With a Masters and PhD in Marine Biology, and Ocean and Earth Science, Dr Diva Amon is the go-to for deep-ocean exploration.

Over the years she has worked as the co-lead of Minerals Working Group, is a Scientific Associate and Marie Sklodowska-Curie Research Fellow at the Natural History Museum, and is a freelance marine biologist and scientific consultant.

In 2017, she co-founded the non-profit NGO SpeSeas, which is dedicated to increasing marine science, education, and advocacy in Trinidad and Tobago and the wider Caribbean.

DR DIVA AMON | RESEARCH

There are three key parts to Dr Diva Amon’s current research:

Uncovering Deep-Sea Biodiversity: Less than 1% of the deep ocean has actually been seen by humans, and so much of Dr Diva’s research is about what lives  there, why they live there, how they interact with others, and what function they play to the wider ocean. She has worked in hydrothermal vents, seamounts, methane seeps, abyssal plains, and wood and whale falls.

Understanding Human Impacts on the Deep Sea: Humans are already changing the deep ocean – but not necessarily for the better. With impacts expected to accelerate alongside our increased use, Dr Dive seeks to understand the impacts of deep-seabed mining, pollution, oil and gas extraction, and climate change.

Exploring the Caribbean Deep: The Caribbean deep sea is one of the least explored globally due to a dearth of capacity in the region. Dr Diva has participated in recent exploratory cruises, exploring hydrothermal vents, methane seeps, and searching for volcanic eruption effects.

DR DIVA AMON | EXPEDITIONS

Dr Diva’s expeditions are nothing short of unbelievable; she has been everywhere and seen everything to do with deep-sea research and conservation. Expeditions include:

2012: East Scotia Ridge, Southern Ocean: a 25-day trip to hydrothermal vent fields and other chemosynthetic habits up to 2,700m deep. The trip focussed on exploring the world’s most southerly hydrothermal vent fields, and natural whale falls.

2014: Oregon and Washington Coast, USA: a 12-day expedition to recover deep-water free-vehicle landers containing organic substrates. The trip was to investigate how colonisation of these substrates differs with location and depth.

2014: Grenada, and Trinidad & Tobago: a 14-day trip to survey the cold seeps and hydrothermal vents at the submarine volcano Kick’em Jenny, off of Grenada. The trip also visited the El Pilar cold seeps and mud volcanoes off of Trinidad and Tobago.

2010: Mid-Cayman Sprending Centre, Caribbean Sea: a 32-day trip to explore the Mid-Cayman Spreading Centre in search of chemosynthetic habits.

2012: Mid-Cayman Sprending Centre, Caribbean Sea: a 5-day cruise to recover organic-fall from whale bone and wood.

2013: Mid-Cayman Sprending Centre, Caribbean Sea: a 21-day trip that characterised the biology, geology, and chemistry of hydrothermal vents discovered in 2010.

2013: Clarion-Clipperton Zone, Pacific Ocean: a 24-day expedition to evaluate all aspects of the benthic fauna, targeted for future polymetallic-nodule mining.

2013: Montserrat, Caribbean Sea: the 11-day cruise investigated the effects of the eruptions of the Soufriere Hills volcano on the surrounding continental shelf.

2016: Marianas Trench Marine National Monument and the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands: an expedition to collect baseline information in poorly-known areas in and around the Mariana Trench location.

2017: Gulf of Mexico: an expedition to collect baseline information in unknown areas of the Gulf of Mexico to aid management decisions.

2017: St Paul and St Peter Archipelago, Brazil: a 20-day trip exploring the deep sea surrounding the archipelago on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.

DR DIVA AMON | MEDIA

Dr Diva’s expertise has seen her make regular appearances on our television screens, including programmes such as Welcome to Earth (2021) for Disney+; Earth’s Game Changers: The Astronaut of the Deep Blue Sea (2021) for the BBC; Blue Planet Live (2019) also for the BBC; and Deep-Sea Wonders of the Caribbean (2018).

She has been interviewed by CNN correspondent Max Foster for CNN Inspirations: Wild Discoveries, where she poke about the most interesting marine, prehistoric, and terrestrial species discovered in recent years.

She has also spoken for BBC World Service’s The Inquiry and was featured in the 2018 Ocean’s month episode of ‘Science Friday’. She has also featured on podcasts such as NPR’s Short Wave, BBC Earth, Mongabay, and Stuff to Blow Your Mind.

Dr Diva has also contributed to online and printed publications, such as The New York Times, National Geographic, Time, ECO Magazine, Oceanographic Magazine, Forbes, The Economist, Jamaica Observer, Smithsonian Magazine, New Scientist, LA Times, Daily Mail, Business Insider, and Huffington Post.

In 2015, she was the scientific consultant on Jen Green’s children’s book Oceans in 30 Seconds.

DR DIVA AMON | AWARDS

Dr Diva’s achievements have been recognised with many awards and accolades over the years, including:

– Association for the Science of Limnology and Oceanography’s Yentsch-Schindler Early Career Award

– WINGS WorldQuest Women of Discovery Sea Award

– Elliott Norse Early Career Marine Conversationist Award from the Society for Conservation Biology

– The British Science Association’s Charles Lyell Award for Environmental Sciences

– International Seabed Authority Secretary-General’s Award for Excellence in Deep-Sea Research

– National Geographic Emerging Explorer

DR DIVA AMON | CORPORATE WORK

Dr Diva Amon is now a highly sought-after keynote speaker and has made appearances at international events and conferences, including:

– Our Ocean, Norway

– UN Ocean Conference, Portugal

– Deep-Sea Biology Symposium, USA

– Intergovernmental Conference, USA

– The World Economic Forum, Switzerland

– Beyond Challenger at the Royal Society, UK

– World Conference of Marine Biodiversity, UK

– Natural History Museum Student Conference, UK

– Tomography for Scientific Advancement Symposium, UK

– SBSTTA of the Convention of Biological Diversity, Switzerland

– Annual Session of the International Seabed Authority, Jamaica

– Commission on the Status of Women at the United Nations, USA

– IUCN Species Survival Commissioner’s Leaders Meeting, Abu Dhabi

– Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, Egypt

– Malama Kai Hohonu: A Symposium on Deep Sea Mining in the Pacific, USA

– Latin America and Caribbean Congress for Conservation Biology, Trinidad & Tobago

– United Nations Open-Ended Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea, USA

Call +44 1753 439 289 or email Great British Speakers now to book marine biologist speaker Dr Diva Amon for your corporate event.

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