Our forgotten Heroes
Living by the seaside in Falmouth during my studies, seaweed was something that I would regularly walk past. One day I spotted some Irish moss, πΆβπππππ’π ππππ ππ’π , a misnomer as itβs in fact a seaweed! I looked into facts about seaweed and discovered that there is more than meets the eye with this fascinating species. Seaweed is an ecosystem in its own right for marine life, a food source for humans and so much more. Just like trees it uses photosynthesis to absorb carbon dioxide. This βblue carbonβ ecosystem, named as such as seaweed captures and removes the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and stores it underwater is highly underrated. Fossil fuels are extracted from the Earth and burnt, letting out large amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere. This method contributes to global warming whilst also being non-renewable meaning it will eventually run out. Scientists have started to look into alternative solutions to this problem that includes the use of seaweed as biofuel. Biofuel is usually extracted from plants or animal waste. The benefits of this type of fuel is that whatever you are powering, say a car, now becomes carbon neutral. You are not creating new CO2.
Another fun fact is that seaweed was used during the London Marathon of 2019 instead of plastic bottles. This limited plastic waste for such a big event as the seaweed pods used were full of water and completely edible, leaving nothing behind. Upon all of my discoveries I decided to take maters into my own hands and try to raise awareness about these natural wonders through my photography. Visually in its natural state seaweed can seem mundane. I wanted to entice people into a new universe that was just under their noses. I knew that I wanted to create something visually striking that would leave the spectator intrigued. I thought that the best way to do so was to draw attention to the hidden details using a microscope, but first, I needed some seaweed! I set out exploring rock pools to see what species I could identify. Once identified I collected a small sample in water that I stored in my fridge. I quickly placed them under the microscope for fear that their colours would fade. I am very proud to share with you the images I captured of seaweed around Falmouth! The photographs you see here are all made up of at least 30 images each. This is because you lose a lot of depth of field working with microscopes. It is therefore necessary to take multiple images then focus stack them together to create one singular image completely in focus. It is a long process from start to finish, but one that I take great pleasure in doing. In a world where pollution is rising, a new hero is emerging to combat the use of fossil fuel and plastic.
Irish Moss, Gutweed, Kelp, Eyelash Weed, Sea Lettuce
