L. Mead Treadwell CLASS OF 2025 John All Marc Bryan-Brown Joe Grabowski Leon “Lee” V. Langan Milbry C. Polk Janet L. Walsh,…

Esri chief scientist Dawn Wright, aka “Deep Sea Dawn,” had wanted to visit the deepest point on Earth ever since she was a child. Back then, though, only two people had been down to Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench—Don Walsh and Jacques Piccard, in 1960. As of late, that remotest of spots on the globe has been revisited quite a few times—first by Hollywood director James Cameron in 2012, and, most recently, by entrepreneur Victor Vescovo. The latter has made more than a dozen dives to “the Deep” in his Triton-built DSV Limiting Factor since 2019. He has brought along a host of scientists and fellow adventurers, including Wright, a specialist in marine geology, geography, and oceanography, who made the 12-hour round-trip dive to 10,919 meters on July 12,…

MOON PARADISE BY SARAH CRUDDAS FOREWARD BY CHARLIE DUKE 294 PP • NEW YORK: ASSOULINE, 2022 • ISBN-13: 978-1649800770 • $95 • REVIEWED BY ANGELA M.H. SCHUSTER Since the dawn of humankind, Earth’s satellite has fired the imagination—serving as an infinite source of wonder that happened to allow us to measure time. By the launch of the Apollo program in the 1960s, the Moon also came to symbolize America’s ingenuity and prowess in the realm of space flight. As John F. Kennedy so cogently said: “We choose to go to the Moon…and do other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.” That ambitious goal, achieved when Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin stepped onto the lunar surface on July 20, 1969, is celebrated in…

IN 2020, VICTOR VESCOVO WAS AWARDED THE EXPLORERS MEDAL FOR BUILDING A SUBMERSIBLE CAPABLE OF TAKING HIM AND OTHERS TO CHALLENGER DEEP, 11,000 METERS DOWN IN THE PACIFIC, ON MULTIPLE OCCASSIONS. JUST RECENTLY, VESCOVO, 56, WAS RECOGNIZED FOR ANOTHER MILESTONE—FLYING TO SUBORBITAL SPACE. IN DOING SO, HE BECAME THE FIRST PERSON TO VENTURE TO THE LOWEST AND HIGHEST POINTS ON PLANET EARTH AND INTO SPACE, WHICH MANY CALL THE “TRIFECTA” OF EXPLORATION. WE CAUGHT UP WITH VESCOVO WHILE HE WAS IN THE WESTERN PACIFIC HUNTING FOR SHIPWRECKS, INCLUDING THE USS SAMUEL B. ROBERTS THAT SUNK DURING WWII. AT 6,895 METERS, IT THE DEEPEST-KNOWN WRECK IN THE WORLD. JC: You’ve done very risky things. There must be some fear involved with each. VV: Fear comes in a dynamic situation when the unexpected…

Ah, summer! And the record-breaking heat waves. At long last, despite seemingly never-ending covid complications, it feels like explorers are back in the field in full force. For those of you that made it to the Explorers Club Annual Dinner (ECAD) this past April, you know that despite the challenges of the past few years, great fieldwork is being done, and there is much to celebrate! During World Oceans Week, which we celebrated at Explorers Club Headquarters in New York, we heard from a host of visionary leaders and clear-eyed newcomers addressing the global challenges we face. Both seemed on the same bold page—at once accepting the reality of these challenges and working on solutions that aim not only to “Reduce” impact, but also to “Repair” and “Restore” a sense…

JOIN THE “EXPLORERS IMMORTALS” AND ENGRAVE YOUR NAME OR DEDICATION IN STONE ON NEW PAVERS FOR THE LEFRAK TERRACE AT EXPLORERS CLUB HEADQUARTERS. ADORN OUR LANDMARK OUTDOOR SPACE AND HELP PAY FOR URGENT WORK FOR PHASE II RENOVATIONS BY MAKING A TAX-DEDUCTIBLE DONATION OF $3,750 PER DEDICATED PAVER TO OUR LOWELL THOMAS BUILDING FUND. THE EXPLORERS CLUB WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE FOLLOWING WHO HAVE PURCHASED A PAVER: Mark Allio, Joanna Allman, James H. Alexander, John G. Alexander, Darlene T. Anderson, Jeanne D. Andlinger, Barbara Annan, Robert J. Aresty, Robert Ashton, Atlanta Chapter, Robert J. Atwater, Robin Wheeler Azqueta, Norman L. Baker, George Basch, Andreas Bender, Josh Bernstein, John Bierley, Bruce Blanchard, John R. Bockstoce, Brian M. Boom, John R. Boreske, Jr., Jill Botway, Gary W. Bowersox, Lawson W. Brigham,…

a salad of daisy leaves and blossoms, tall blue lettuce buds, and shaved fennel SERVES 4 WHILE FILMING AN EPISODE OF WILD HARVEST IN ONTARIO, CANADA, I HAD THE CHANCE TO BRING TWO IMPORTANT ASPECTS OF GATHERING WILD EDIBLE PLANTS INTO OUR STORY. THE FIRST WAS TO HIGHLIGHT THE EDIBLES AVAILABLE AT THE EDGE OF MY OWN YARD. THE SECOND WAS TO THROW A CHALLENGE AT CHEF PAUL BY PRESENTING HIM WITH A PLANT THAT IN ITS NATURAL STATE CAN BE ANNOYINGLY BITTER—THE DAISY. I ASSUMED THAT WORKING WITH SUCH A BITTER FLAVOR WOULD BE A TOUGH CHALLENGE FOR ANY CHEF. NOT SO, APPARENTLY, AS CHEF PAUL KNOCKED IT OUT OF THE PARK WITH THE UBIQUITOUS AND PRETTY LITTLE ROADSIDE FLOWER. THIS SALAD HIGHLIGHTS THE MILD LICORICE FLAVOR OF THE…

THE EXPLORERS CLUB 46 EAST 70TH STREET, NEW YORK, NY 10021 WWW.EXPLORERS.ORG | 212-628-8383 AFRICA Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka gladys@ctph.org ALASKA Mead Treadwell meadwell@alaska.net ATLANTA Mark Hay atlanta@explorers.org AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND Todd Tai todd@mivision.com.au BHUTAN Matthew DeSantis matt@mybhutan.com CANADA Jeff Britnell chapterchair@explorersclub.ca CENTRAL & SOUTH AMERICA Acting Chair: Synnøve Marie Kvam Strømsvåg sstromsvag@explorers.org CHICAGO/GREAT LAKES Robert A. Shuchman, PhD shuchman@mtu.edu EAST & SOUTH ASIA Steven R. Schwankert steven@sinoscuba.com FLORIDA Joseph Dituri, PhD joe@gallantaquatic.com GEORGE ROGERS CLARK Cindy Pennington explorersclubarc@gmail.com GREAT BRITAIN & IRELAND Mark Wood mark@markwoodexplorer.com Rory Golden, Vice Chair rgolden@eircom.net GREATER PIEDMONT James Borton asiareview@yahoo.com HAWAII Mark Blackburn mblackburn@aol.com HONG KONG Angélica Anglés aangles@explorershk.org MIDDLE EAST Hamish Harding hharding@actionaviation.com NEW ENGLAND Gregory Deyermenjian paititi@alumni.clarku.edu NORTH PACIFIC ALASKA Joshua C. Lewis & Victoria M. Becwar-Lewis npac1@me.com NORTHERN CALIFORNIA Tom Dolan, chair…

It is often the case in exploration that even the best-laid expedition plans are subject to change—foul weather, red tape, gear failure, political unrest, and other misfortunes being among the all-too-common culprits. But, as this edition attests, unexpected events can have silver linings, presenting the curious among us with chance opportunities and enlightening detours. Just before press time, British adventurer Pete Casey arrived at Camaná on the Pacific Coast of Peru, completing what was to have been a two-year sojourn–hiking the Amazon from sea to one noted source–in six-and-a-half years. While the recent pandemic could be blamed for a bit of the bother, the setbacks he encountered are simply too numerous to detail here. Suffice it to say, the Pete Casey who set off “a lifetime ago,” has evolved physically…

They may bear an uncanny resemblance to illustrations created as a record of the great plant-hunting expeditions of the nineteenth century, but the images Levon Biss presents in his extraordinary new collection The Hidden Beauty of Seeds & Fruits are from the studio of one of the world’s leading natural history macrophotographers. In the tradition of famous botanical explorers such as Ernest Wilson, George Forrest, and Harold Comber, Biss has tracked down the rare and the exotic from all over the globe. Instead of painting and drawing these specimens, however, he photographed them, using his bespoke digital camera system that combines thousands of separate images to produce richly detailed, hyperrealistic photographs of plant life rarely seen. As with all macrophotography, we get to see small things in glorious magnification, an…

A FELLOW OF THE EXPLORERS CLUB SINCE 2007, KEITH COWING IS A RECOVERING ROCKET SCIENTIST AND FORMER SPACE BIOLOGIST WHO CURRENTLY SERVES AS THE EDITOR OF SPACEREF.COM. On Christmas Day 2021, the James Webb Space Telescope left Earth for a locale known as L2—one of five “Lagrange” points, a place in space where the gravitational influence of the Earth and Sun are counterbalanced. As Webb is designed to look at sources 13 billion light-years from Earth, it needs large mirrors. And given that Webb’s instruments are primarily focused on infrared astronomy, i.e., detection of heat-related sources, its large mirrors need an even larger shield to block out unwanted light sources—not only from bright objects like the Sun, but also reflective bodies like Earth and its Moon. Add in the distance…

“I’M PROUD TO PLAY A PART IN BUILDING OUR LEGACY ENDOWMENT AND ENCOURAGE ALL MEMBERS TO JOIN THE LEGACY SOCIETY!”—RICHARD GARRIOTT DE CAYEUX, LM’98! Mark R. Allio • John G. Alexander • Alan B. Albright • Robert J. Atwater • Capt. Norman L. Baker* • Barbara Ballard • Robert D. Ballard, PhD • Samuel B. Ballen* • Mark Gregory Bayuk • Daniel A. Bennett • Josh Bernstein • Bruce Blanchard • John R. Bockstoce, DPhil • Jack Aaron Boggs* • Bjorn G. Bolstad* • Capt. Bruce M. Bongar, PhD • Brian M. Boom, PhD • Jill Botway • Garrett R. Bowden • Capt. Lawson W. Brigham, PhD, USCG (ret.) • Harry Davis Brooks • Lt. Col. Jewell Richard Browder* • August “Augie” Brown* • John C.D. Bruno • Marc Bryan-Brown…