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UCL researchers join indigenous Pacific sailors to explore ancient skill of wave piloting

UCL researchers are teaming up with a group of world-leading scientists to investigate how indigenous sailors find their way by sensing the swells of the ocean. The researchers will set out on their voyage on a trimaran  – a kind of multihull boat –  in August with two indigenous Marshallese sailing experts and a documentary filmmaker. Our Ecological Brain DTP student Maria Ahmad is one of them. 

She said: “For centuries people had traversed the sea without navigational tools but, sadly, nuclear testing after the Second World War devastated the Marshall Islands. This displaced entire communities, eroding traditions and disrupting the intergenerational transfer of indigenous knowledge. However, the Marshallese community of today has revived the ancient art of canoe building, which helps increase sustainability for communities and the natural world.

“Applying scientific methods to understand indigenous knowledge could help develop culturally relevant tools to address disproportionately high rates of health concerns such as Alzheimer’s disease, and other social issues such as climate change.” 

Find about more about this research here.

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