Evan B. Forde is an American oceanographer at the Atlantic Oceanographic & Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) with the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). He was the first African-American scientist to perform research in a submersible. Forde is widely considered an expert on the formation of submarine canyons and his recent research uses satellite sensors to analyze atmospheric conditions related to hurricane formation.
Education
Forde was born in Miami, Florida, and received his primary education in the Miami-Dade County public schools. He received his Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in Geology with an oceanography specialty in 1974 followed by his Master of Arts (M.A.) degree in marine geology and geophysics from Columbia University. Forde became a researcher in the Marine Geology and Geophysics laboratory at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) while an undergraduate at Columbia during the summer of 1973.
Research
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After earning his M.A., Forde worked at NOAA AOML in Miami mapping the Atlantic sea floor. He subsequently completed submersible dive expeditions in Alvin in 1980 and the Johnson Sea Link in 1981. One of his most significant discoveries was the submarine sediment slide off the coast of New Jersey, which caused New Jersey offshore drilling to stop in 1980.
Utilizing his background in classical Marine Geology techniques, Forde became a recognized authority on the formation, evolution, and sedimentary processes of east coast U.S. submarine canyons. Additional scientific research efforts by Forde have included studies of gravity-induced mass sediment movements on continental slopes, 3-dimensional mapping of hydrothermal plumes, and the study of ocean-atmosphere exchange of anthropogenic carbon dioxide.
Leadership and outreach
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Forde has also worked extensively in the area of science education. He authored science experiments in multiple children's magazines, including "Science Corner" in Ebony Jr!, with custom-made experiments for several years, and created a Severe Weather Poster for NOAA that was distributed nationally to 50,000 teachers by the National Science Teachers Association. He has spoken to more than 40,000 school children through presentations about his oceanographic and academic careers.