Dr. Kenneth Sebens and Dr. Jim Murray describe their Autumn 2024 study abroad program.
“There was real excitement when the first students started to see bubbles coming out of the rock in shallow water, and even more as the strings of bubbles turned into curtains. Snorkeling along the edge of an ancient castle on a tall rock island was exciting enough, but finding these vents where volcanic activity causes carbon dioxide to bubble out of the earth was even better, especially since the students had just read a paper describing the effect of these vents on surrounding marine life. The water around the vents is naturally acidified, and thus provides a window into the effects of ocean acidification, a change that marine communities are experiencing world-wide. These active vents are directly tied to seismic activity that includes Mt. Vesuvius, visible in the distance, responsible for the burial of Pompeii and nearby towns in 79 CE. This was the fourth location along the coast of Italy where students in our quarter-long program had a chance to observe marine life in their natural habitats, on the Island of Ischia, a short ferry ride from Naples.”
“In 2013 Ken had a four-month sabbatical in Italy, working at the Università Degli Studi di Palermo in Sicily. During that visit, he also had a chance to visit the UW Rome Center, a site for UW study abroad programs since 1985. The UWRC occupies three floors of Palazzo Pio, a building over 500 years old built over a temple of Venus constructed in 55 BCE. After seeing their excellent teaching and lodging facilities, it was only natural to imagine teaching courses there in the future, but it was not until the end of the COVID shutdown that he visited again and was encouraged to design a program. This resulted in a 2022 program “Ecology of the Mediterranean Sea” which took 15 UW students from a variety of majors to Rome and other parts of Italy. Students took a full load of credits, with courses in ecology, science writing, and introductory Italian language. Instructors included Ken Sebens and two Italian professors teaching for the UW Rome Center, Valentina Miniati and Valentina Mariani.”