Aubrey LaPlante

Disclaimer

This transcript is based on a video-recorded interview deposited at MarE3, JAMSTEC (Yokosuka, Japan).

The transcripts of the research project Oral Histories of Scientific Ocean Drilling are polished representations of oral conversations, and are intended solely for the purpose of preserving and documenting personal accounts and memories. They are not a literary product, and are not intended to exhibit literary qualities.

The primary goal of this transcript is to capture the spoken words and memories of the interviewee as accurately as possible. Minor editing and polishing works have been performed to enhance clarity and readability while maintaining the authenticity of spoken discourse, including non-standard grammar, inconsistencies, repetitions, and pauses. The interviewee has been allowed to review and edit the transcript, and they have approved the publication of this version before posting it.

The reader must be aware that memories of an event can vary between individuals and may evolve over time due to various factors, such as subsequent experiences, interactions with others, and personal emotions.

Use and citation

This transcript is the property of JAMSTEC and is subject to its regulations. Quoting, reproducing, or distributing this transcript, in its entirety or in part, for non-commercial uses is allowed with due attribution.

Please cite the interview as:

Interview of Aubrey LaPlante by Beatriz Martinez-Rius on 2024November 21, D/V Chikyu (Japan). [link]

Beatriz Martinez-Rius (BMR): Today is November 21st of 2024. I am Beatriz Martinez-Rius from JAMSTEC and we are onboard Chikyu, during JTRACK expedition. Thank you. Can you please say your name, current affiliation and position?

Aubrey LaPlante (ALP): I am Aubrey LaPlante. I am a PhD student at Northern Arizona University, and I study earthquakes. I’m a structural geologist, really interested in natural hazards – landslides, shallow earthquakes, and tsunamis.

BMR: What do you like about structural geology?

ALP: I like that it combines a lot of different things about geology that I like. So, it’s got a little bit of physics, it’s got some geomorphology, it’s got fault dynamics and mechanics, and all that sort of biz… I was always super interested in physics, and I actually got a physics minor but, I don’t know, there’s something about geophysics that wasn’t super exciting, because you work on a computer so much of the time. I really liked parts of structural geology where you get to go around mapping things, mapping faults. I like being outside. I like field mapping.

BMR: And why earthquakes?

ALP: I’m from Washington State. I did experience an earthquake, when I was a kid. It was the 2001 Nisqually earthquake; I think along the Seattle fault. But I didn’t really get into the geology until college. And what really got me into hazards was this class that combined geology and environmental science with policy. For one of the projects, we got to write a FEMA style hazard report for a state of our choosing. We picked Florida. So, we wrote all about hurricanes, flooding, and all that stuff. But I think what really got me about studying earthquakes was just how little time you get to prepare for them. For most of the other hazards you have a little bit of warning. And I think what’s so scary about earthquakes is how little warning you get when there’s actually an earthquake happening. Most of the other – like, fires, you can evacuate; hurricanes, you can evacuate; flooding, you can sort of retrofit your home. But earthquakes, if you live in an earthquake prone area, besides having an earthquake preparedness kit – which most people don’t have – you can’t really prepare for it. And so, I think studying them so that hopefully one day we’ll be able to have a little bit more warning.

BMR: Also, in terms of forecasting them, earthquakes are different.

ALP: With floods, there’s like the 100 year flood so, you’re able to classify the hazard a little bit better. Whereas earthquakes, okay, we have recurrence intervals. But as I’m learning more and more, faults don’t always follow those [intervals]. So yeah, it’s really the uncertainty around it, that I think is really exciting, in a way.

BMR: Was there any scientist in your family?

ALP: No. I actually grew up really poor. My dad was a construction worker, and my mom was a grade school teacher. So, I guess I sort of gravitate towards teaching because I enjoy it –not saying I want to be a teacher, but… My mom got a master’s, but other than that, nobody else in my family has really gone much further. She was the oldest of nine, and she’s the only one that got a master’s degree. I think she’s one of the only ones who got a bachelor’s degree.

I’m definitely, like, far out beyond anyone in my extended family has ever done. So, I think that’s what’s been really exciting for me, too, sort of treading new waters in that front. Everyone in my family thinks I’m super smart, but they also don’t really know what I do, so (laughs).

BMR: That’s extremely common (laughs).

ALP: Yeah, especially for geology. My dad still thinks I work in oil (laughs). Imagine his confusion, being on a drilling ship.

BMR: This is interesting because geology should be something kind of straightforward, right? I mean, biology looks at living things – cells, animals, plants. Geology looks like rocks and here, rocks under the sea. But it seems like it’s difficult to explain why we should look at rocks.

ALP: Exactly. They don’t understand why rocks matter. I always have to put it in context of, if you want to build something, you need to know what you’re building on, hazards, that sort of things. But even then, people don’t fully get it, especially being… Like, if you’re a hydrologist, everybody understands hydrology – the water crisis and everything. But for structure, they’re just like, “What do you do?” It’s a weird middle ground. “I walk around, mapping faults”. And it’s like, “What, faults?”.

BMR: When or why did you got really interested in Earth sciences?

ALP: When I was in high school, actually, for most of my life I was an artist. I played instruments. I did art – like, every Christmas, I’d always ask for art supplies. That was the thing. And when I was deciding to go to college, it was really between the Seattle Art Institute, which was $60,000 a year, and no help whatsoever financially, or I could go to a four year university and get a little bit of financial assistance.

I decided that I couldn’t afford art school; and that four year university sounded pretty nice. I was thinking about doing computer science, because part of what I liked about art was graphic design. I’ve always kind of worked with computers. That was my plan, to do computer science. And then, I took a geology class. I remember, even before the first day of class, I got my textbook. It was probably like a 101 textbook. I got the book and I started flipping through it. I was like, “This is super cool!”, with pretty pictures. I was so into it! I just remember being super excited about it.

And it wasn’t even then that I got really excited about geology, because that class was kind of slow paced and boring. It was when I took the next class in the series that I think I decided for real that I wanted to be a geologist. It was because I had this professor, Jackie Kaplan Auerbach, who is a marine geophysicist, who was just really… She’s one of these women who’s kind of shorter, but so much energy and so spunky; and I was really drawn to… You know, you don’t see that – at least, that wasn’t my idea of what a scientist looks like. I was like, a sassy woman with a short haircut, and a lot of intelligence and attitude, and she’s powerful. That wasn’t something that I ever thought that I could encompass, especially as a scientist. So, that was really inspiring. I think it was seeing someone who I aspire to be doing that job. And then, also, just really loving the science, and further, being able to incorporate art into that, as well. A lot of what I do is create geologic maps, which is an art itself. You get to make a lot of figures. One of the most important things about science is being able to communicate it. And I think having that art background is really important, because I feel like it makes me a more effective communicator, right? So yeah, that was my intro to geology.

BMR: That’s really cool. Most of the people I’ve interviewed have a story on how they got into geology, and there are a bunch of people who came from art. I can see why it’s is kind of compelling, because I also remember my first classes, in high school, on Earth Sciences – and the geological maps, coloring them… it was fun. And you end up with a sort of piece of art.

ALP: Yeah. I think that’s something that I always really gravitated towards. Because in my life, I’ve always been super good at math, but then loved art. And before the science, I couldn’t really merge them. Like, chemistry and biology doesn’t really merge art as much as geology. In geology, there’s a lot of looking at the landscape and being able to interpret what you see, which is really similar to painting. So, I think that’s it’s so poetic and beautiful.

BMR: I also think so. And I really liked how you explained it. So, how did you learn about scientific ocean drilling?

ALP: I think through Christine [Regalla], probably. I feel like this sort of opportunity is really helpful for your career, and the people that you meet, the experiences that you have… So, I’ve always wanted to get on the ship, regardless of how seasick I get. I have been wanting to do this since I learned about scientific cruises, with the [R/V Marcus] Langseth and the [D/V] JOIDES [Resolution]. All the other cruises, they just haven’t aligned really with my schedule or project. Most of the other ones were like, taking active seismic, or doing ocean bottom seismometer deployment and retrieval. And so, this, for me, is a really unique way of doing scientific research in the ocean. Is not through trying to collect the seismic [data], but by actually trying to gather the material, which I don’t think many other cruises do. It’s kind of unreal.

I didn’t really know what I expected from a core, but it’s been really interesting to sort of get the two perspectives where, in my research, I’ve been mapping faults on the seafloor that extend over dozens to hundreds of kilometers. And then, now, we’re looking at this tiny little slice. That has been kind of mind-blowing and hard to reconcile, because I’m trying to fit these interpretations that we’re seeing into this huge picture. And I keep having to say, this is the smallest little slice of the big picture. I think it’s really important to get both slices, and to remember the context of what question you’re answering. That I’m trying to answer this big picture question from using a very localized section of rock, and just remembering that there are limitations with that; but there’s also a lot of powerful interpretations you can make, right?

BMR: Yes. Let me go a bit back on something you said, and ask you how did you met Christine [Regalla]?

ALP: When I was applying to grad school, I did the cold calling things. Because I had been waitressing for nine years, and I’d been out of school for five years, approximately. I had ideas of where I wanted to go to school and what I wanted to study, because I knew I wanted to go back to earthquakes, tectonics, natural hazards… That sort of thing. So, I was googling schools and, funnily enough, she was the last person I contacted because I actually didn’t see her profile right away, because she had moved schools. I think her profile showed up later. But she was the last interview I had with four Total Perspective Advisors, and we just really clicked. I remember, with some of the other people I interviewed with, they just asked me all about my grades, and I was just a number. And with Christine, she was really interested in who I was as a person, and she really clicked with the art background. It made me feel like, “Oh, I’m unique. I’m a valuable person. And she wants to work with me”. I just felt really good.

And ever since then – we’ve worked together since 2020, which, you know… Working together with someone through Covid, I think it is… You’ve been through real trauma together. So, I think that’s part of it. But then, also, she’s pushed me in ways I didn’t know I needed to be pushed. She just really helped me grow. Like, this morning, I was handed a note, a little Post-it note – because we’re getting together to write her nice things before she leaves tomorrow. And I kept writing things and erasing them because I was like, I don’t know how to write all the things I’m grateful for about you (laughs) in this little Post-it note…

I think I ended up just writing something really simple, but it was that moment where I was realizing that, I’m just so lucky to have this relationship with this person, that so many people don’t have. And it’s pure luck. Like, pure luck. It’s just like the universe was pushing me in a direction that was the right one. Especially because when I applied to grad school, I got into University of Michigan, as well. And I had this realization where there’s – have you ever had this in your life, where you had two pathways you could have taken, and both of them seemed really, really good? You’re not leaning one way or the other. You just sort of have to take one, and hope it’s the right one. And that’s what happened to me. I took the pathway that was working at Northern Arizona and I was like 100%. Now I’m in Japan and it’s like, “Aaah!” (laughs).

BMR: Not only in Japan, you are aboard the only scientific drillship in the world!

ALP: I know! That’s so cool!

BMR: It’s so cool, yes. It’s beautiful, when you kind of develop this relationship with a supervisor. I’ve also been really, really lucky in this sense, with all my supervisors. Especially during the PhD, is important to have someone who is patient and cares about the person, not only about the work.

ALP: Yeah. That is so important, to be able to express not only when you need help, but when you need space or you need downtime. It’s hard to do with yourself, let alone other people. So, having the space to tell your supervisor, “I’m not doing well, is it okay if I take the day off?”, and they’re like, “Yes. Oh my gosh. Yes”.

BMR: It’s amazing that you had such a clear idea that you wanted to be a scientists, after several years working as a waitress.

ALP: Yeah.

BMR: I feel that it must be complicated to take that decision several years after having left collage, because you’ve already built your life around another kind of career or future perspective.

ALP: I just started feeling really stagnant. There were these moments where, you know, I’m on my hands and knees scrubbing a bathroom floor, just like… Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but just, my brain could do so much more than this. And especially when it comes to hazard preparedness or mitigation, I was like, “I could be doing something, I could seriously help people”.

My husband actually had the same realization, because he was a bartender – and that’s where we met. He ended up going back to school to be a mental health counselor. So, it’s a similar realization that, like, there’s nothing wrong with bartending or waitressing full time for the rest of your life, but it just has to do with what you want out of life. And what I want out of life is to feel like I’m not only learning every day, but also that I am helping people. I want to know that what I’m doing is helping others.

BMR: That’s so great. So, let’s go back to the sea. You explained how you met Christine (Regalla), and how you learned about scientific ocean drilling. Why did you apply to this JTRACK expedition?

ALP: It’s actually absolutely perfect for what I’m doing in my research. For my PhD, I am working on mapping faults in the frontal prism of the Japan Trench. And why this is important is because, unlike other accretionary prisms in the world, the Japan Trench is so acoustically chaotic. What that means is, when we use seismic to look at the internal structure, it’s really, really difficult to pick out the high reflectors. That probably means there’s a lot of internal deformation that’s messing up the reflectors. And so, what I’m trying to do is, I’m using the bathymetry. It’s a lot on the tectonic geomorphology of the seafloor to then say what kind of faults are where, because you can determine that from how the seafloor is deforming. And so, I’ve been using the bathymetry to map faults. I am now hoping to use the cores to be able to correlate faults from the surface into the sections that we core. And, hopefully, be able to use all sorts of the data we’re collecting. So, physical properties, and age, lithology… To then correlate all the data and make a fault model. What’s important about that is, it’s likely that it’s not just the basal decollement that’s slipping. It’s probably some combination of that in frontal prism, slumping, that’s making tsunamis, or accretionary prism faults, maybe like an out of sequence mega splay, that is [?] the deformation that’s happening at the trench. A lot of people are focusing on the basal decollement, and on the main plate boundary fault. And I’m really interested in how is the upper plate acting to accommodate all this deformation, because they work in tandem. That’s what my PhD is on.

And so, when I found out this was happening, I was like, “Perfect!”. Like, this is exactly up my alley. So, I applied so that I could not only meet dozens of other scientists that are working on the same project, but to be able to access this data that is so groundbreaking, and be able to use it in my own research. So, yeah, definitely multifaceted, definitely self-serving. But (laughs). It’s been really nice.

Left, Morgane Brunet (left) and Aubrey posing on Chikyu’s drillfloor. Right, Hanaya Okuda (left) and Aubrey working on the computers at Chikyu’s core laboratory. Photos by Beatriz Martinez-Rius, JAMSTEC/IODP.

BMR: And why did you think your application went through the system and you are here now?

ALP: I think that… I have a clear vision. I think the reason people’s applications maybe don’t succeed is if they can’t clearly tie their own goals to the goals of an expedition. And I felt like I really, really tried to do that. I tried to really focus on how can the data that I’m working on, and the data that I will hopefully get to use from this expedition, answer very specific questions about upper plate faulting in the prism. And so, having a very clear goal, very clear research statements, I think is part of it. And just how closely my personal research aligns with the goals of the expedition.

BMR: So, three weeks after coming on board… what would you say is the thing that impressed you most of Chikyu?

ALP: What impressed me is just the amount of tools to analyze things. I’m incredibly impressed. Just the lab – this lab is nicer than most labs on shore (laughs). This is really impressive. And just how thoroughly they’re analyzing every little thing. Everything is checked; it’s very fastidious and very organized, and there’s a method to it, right? Like, to be able to organize this many scientists, this much data, and have a coherent report at the end of it in a very short period of time, that takes a lot of work. And so, there’s these systems that are built in place that exist for the IODP, but especially on the Chikyu, that it’s just very organized. It’s incredibly impressive, on that front.

BMR: Now that you mention all these detailed studies and organization, the tools… What kind of things you have learned during these weeks here, in order to be able to do your job?

ALP: I’ve learned how to distinguish drilling disturbance from in situ faulting. So, things that were original to the core versus things that might have happened through extraction of the core. And I think that’s really important, because those things get mixed up. One of the things I was fearful of is like, how am I going to distinguish between intrusive drilling processes, and things that were primary. The nice thing about faults is they’re really fragile. And so, if it’s disturbed, you know it. And if it’s not disturbed, it’s just the most beautiful little fault in this section of rock.

BMR: How do you learn this? It’s like, someone comes and points it to you?

ALP: It’s by just experiencing the core, just looking at it over and over again. Seeing the process of how it gets collected; like, in the core catcher and that sort of things. Just experience. It’s funny because we’ve been looking at fracture data from our first couple days here, compared to now. And you can see an exponential decrease in the amount of fractures that we’ve been measuring. I don’t think that’s a product of the rock (laughs). I think that’s a product of us identifying drilling disturbance as fractures, as opposed to now we’re like, “Okay, this is how a fracture that is not caused by drilling disturbance should look like”. I don’t think I’d be able to explain to you the difference, but it just takes the experience and just looking at it.

BMR: This part of learning about the interpretation process is so interesting. And you learn it by looking at, I don’t know, a hundred cores, for 12 hours every day, and talking about it with the others.

ALP: Yeah. And the CT [scanner] – I did not expect to be able to use this sort of machine to do this, because I’ve never seen this before, I’ve never used it before. And it’s something that I think I want (laughs) in my own lab.

BMR: Even at home (laughs)

ALP: That would be so great! It’s sort of having the luxury to take lidar scans of everything. It’s like, “Can I have a CT machine for my birthday, please?” (both laugh)

BMR: Yes, it’s a unique technology, and more special having it on board. So, what is the thing that you’re enjoying the most, or you value the most, of life onboard? And the part that is more challenging?

ALP: I actually have a prepared answer for both.

BMR: Great.

ALP: Again, I don’t have expectations when I do things. So, I didn’t come here expecting anything. What I’ve been really surprised by is the strength of the relationships I’ve built in such a short period of time. And I’m sure everyone says that. But it’s sort of crazy how quickly I feel like I latched on to certain people; or how quickly I feel like I’m able to open up and connect to certain people that in my daily life, I might not be able to do. Because you’re undergoing this shared experience and it’s really hard. And you spend all day with so many people, and – we realized this a couple days ago, where I have a group of friends on board, and when one of us isn’t around, we’re like, “I miss them. Where are they?” (laughs). It’s like they’ve been gone for ten minutes and you’re like, “but I need them! and need them around me at all times”. And so, it’s this idea that you just become so attached to the people that you’re not only working 12 hours a day with, but also talking science with, and struggling with. It’s that sort of bond that is really, really unique to this sort of experience.

And then, on that same front, the difficult thing is trying to connect and have conversations with people who have different communication styles. So, all of us, we all speak different languages. We all have different ways of communicating science. We all have different ways of communicating about our personal life. And I’ve found on the daily life, there’s communication problems. I’m always having to pivot about the way I’m saying things because I’m saying it and realizing that the person I’m talking to has no idea what I’m talking about. And so, I think that’s been one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to deal with my life. And also, one of the most beneficial, because it’s definitely helping me grow as a science communicator; but also, just having empathy for other people, and a little bit more patience as well.

BMR: That’s true for everyone, I guess. For example, you’re a native English speaker and English is your first language, but for many of us, it’s not. So, you know, sometimes it creates a sort of language barrier that we need both sides to work on it, or just to be attentive to that. For example, I can say some word that I think I know the meaning, but maybe it has some nuances that I’m not aware of.

ALP: Right.

BMR: If both sides are not mindful about it, it can create frictions, and frictions on a ship get potentially bigger than on land.

ALP: Right, yeah. It’s not like a small tiff. Everything feels a lot bigger on the ship.

BMR: So, what are your plans for after this cruise? In relation to the people here, to scientific ocean drilling, to JTRACK…?

ALP: I’m not the kind of person who tends to think ahead very far…

BMR: …So I was going to ask you next how do you see yourself in ten years, but maybe it’s not ready yet to answer? (laughs)

ALP: (laughs) So, as far as immediately after the cruise, I’m going to be exploring Japan for three weeks. After that, I have to write my prospectus for my PhD. And then, hopefully getting together a paper on the material I’ve collected during this cruise, which is going to be really exciting.

But after my PhD, I think I want to continue – my ultimate goal right now, which isn’t super far away, is to get a postdoc with the USGS. I’ve been struggling with this choice for a while, and I don’t necessarily have to make it now. Or even, you can always pivot between being a professional researcher and a professor – because I absolutely love teaching. I find it very rewarding. But at the same time, the struggles… I see the things that professors have to deal with. And I know there’s a lot of the same things in every job, but just the pressure that’s put on professors, at least in the US, and probably globally, it just feels very unsustainable. And I feel like, for myself, I wouldn’t be able to continue enjoying what I’m doing if I’m put under that level of stress every day. Just because I know myself and I know how I would crumble. Or maybe, maybe I wouldn’t. But… I know that I love research, and I know that I love learning, so I think my ideal goal would be to be a professional researcher with the USGS, but then also be able to do outreach events, and be able to hold seminars and webinars, and that sort of thing where I could still teach, but maybe not have to grade (laughs).

BMR: That’s very nice. I worked a science educator for a while, and you got the nice part of teaching something you like, but at the same time every day the kids were different, from different levels and schools.

ALP: I also think I get very attached to people. So, I taught in 2020 and 2021 a spring semester, and I got really attached to my students that year. Want it or not, when they graduated, I felt so awful. I was like, “I’m gonna miss them so much”. And I’m fearful of, if I was to teach, I would just feel that way every year. I just don’t know if I can do that, just because I get really attached to students. I think a lot of professors would say that’s the rewarding part, but I think it’s also one of the more difficult parts.

BMR: Maybe, yes. Would you like to add something to where do you see yourself in ten years?

APL: A lot of us, VCDs [the team of Visual Core Description] and a lot of other people that I’ve been talking with, we’ve been talking about who’s going to lead the next Japan Trench? (laughs). It’d be like, “oh, it’d be fun if a couple of us got together and wrote the next IODP Japan Trench proposal, for ten years from now”.

BMR: The proposal of JTRACK was put together a year after JFAST. So, it’s something that you can do next year, and then wait ten years.

APL: Exactly. But yeah, I think that, ideally, I will hopefully still be working in Japan. I’ll probably be either an early or mid-career researcher at the USGS, or I will be trying to get tenure somewhere. And when I come back to this interview, and be like, “Oh, yeah, I made that happen!” (laughs)

BMR: “Now I’m co-chief!” (laughs) like, following the steps of Christine.

ALP: I’ll take team leader (laughs), but yeah, that would be great.

BMR: Is there something you want to add that we have to talk about?

APL: I don’t think so.

BMR: Okay. This is everything for my side. It’s been so fun talking to you.

APL: Yes, thank you.