Finnish sailor, marine scientist, and science communicator, Annukka Pekkarinen joins us on the show today. Growing up sailing the archipelagos of Finland, the ocean has influenced her life in a big way. In this episode, we chat about Annukka’s PhD research studying pygmy blue whales (don’t worry, they’re still huge), how her research evolved and how she evolved out from research and into an oceanic entrepreneurial endeavor.
Connect with Annukka: website|instagram
Quick Links
Coastal and marine management at the University Centre of the West Fjords
Eutrophication in the Baltic Sea
Show Notes
00:19 Growing up in Finland, Annukka went to summer camps where she would spend full days out on archipelago boats. She thinks this may be where her interest in marine life began.
8:16 – Annukka got her Master’s degree in Iceland, where she studied coastal and marine management. She liked that her research combined marine biology and human interest.
12:13 – In her first job after her Master’s, Annukka worked on the problem of eutrophication in the Baltic Sea.
13:01 – Annukka shares how an off-chance encounter while she was taking a marine mammal field course in Iceland led to a dream position for her. She spoke up, and a few years later the man she’d talked to about his maritime environmental research program, got in touch with her about an open position.
15:53 – During her time at the maritime environmental research program, Annukka worked on building a database of invasive species. This involved going through hundreds of scientific papers.
17:18 – For Annukka’s PhD project, she went to Sri Lanka to study pygmy blue whales. She and her research team would go out on boats with hydrophones to record pygmy blue whale sounds.
19:39 – Kara and Annukka discuss the absurdity of the name “pygmy blue whale,” when these creatures reach over 90 feet in length.
26:25 – Annukka put her PhD research on pause, and with her husband, she founded Napaland. It’s a sailing expedition on her family’s sailing boat Byr.
33:03 – Annukka shares what an adventure on Byr would be like. Annukka describes Byr as, “Sort of a moveable back country house that takes us to beautiful places.”
34:50 – In addition to Napaland, Annukka is doing science communication work at the Finnish Geospatial Institute
38:25 – To Annukka, the ocean means connection. She shares how being out on the water in close quarters with other people fosters deep connections and also allows for deeper connection with oneself.
39:56 – If Annukka was given a blank check for any project, she thinks she’d use it to fund a mapping project in the Arctic.
41:33 – One of Annukka’s favorite field stories involves satellites falling from the sky!
43:38 – Annukka’s ask for listeners is to respect the places they visit. She acknowledges that it’s human nature to want to mark where we’ve been, but that it’s much better to leave remote places untouched.