Former San Lorenzo High School science standout Zoe Wambaugh took her research expertise on a historical 65-day voyage to the North Pole this summer aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Healy.
Wambaugh, 26, a 2008 SLV graduate, was one of 54 scientists and 86 crew members to travel from Dutch Harbor, Alaska, to the northern most part of the globe. She was hand-picked to take part in Geotraces, a global endeavor to study the geochemistry of the world’s oceans, by her college professor at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virgina.
“I loved it,” said Wambaugh, who will receive a master’s degree in chemical oceanography this spring. “We were pretty isolated, there wasn’t even internet.”
Far from civilization, yes, but never bored. Though the majority of her time was spent researching the circulation of chemical nutrients in biochemical cycles, Wambaugh and her colleagues also played cribbage, watched movies and read to pass the time.
The voyage became historic when the 420-foot icebreaker Healybecame the first U.S. surface vessel to reach the North Pole unaccompanied, and the fourth U.S. surface vessel to reach the pole, a transit so difficult it is only possible to accomplish during the summer months.
The trip has been developed into a limited-edition children’s book on how the Arctic Circle environment has been affected by global warming. To the Top of the World was written by one of Wambaugh’s shipmates and is available online and hard cover.
Wambaugh has been on an upward trajectory since she and two SLV classmates, Haley McCown and Rodger Storment, received honorable mention for their Davenport tide pool project at the state science fair in 2007.
From being an Advanced Placement science student at SLV, Wambaugh received her B.S. degree in chemistry and oceanography at Humboldt State University.
While in the arctic, Wambaugh spent the majority of her time ensconced with other scientists in the onboard lab. “I was so busy I forgot that there was only daylight,” said Wambaugh, referring to 24-hour sunlight in the summer.
On two occasions the group did venture out for frigid fun in temperatures minus-5 degrees Fahrenheit. The group attended an official Coast Guard ceremony celebrating their historic feat, played football and made snow angels. And, yes, Santa Claus made a visit as a costumed sailor.
Wambaugh plans to pursue her dream of an empirical career after graduation. “I want to do chemistry and work in a lab,” she said, adding that the next Geotraces excursion is to Tahiti in 2018. “And, hopefully, be on lots more cruises.”
