“I have been exceptionally lucky to see some things that most folks only get to read about, including huge icebergs, pods of whales, porpoises surfing the ship’s bow wave, the aurora australis (southern lights), as well as penguins, the rare albatross, and humpbacks in the wild,” Cliff says. “But it is not always like an oceangoing safari; it is also a great deal of long and hard work. We are generally on duty 12-16 hours each day, and oftentimes it is difficult to find time for decent sleep. Life can also be a bit unpredictable when dealing with stormy conditions. Ship life tends to be uncomfortable in 60-knot winds and 40-foot seas!”
published in three journal articles, and a fourth is on the way. “I’ve always had a fascination with the sea—life at sea is interesting and there is a certain degree of adventure that you can’t find in your normal 9-to-5 job. I went to sailing camp at Camp Sea Gull in North Carolina about the same time that I started at FHS. My brother and I learned to sail on the Neuse River and I eventually made my way up to sailing camp counselor.” The boys also spent a lot of time explor-
At Flint Hill, school-sponsored trips also helped bring nature and the environment into his life. “One of my favorite aspects of FHS was the Field Studies program and the philosophy of experiential learning. Mr. [Hank] Berg used to run an annual trip to Big Bend National Park in west Texas, where we would spend a week paddling canoes down the Rio Grande and learning about the natural history of the area…they are some of my fondest memories. Beyond the obvious natural
But not all of his work happens at sea. In his second year as a postdoctoral scholar at The University of California – Santa Cruz, Cliff spends a lot of time in a lab, conducting experiments on the samples he collects and trying to determine what sorts of elements and compounds dissolve off the aerosols when exposed to seawater. “This question is vital to understanding marine chemistry,” he says, “as aerosol particles can transport nutrients and toxins to the ocean.” Once the analyses are complete, he examines the data and composes reports to be published as articles in scientific journals such as “Marine Chemistry.” “The final product is not all that different from the literary analysis papers Mrs. [Maddie] Krug had us write in her English classes,” says Cliff, who came to FHS in 1991 as a Sixth Grader. “We have an introduction, body, conclusion, and are trying to understand what the data is telling us. The biggest challenge has been to ‘forget’ all the writing rules that she taught us in order to make my writing appropriately boring and therefore suitable for publication in a scientific journal!” He seems to have been successful; his team’s research has been
Cliff Buck’s ship, Revelle, passes an iceberg in Antarctica (top), and a distant view from the deck
ing the Chesapeake Bay on Cliff ’s father’s boat. “I think that experience really opened my eyes to the effect that people have on their environment. The Bay is one of the most highly impacted estuaries in North America and this affects many aspects of the local economy.“
beauty and fun of paddling through the desert, Mr. Berg instilled in us a great sense of responsibility. There we were, in the middle of the wilderness, hauling all of our food and water …I venture to say that not many high school students are given that opportunity.” Continued on page 44 Flint Hill Magazine – Winter 2010 43