Stephanie Jutta Schwabe ( in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

) is a geomicrobiologist. She completed a Ph.D. in the biogeochemical investigation of caves within the Bahamian carbonate platforms, commonly referred to as blue holes. She is an expert

geologic Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Eart ...

diver mostly in Bahamian blues holes, though her experience extends to expeditions in U.S. waters. ''Diver International'' named her one of the top 40 divers in the world. She earned a degree in law with a focus on international environmental law. Schwabe is a fellow of the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

of London. She was named a

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

fellow in exo-biology for her discovery of a unique life system found only in the black fresh water holes in the Bahamas, and was featured in the book titled ''Women of Discovery: A Celebration of Intrepid Women Who Explored the World''. In 2004, Schwabe was given the

Women of Discovery Award The Women of Discovery Awards are given by the non-profit WINGS WorldQuest, in recognition of the achievements of women in science and exploration. The awards were first presented in 2003, the same year that WINGS WorldQuest was formed by Milbry ...

for Courage by Wings WorldQuest.

Exploration

Schwabe began diving in caves in 1992. Since that time, she has participated in eighteen scientific expeditions to the Bahamas, as subjects for masters and doctoral research. She has participated in a number of film expeditions. In 1999, Schwabe's discovery quest led her to the Black Hole of

Andros, Bahamas Andros Island is an archipelago within the Bahamas, the largest of the Bahamian Islands. Politically considered a single island, Andros in total has an area greater than all the other 700 Bahamian islands combined. The land area of Andros consis ...

. Schwabe discovered a species of

purple sulfur bacteria The purple sulfur bacteria (PSB) are part of a group of Pseudomonadota capable of photosynthesis, collectively referred to as purple bacteria. They are anaerobic or microaerophilic, and are often found in stratified water environments including ...

she named ''Allocromatium palmerii'' in 2003 after her late husband and diver Rob Palmer. Schwabe is the founder and director of the Rob Palmer Blues Holes Foundation, a nonprofit organization. The foundation is dedicated to the scientific and physical exploration of blue holes within the Bahamas and related environment. The foundation's goals are to encourage education and conservation of Bahamian caves and blue holes.

Third Man phenomenon

Schwabe also describes the

Third Man phenomenon The third man factor or third man syndrome refers to the reported situations where an unseen presence, such as a spirit, provides comfort or support during traumatic experiences. History Sir Ernest Shackleton, in his 1919 book '' South'', desc ...

that occurred to her while lost as she was

solo diving Solo diving is the practice of self-sufficient underwater diving without a "dive buddy", particularly with reference to scuba diving, but the term is also applied to freediving. Professionally, solo diving has always been an option which depend ...

in a cave. Her husband, British diving pioneer Rob Palmer, died on a pleasure dive in the Red Sea in 1997.

References

Bibliography

Stephanie Schwabe and James L. Carew. "Blue Holes: An Inappropriate Moniker for Scientific Discussion of Water-Filled Caves in the Bahamas" (Accessed 3/8/06)Schwabe, S. J. ,and Herbert, R., 2004, Black Holes of the Bahamas: What they are and why they are black: Quaternary International, v. 121, p. 3-11.

External links

The Robert Palmer Blue Holes FoundationExplorers Journal Conversation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schwabe, Stephanie German women biologists Geomicrobiologists German marine biologists 1957 births Living people Cavers Underwater divers German women geologists 20th-century German geologists