In this episode, we hear from marine scientist Frances Crable. Frances is a PhD candidate studying Arctic Ocean Biogeochemistry at the University of Illinois Chicago. In our conversation, we discuss her field research in the Canadian Arctic, arctic phytoplankton, biogeochemical cycling, and the impact of science communication.
In this episode, we hear from marine scientist Frances Crable. Frances is a PhD candidate studying Arctic Ocean Biogeochemistry at the University of Illinois Chicago. In our conversation, we discuss her field research in the Canadian Arctic, arctic phytoplankton, biogeochemical cycling, and the impact of science communication.
Frances’ research focuses on arctic ocean phytoplankton, nutrient cycles, and the impacts of climate change. Frances works in the Gonzalez-Meler Stable Isotope Lab and also works with the Norwegian Institute for Water Research. Frances has been a speaker for TEDx Chicago and was a 2024 Yale Environmental Fellow. She was featured in the PBS documentary Frozen Obsession.
CONNECT WITH FRANCES:
https://francescrable.weebly.com/
https://www.instagram.com/phytofran
https://www.linkedin.com/in/frances-crable
https://www.pbs.org/video/frozen-obsession-nsbaqw/
CREDITS
Hosted and produced by Kiana Michaan
Co-produced by Lucy Little
Edited by Maxfield Biggs
Music by Naima Mackrel
For resources, transcripts, and more information: https://www.climatewithkiana.com/podcast/arctic-ocean-with-frances-crable
Kiana: Welcome to Climate with Kiana, a podcast about climate solutions shared through a framework of joy and justice. I'm your host, Kiana Michaan. A solar and clean energy advocate passionate about just climate action. This season, let's dig deeper into solutions to the climate crisis through inspiring conversations with climate experts who are leading important and innovative work to shape a more just and sustainable world.
Let's cultivate hope and joy by exploring these climate solutions and visioning new possibilities together. In today's episode, I speak with Frances Crable. Frances is a fifth year PhD candidate studying ecology and evolution at the University of Illinois [00:01:00] Chicago, focusing on Arctic ocean nutrient cycles and the impacts of climate change.
Frances Crable: In the Arctic, like the changes are happening so fast. Every time I go, it looks a little different and the problems that are happening are a little different. The last time I went, we were going to do this land trip, but we couldn't do it because the permafrost was melting so much like the ice in the soil had melted to the extent that like you could not walk on it.
Without sinking their houses were like sinking Arctic Ocean Justice starts with protecting this region as much as possible. Ocean justice sort of starts with the people who live on the ocean.
Kiana: Francis works in the Gonzalez-Meler Stable Isotope Lab and also does work with the Norwegian Institute for Water Research.
She has been a fellow in programs, including the National Science Foundation Bridge to the Doctorate National Science Foundation Greats and the University of Illinois Chicago Pipeline to inclusive [00:02:00] faculty. Frances has been a speaker for TEDx Chicago and was a 2024 Yale Environmental Fellow. She was featured in the PBS documentary Frozen Obsession.
In our conversation, we discuss her research on phytoplankton biogeochemical cycling and her Arctic Ocean Field Research in the Canadian Arctic. Here's our conversation.
Climate with Kiana is brought to you in part by support from the Clean Energy Leadership Institute. Also known as CELI. CELI's goal is to equip emerging leaders with the skills and expertise they need to lead the transition to a clean energy economy. To learn more about CELI's work, to support leadership and drive an equitable, decarbonize and resilient energy ecosystem, visit clean energy leaders.org.
Frances Crable: My name is Frances Crable. I am a fifth year PhD candidate at the University of Illinois [00:03:00] Chicago. I also work closely with the Norwegian Institute of Water Research, and I study Arctic Ocean biogeochemistry, which is like a fancy way of saying I study both the living things and the chemical cycles and how they interact.
Kiana: Well, I am so excited to learn more about Arctic Ocean chemistry. I'd love to hear from you really. What inspired you to get into this work of being in Arctic Ocean science and studying particularly the impacts of climate change? Like what led you to this work?
Frances Crable: Yeah, I think sort of like you, like growing up it was nature documentaries, right?
Like I'm from Chicago, I'm. Very far removed from nature and the Arctic generally, but when I was like 16, I needed some things to do to get into college and the shed Aquarium here in Chicago has like these teen programs where we can work at the shed and we can do field work experiences. So [00:04:00] that was sort.
Where my passion like was ignited and yeah, we went on like field research trips to The Bahamas and did like Lake Superior stuff. And that was when I first learned about phytoplankton. And I've literally been studying phytoplankton ever since. Um, so that's pretty fun. But I didn't actually get into like arctic research until.
Undergrad, there was the, the project that you saw in the documentary called the Northwest Passage Project, which worked with these minority serving institutions to bring students to the Arctic, get them involved in research and science communication. Um, and yeah. And then that just sort of led into my PhD research.
So now I'm fully arctic. Even though when I first started marine biology, I was like, I'm gonna be swimming in the coral reef and it's gonna be warm and fun. And now I'm in the opposite place. But it's great.
Kiana: Opposite but deeply interconnected. The health of the Arctic Ocean affects the health of the more tropical areas where we have [00:05:00] warm water and coral reefs.
So can you explain a little bit about why Arctic Ocean ecosystems, marine ecosystems are absolutely crucial to the health of the whole planet and how it's impacting carbon cycling?
Frances Crable: Yeah, so very generally, like. The Arctic is typically ice covered, and as we put out greenhouse gases and things start to get warmer, that ice starts to melt, and when that ice melts.
Less of the sun is being like just reflected back into the atmosphere and more of it is being absorbed into the ocean, making it hotter.
Kiana: Ice albedo?
Frances Crable: Yes! Albedo. Light things like ice reflect light and darker things like ocean water are absorbing it. Mm-hmm. So then all of this sunlight is being absorbed into the ocean and then it's like this big feedback loop where like it's getting hotter so more ice is melting, and then more.
Sun is being absorbed and that [00:06:00] heat spreads throughout the entire ocean generally. In addition to that, as the ice melts, that ice is like adding fresh water to ocean currents and that can mess up water densities and like change ocean currents. Completely. I don't know if you've ever seen the movie, the day after tomorrow or like,
Kiana: I have not.
Frances Crable: Okay. And the day after tomorrow, essentially what happens is like the ocean currents are messed up and because of that, the entire world turns into this like ice planet, which is not fully what would happen, but it, it's very similar where like all of our weather patterns would change because of it. And so, mm-hmm. Yeah. The Arctic absolutely affects everything.
Kiana: Yeah. Thank you for explaining that. Can you share more about your specific research on phytoplankton productivity and what those broader impacts are? Because the phytoplankton, they seem so small, but as you said, they're absolutely crucial to the entire marine ecosystem.
Frances Crable: A little phytoplankton background for anybody who doesn't [00:07:00] know, they are just like microscopic algae that live and float in the surface of the water. They produce like 50 to 80% of the oxygen we breathe. So like every time you take a breath, you should really be taking phytoplankton. And they also take up about like 40% of the CO2 we produce as humans every year.
So they like fully control our climate and life on earth. And so my research in the Arctic. I study how phytoplankton, specifically in the Canadian Arctic are going to respond to climate change, specifically different freshwater inputs, whether that be melting sea ice, increased river input, and how they will respond to the different nutrient dynamics.
So typically. Freshwater inputs are not heavy in nutrients like sea ice, and that can cause vital plankton to grow less. But river inputs might bring nutrients from the soil and cause them to grow more. So I study them both in the field and seeing what's happening [00:08:00] right now in real time and how they're responding.
And in the lab where I do experiments and grow phytoplankton under like different climate conditions, whether that be higher temperatures, high CO2, low and high nutrients, and see and predict how they're going to respond in the future.
Kiana: And are there any particularly notable predictions that we're seeing about how the many changes occurring are impacting phytoplankton in the currently and in the future?
Frances Crable: Yeah, it's like so variable, right? Like especially in this region. Like there's so many different things interacting where it can be kind of hard to predict what's actually gonna happen. But there's some like general predictions I have.
So I think phytoplankton are gonna do really well because like I said, like we're. Adding more CO2, we're giving them more light, like we're giving them everything they need to grow. But on the other hand, like when fresh water comes in, it creates this like. [00:09:00] These layers where like the top layer is really fresh and doesn't have any nutrients, and that's where the phytoplankton are stuck and they can't get the nutrients that are at the bottom.
And because of that, typically smaller phytoplankton that might need less nutrients or are better at taking up nutrients are gonna survive more than larger ones. And this will have an effect both in the food web, there's gonna be less food for those bigger animals. They'll take up less CO2 less carbon.
And so that might affect how much carbon they're taking up and how they mitigate climate change. Yeah, those are like my two biggest predictions. But again, it, it really depends on like how warm it gets and how much CO2 is in the air. Like they have these thresholds where they. Once they reach a certain point, like they can't survive.
Kiana: I'd love to hear more about the, the biogeochemical cycling research you're doing.
Frances Crable: So I use a technique called stable isotopes. I work in the Gonzalez-Meler Stable Isotope Lab. [00:10:00] And basically what stable isotopes are, are a tracer where we can see where things are coming from. So it's typically used in like anthropology.
So if you find like bones in the ground and you were like, I wanna know who this person was, you know, what they were eating, where they were from, what water they were drinking, you can look at like the carbon and the nitrogen in the bone and like. Trace it back to, you know, Chicago where they're eating a lot of corn or something.
Like if you looked at the tooth in your mouth, your wisdom tooth, you can see what your mom was eating when like she was pregnant with you. It's crazy. So I do the same thing but with phytoplankton. So I'm looking at the stable isotopes in phytoplankton to see what nutrients they're utilizing, whether those nutrients are from rivers or they're marine based, I can see, look at the isotopes in water and see whether.
Like what percent of that water is sea ice melt river, melt ocean water. And then I can also like [00:11:00] tell how they're interacting, so how those phytoplankton are specifically utilizing them if they're driving their growth, if they're not driving their growth. Yeah.
Kiana: Fascinating. Is any of that impacted by ocean acidification?
Frances Crable: Well, yes, because ocean acidification essentially like more CO2 in the water, and so we can also sort of see like how the CO2 they take up is affecting them. So. You can tell, like if they're using carbon from like anthropogenic human influences or natural influences and yeah, you can probably see the effects of increased CO2 on the stable isotopes as well.
Kiana: How is the research you're doing, like what are some of the impacts or outcomes that it's, it's translating to or ongoing work at supporting?
Frances Crable: So like, let's say there was, there is algal blooms in the Arctic, like where I study, there's this large river called the Mackenzie River, where like a ton of the North [00:12:00] American water like outputs into the ocean.
Um, and that could be bringing nutrient pollution from farms, from melting permafrost, et cetera. And so if there was a bloom and we could use stable isotopes to prove that this bloom is being caused by a. Farm runoff, like we can tell from the nutrients in the phytoplankton that this is causing this.
That can eventually, or I could see it eventually leading to some sort of like management or policy change where they prevent farm nutrient runoffs. Now again, I don't know if these things people are using stabilize isotopes like that, but if I were to do it, that's how I would implement my research into more like policy and management.
I guess I'd just like to reiterate that like. The changes in phytoplankton are going to change everything else, like from the fish to the bears to the humans. When I go to the Arctic, the first time I saw lots of polar bears on ice and in the water. But recently when I've [00:13:00] been going, I've only seen polar bears on land.
Specifically, there's this like bird island where like tens and thousands of birds live and we saw polar bears and polar bear cubs on this island, and that means those polar bears instead of hunting. In the water for the things they typically eat are now hunting birds. So they're having to switch their diet in response to climate change.
This one time I saw like, I think we saw like 20 polar bears on like one island and polar bears do not like hang out with each other. They're not like pack animals. And it was because there was seals and whales just in this one spot. So again, they're like changing their habits. To respond to climate change.
And they're all usually really spread out. And recently, like I know every time I go, like this one spot, this one fjord is where I'm gonna see all the animals. And I, I'm still like analyzing my data and trying to figure out like what is going on with the phytoplankton there. Like is there more growth there [00:14:00] and why are they growing and supporting those like higher animals in the food chain? But we'll see.
Kiana: Yeah, and as you said, phytoplankton is the, it's the building block of ocean ecosystems, right? When you have dead zones in mm-hmm. Ocean water because of pollution and lack of oxygen. The minute the phytoplankton are gone, that. Is what impacts the lack of having other life. So they are just so foundational.
Your first time seeing a polar bear as someone who has not seen a polar bear in the wild, what was, what was the experience? How close did you get to said polar bears?
Frances Crable: So, anytime I've seen a polar bear, I've been on a ship. So, you know, I'm, I'm pretty, pretty safe from the polar bear. I'll tell you the long version of my.
First polar bear. I've seen a lot of polar bears at this point. This is a crazy story. The first time I seen a polar bear was the first time I went to the Arctic. Um, it was maybe day one, like just woke up. They came on the PA system and was like, there's a polar bear outside. I get [00:15:00] up and I'm like, wow.
Like there it is, you know, there's just little white polar bear on the ice hanging out. I'm like, this is amazing. I'm here. I'm here in the Arctic. Like this is it. Then maybe about. 20 minutes later, I go to my cabin. I'm like journaling about it. I'm so excited about this experience. And then like we hit something, it felt like ice, but it was so much stronger than ice.
Like I fell down. I go out into like the main, the common areas of the ship and people are running, like the crew workers are running, everybody is putting on life vest. Like we hit a rock essentially. And there was a hole in the bottom of our ship, but. The rock was so big we could just like sit on it and it took, what, like 12 hours for just a Coast Guard plane to come and fly over us and 24 hours to be rescued by another ship.
So that was my first both polar bear and like going to the Arctic experience. Um, it's amazing that I decided [00:16:00] to continue to go back. But yeah, that's just a crazy story.
Kiana: Wow. What a, what a story. I would love to hear about your. Experience with field research, and I know you've had several expeditions through the Northwest passage and just generally in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.
Can you share a little bit about your experiences doing research in the field?
Frances Crable: Yeah, of course. Doing research in the field is my favorite part about my work and actually probably why I do this work. So. My first field research experience in the Arctic was through the Northwest Passage Project, which is National Science Foundation funded.
This was like a big research team where I went out with like a bunch of other scientists on like specifically a research vessel. It was like an icebreaker made to get us through the Northwest passage. That was super amazing. It was my first time in the Arctic, and so you know that first time you see sea ice and you see a polar barrier, just [00:17:00] like in shock that you're even there.
But it was amazing to like collaborate with scientists like that as well. Um, but more recently I've been doing cruises on these like commercial cruise ships, so like think fancy hot tub, fancy restaurant. But this commercial cruise ship specifically is a science focused cruise. So instead of like typical entertainment you have on a cruise, you have lectures and naturalists.
People like me, I make a guest scientist on the ship, so I get. Lectures about climate change and phytoplankton, and that has been a really unique experience as well. It's a little more difficult because I don't have all the things I need as a a researcher, but it is a really great opportunity to both share my science and they do like the entire northwest passage, so I get to cover a lot more space.
Kiana: That's amazing. I'd kind of love to dive more into the, the research that takes place on the ships. I mean, I know you mentioned sounds like depending on the ship you have [00:18:00] access to various levels of equipment. One of the things I was so impressed with in the, in the documentary frozen obsession, which you're in, was.
Just, just the high level of the science laboratories and research that are taking place on the ship and describing it. As, you know, being 24/7 research, it costs like over a hundred k day to like run the ships in the labs. Just like high, high level research. Um, so I would just be curious to hear about the different methodologies you're using for research mm-hmm. While, um, on these very high tech floating, floating laboratories and
Yeah. Like some of the equipment you use, just like what that process is like. I was interested learning about the, like CTD mm-hmm. Conductivity, temperature depth machine. Some of these just like essential field research tools.
Frances Crable: Yeah. The CTD is like. [00:19:00] The main sampling technique if you want to do ocean research. So basically it's like a sensor, like you said, it measures connectivity, temperature, depth. You can also measure like chlorophyll, so that'll tell you where the most phytoplankton are, um, and how much they're growing. Um, but around the sensor are these like bottles.
And so you drop this like giant. What is it? Like a roset of bottles into the ocean. And as it goes down on the computer, you can see all of those measurements. Like you can see the oxygen profile, the temperature profile, and then once you get to the bottom, you can decide like where you want to sample at what depths.
And then as it goes up, like the bottles have, are open on the top and the bottom. And then right when you get to the depth you want, it just like closes and you capture all the water and you bring it up. And then you have like sampling from all these different depths and you can collect water for whatever you want.
And we had multiple projects going. So we were collecting for phytoplankton, we were collecting [00:20:00] for methane and that was just like, it was happening all the time. 'cause you're always moving and you always just wanna keep sampling every certain distance. So we had like different crews where it's like every six hours, like we would switch out.
So sometimes we would work, there would be a crew who had to work in the middle of the night from like, you know, like 12 to eight or, and then you switch out with another people. And it was both so fun but so exhausting. Hmm. Like that kind of schedule and that sort of work is. Takes a toll on your body a little bit, but having like your peers around you and like listening to music while you do it and like trying to find the joy in that kind of level of work is just always super important.
Are there aspects of the field work that are your favorite parts in terms of like actual different tasks or like findings you've had [00:21:00] while doing the research that have been? Interesting, unexpected, maybe made you change course and research questions ever.
My favorite part is doing the CTD work. Like I just love like being out with my friends and like I'm the one who like looks at the computer and like gets to decide like where to like sample from.
And I tell it, I'm like in charge of everybody and I get to tell people what bottles to go to. So that's kind of fun. But. We did find, we also do like sea ice sampling. So we fly out on a helicopter and land on a piece of sea ice, and then you like take a core, like you drill like a core, like a apple core almost into the sea ice.
And then you have this like long cylinder of sea ice and you can, you know, tell what has been happening over possibly decades. And when we did that. We found microplastics in the sea ice, and that was a big surprise to us. Like we weren't even looking for microplastics, but as soon as we put it under the microscope like you saw them.
[00:22:00] And so I'm working with a fellow lab mate right now, Samira Umar, to study microplastics in the Arctic. Um, on these commercial cruise ships, we have microplastic sampling so we can filter tens and thousands of liters of water and see how much microplastics are in it throughout the entire Canadian Arctic.
Kiana: Wow, that's super fascinating and scary, but not surprising to. Mm-hmm. Continue to see just how pervasive plastic pollution has become throughout quite literally every aspect of our ecosystems globally. Curious also what your experience has been of the relationship between the scientific community and indigenous communities when it comes to research.
Frances Crable: Yeah. It. It can be a little controversial, like the scientific community has not really accepted like the concept of ancestral knowledge yet. Like so I [00:23:00] can be interacting with Inuit communities all I want and learning from them, but I can't really like cite them in my scientific paper. But we have worked with some Inuit community members, specifically a group called Ikaarvik, which is a youth group that gets, you know, um
the youth and the Arctic involved in scientific research and advocacy for their communities. And so on the Northwest Passage Project, we had them on our ships. And again, they teach us their ancestral knowledge. They're literally the best at spotting the wildlife. Like so crucial, but sort of incorporating them into research has been something I've been thinking a lot about recently and just like how as scientists, um, we can like.
Work with them and build like more holistic projects where like both the scientists, the advocates, the community members, people who are focused on policy can like work together to have the most impact with our [00:24:00] research. And I feel like currently now there's not a lot of projects that incorporate all these things.
Scientists are really focused on their science and you know, advocates are focused on that. And I think there's a lot more to do to. Collaborate and have a better impact. And on the communities that are there
On this show, I'm always thinking about equity and justice as it relates to all the various facets of climate and energy work.
How, I think part of what you just said answers this a little bit, but how are you thinking about equity and justice when it comes to ocean, ocean justice, and an Arctic Ocean justice specifically? When you're envisioning sort of right. A more just future, what are some of the pieces that you think are really important?
Yeah. Like I said previously, just making sure like the scientists and their scientific goals are aligned with the [00:25:00] goals of the community.
Kiana: Mm-hmm.
Frances Crable: Is gonna be super important. And making sure our science can lead to. Action can help people involved with management or policy. If we're just like researching things because we wanna research it, which is what a lot of us do, um, you know, it might not really go anywhere and it might not really help anything in the Arctic.
Like the changes are happening so fast. Every time I go it looks a little different and the problems that are happening are a little different. The last time I went, we were going to do. Um, this land trip, but we couldn't do it because the permafrost was melting so much like the ice in the soil had melted to the extent that like, you could not walk on it without like sinking their houses were like sinking.
Really like Arctic Ocean justice starts with protecting this region as much as possible. Ocean [00:26:00] justice sort of starts with the people who live on the ocean.
Kiana: Part of how I, I found your work is I think that you do a really good job of doing science, communication, and storytelling and through your social media, especially like as a woman and a woman of color in science, it's like really wonderful to see that.
So could you share a little bit about how you feel? The importance of science communication in the work you're doing?
Frances Crable: Yeah. Uh, my science communication, I feel like out of everything I do has the most impact. Even though like the science communication, a lot of the times I'm not really getting deep into the science and more just like sharing my experience and my stories and yeah.
So I do a lot of talks in Chicago too. Um, broad community members or like youth groups. Um, and I really just tell them about myself. Like, like you said, like showing them like, this is possible. Like you can literally go to the Arctic and do anything you want. Um, [00:27:00] but essentially like, yeah, with my science communication, I just want people to like, I guess like dream bigger and be able to like, see themselves in spaces they might not have been able to see them themselves in as well as like, learn how to enter these spaces I think is really important to just.
Increase the amount of people like us in this field and make it like a happier and safer place for all of us. Um, and I also think like people think a PhD can be really daunting and hard. And it is hard, but like it can also be a ton of fun. And I think showing the fun in science and PhD work, um, has been super important in just in inspiring other people.
Um. Additionally, like I'm acting as like a guest scientist on a lot of these cruises, which has also been an important part of my science communication. Um, and these are typically like older generations, like, like much older than I am, [00:28:00] and they have this, like, they think the world is gonna end. And I, in my science communication, I, I really try to show them that like, no, like the solutions are out there.
Like everything. Not everything, but it's going to be okay. And like the world is not gonna end. Like we have hope as scientists and as just people. Like we know the solutions and we know that we're gonna be okay. So that has also been like an important thing I'm trying to share in some of my communication.
Kiana: Thank you for saying that, because that is kind of exactly the kind of energy I'm also trying to tap into in my work. Mm-hmm. You know, being realistic about the circumstances and what we're facing, but also working from a place of hope and joy. Mm-hmm. What is bringing you, you joy in your work, and have you experienced that joy sort of rippling out and having a larger impact of [00:29:00] affecting your, your community?
Frances Crable: A lot of joy comes from like the little things I get to do. I love to like. Do things with my hands, you know, like little things and just play around. I love to like lose myself in my work a little bit and science is like a, a great way to do that 'cause you really have to focus. But I get a lot of my joy from like my peers in the field.
It is so fun to be able to like work with my friends and like not experience these things alone kind of, and be able to like. Joke in the lab when things go wrong, like when my ship crashed, like it would've been a whole different experience if I didn't have people around me who were like singing songs and taking pictures and just like having a good time.
Um, so I think that's what brings me the most joy, is like getting to experience these things with other people. Um, [00:30:00] I also just love to feel connected to the ocean and the water. I think a lot of people can, like, can relate to that, especially just like. Wherever you live. Like when you go to the beach and you just feel like at peace, like I really get that peace being in the open ocean and like that is something that when I'm in the office analyzing data and coding and doing the things I don't wanna do, I just like remember like, you know, next summer I might be able to go out on a ship and just like sit outside and breathe some fresh air and look at some ice and yeah.
Kiana: That's beautiful. Community is. So important and beautiful to hear that you have that supportive environment with friends and colleagues. Mm-hmm. And yeah, the ocean is deeply healing power, energetically powerful. That peacefulness you're describing, I think is very real.
Frances Crable: I will say field work, especially for like women and [00:31:00] people of color, isn't always the safest place. I'm super lucky to have as positive experience and have good mentors and people who are supporting me and putting me in these safe places. But, um, I've definitely been part of research experiences where, um, you're in the field and because the leadership does not relate to you, does not look like you.
Um. You tend to feel maybe isolated. You can be sort of mistreated, you might mm-hmm. Experience some microaggressions. And so I still think there's like a lot of work to be done and to make sure people of color and women and people of different gender identities are safe and can have these positive experiences in the field like I do.
Kiana: I have a friend colleague who did research in Antarctica and, and had a, a tough experience with that. So that's a really important piece of how, of why it's so important [00:32:00] for the scientific community to be more inclusive and diverse, particularly in leadership, to actually be able to create a safe environment for research to take place in.
And when you also, the diversity of perspective. Leads to different research questions being asked. Mm-hmm. Um, and so it's just, it's so crucial. So yeah, I'm glad that you've had a positive experience and I appreciate you bringing that up. 'cause it's a really important point.
Frances Crable: Yeah. I've also had friends who have had bad experiences in Antarctica and my friends who are in this field.
I think we really tried to lean on each other and rely on each other too. Keep ourselves in this field. You know, if we can all, as a group, like just have some resilience and like stay together, we can eventually be that leadership and, and change what this field looks like and feels like. And you are part of that change.
Kiana: Yeah. Hopefully you never know. You might be leading expeditions in the future, so
Frances Crable: I would love to do that. Yeah.[00:33:00]
Kiana: What are some of the solutions that you are excited about and are giving you hope about the future?
Frances Crable: One, I think about a lot as a phytoplankton researcher is the like biodiesel. I don't know if you've ever heard of this.
But using phytoplankton, which are like, have a lot of fatty acids and converting that into fuel, I think that's super cool because not only are you creating like a clean, renewable source of fuel, but as you grow phytoplankton like that can be used to take up or CO2, um, and help mitigate climate change further.
Um, and while that still has like a lot of kinks to work out, especially in terms of like how much energy it uses to grow phytoplankton, I think that is probably my current favorite like climate solution that is out there.
Kiana: Fascinating. Yeah, I don't know a ton about that, so that's really interesting.
Frances Crable: As [00:34:00] long as those like solutions are not in the ocean, I'm totally like for it. Like there's been a lot of solutions proposed where they're like, let's just have areas where we're just, I guess, like putting nutrients in the water and helping these vital planes to grow, but then you're changing like the actual ocean environment, and so as long as you're growing phytoplankton like out of the ocean and using some sort of clean, renewable energy to grow them, I think it could be a really good idea.
Kiana: That makes sense. Yeah. Geoengineering tends to have a lot of problematic side effects. Yeah. So I definitely feel equally. Skeptical and cautious.
Frances Crable: Always. Yeah, because engineers are always trying to solve problems and not like thinking about the problems that their solutions might cause. And so that's where a scientist come in and are like, no, I don't think so.
Kiana: Well, thank you so much, Frances, for. Being here and sharing your knowledge and experience, and I look forward to continuing to follow where your research takes you.
Frances Crable: [00:35:00] Yes. Thank you so much for having me. It was a pleasure.
Kiana: Thank you for listening. Climate with Kiana is co-produced by Kiana Michaan and Lucy Little.
This episode was edited by Maxfield Biggs theme music by Naima Mackrel. Thank you again to the Clean Energy Leadership Institute for their support. This podcast is recorded and produced in New York City on unceded munsee Lenape land. If you enjoyed the episode, please share it with a friend, leave a comment and subscribe anywhere you listen to podcasts.
For more information about the guests and topics discussed, please visit climate with kiana.com. Until the next time, stay joyous.