Current Scientific Expeditions

Following Steinbeck & Ricketts’ Footsteps

Shifting Tides in the Sea of Cortez

In a modern-day return to the Sea of Cortez, our team will retrace the iconic 1940 expedition of John Steinbeck and Ed Ricketts—resurveying coastal biodiversity at their original sites while capturing the scientific and philosophical spirit of their expedition.

Through vivid underwater footage, dramatic intertidal landscapes, and compelling storytelling about science in a changing world, we’ll reveal how ecosystems—and our relationship with them—have changed over the 85 years since Steinbeck & Ricketts visited these rugged and remote shores.

An Enduring Legacy

In 1940, Nobel Prize winning author John Steinbeck and marine biologist Ed "Doc" Ricketts departed Monterey aboard a sardine trawler to survey intertidal marine organisms in México’s Sea of Cortez.

Accompanied by a ragtag crew straight from the pages of Cannery Row, they viewed the expedition as both scientific and soulful escape into the rugged Baja peninsula to understand the overlooked animals that live where the desert meets the sea.

Their book's enduring value lies not just in its biological data, but in its human element—their reflections on nature, science, and the human condition. Within Sea of Cortez, Steinbeck & Ricketts chronicled the people and communities they encountered, and reflected on our relationship with the environment, the role of science in society, love, war, and human nature.

An Ecosystem at a Crossroads

An Ecosystem Under Threat

The Sea of Cortez—an iconic yet imperiled marine ecosystem.

The region has changed dramatically since Steinbeck & Ricketts last visited due to commercial development, overfishing, and a warming climate.

In 1940, Ricketts found the intertidal regions of the Sea of Cortez "ferocious with life," however, much has changed in the intervening years, which we hope to quantify with  this resurvey expedition.

Retracing Steinbeck & Ricketts’ steps almost a century later

In retracing the historic 1940 Steinbeck-Ricketts expedition, our team will blend science, storytelling, and philosophy throughout our documentary footage and photographs, spotlighting how marine biodiversity has changed and why it matters.

We will sail along their same route in March of 2026, sampling the often-overlooked intertidal animals that captured Ricketts’ imagination and connecting with the vibrant people that depend on this vital ecosystem.

We believe this journey will resonate with readers of our book and viewers of our documentary as both a call to action and a tribute to the enduring connection between people and place—just as Sea of Cortez inspired generations of scientists, conservationists, and activists.

Meet the Crew


  • Expedition Lead

    Rebecca is a biological oceanographer & marine ecologist, whose research spans from animal behavior to carbon cycling in the deep ocean. She received her undergraduate degrees from UC Berkeley, her PhD from Columbia University, and has worked for NASA and NOAA as a satellite oceanographer, using images captured from space to understand how human influences are impacting our ocean ecosystems. For her PhD, she spent 3 field seasons in Antarctica, studying the importance of krill to the Antarctic ecosystem and carbon export. Her field work has taken her to remote regions of Costa Rican jungles, islands of French Polynesia, and out at sea with no land in sight. She has taught and mentored students of all levels throughout her career and has led training workshops for citizen scientists and local stakeholders in all of the regions her research has taken her. In recent years, Rebecca has found art and figure skating to be creative fuel for her scientific research and can be most often found at the local ice rinks if the nearby lakes are not frozen.

  • Chris is a field ecologist and the founder and president of Pinecrest Research Corporation, Inc., where he designs and implements ecological restoration projects, advises clients on environmental issues, and engages in environmental and social research and advocacy. He obtained his PhD from UC Berkeley, and completed postdoctoral studies at the University of California Institute for México and the United States. Chris has been studying the coastal desert plant ecosystems of the Baja California peninsula for almost 20 years, and has taught and performed research throughout the world on a variety of topics including botany, evolutionary biology, marine biology, and conservation. Chris is also a passionate advocate for environmental and social justice and is co-authoring a book with his mother on the World War II incarceration of American citizens of Japanese descent. In his spare time he enjoys backpacking, kayaking, fly fishing, tennis, building bicycles, playing the saxophone, and spending quality time with his adorable birds.


  • Ivone is a professor at the Faculty of Marine Sciences at Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Mexico. Her research significantly contributes to understanding marine biodiversity and biogeography of Baja California Islands, uncovering species adaptations to different environmental gradients and influences conservation strategies for Mexico’s rich coastal ecosystems. She is a member of the Mexican Academy of Sciences and winner of the Academic Merit Award in Exact Natural Sciences in 2024 for her distinguished career in molecular biology, fish and crustacean ecophysiology, and marine virology. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she collaborated with the Center for Nanosciences and Nanotechnology, processing COVID-19 samples – demonstrating her flexibility and commitment to science beyond her marine focus. When she is not conducting ground breaking research, Ivone can be found adventuring on motorcycle, kayaking, and sailing.

  • Jorge is part of a generation that believes in the future of exploration and the power of new technologies to tackle the crisis ahead—food security, biodiversity loss, and water scarcity. His scientific focus is on Earth’s microbiome—an invisible layer of the planet—where microorganisms live and interact with all other lifeforms. As a biologist, he has documented parts of the fungal diversity in the rainforest of Chamela, Jalisco, and studied the rare and endemic flora of Baja California. Growing up in Mexico City shaped his sense of purpose and is a proud ambassador of his culture, rooted in traditions of love, respect, and hard work. Jorge earned a PhD in Environmental Systems at the University of California, Merced, where he studied microbial biogeographical patterns in California's ephemeral wetlands known as vernal pools. He is currently a  postdoc at the University of Arizona, where he is studying the desiccation responses in soil bacteria, using diverse molecular tools and microscopy. Most mornings, you’ll catch him skating through the streets, reggae pulsing through his headphones, stopping to check out the local vegetation—which is how he stays grounded and connected to Mother Nature.

  • Amelia is a marine ecologist and aquatic cave scientist with extensive field research experience. She is a certified cave diver, fascinated by the evolutionary adaptations fish and invertebrates have developed to live within dark caves with limited food supplies. When not researching the aquatic cave animals and bacteria, Amelia is helping to understand how other cave animals, such as bats, are influencing the biogeochemistry of aquatic system. Amelia obtained her bachelor's degree from UC Berkeley and her PhD from Cornell University and is currently working as a contractor for the National Park Service as a cave scientist. Her field work and volunteer work has taken her all over the world, from the Cenotes in Mexico to the islands of Micronesia, where she facilitated the establishment of an education program to teach Micronesian high school students engineering and robotics. She has volunteered her time and effort, working as the clinical manager for the nonprofit Floating Doctors in Panama, where she managed mobile health clinics that provide free healthcare to indigenous communities. Amelia grew up surrounded by animals, including a pet potbelly pig, mice, and cockatoos. The latest addition to her family is her cat Pickles. Beyond her research, Amelia enjoys hiking to waterfalls, glass blowing, making candles, and creating plant terrariums.

  • Max is a geologist & geomorphologist whose heart belongs in the mountains. He obtained his PhD from Columbia University (Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory) in 2019 with a dissertation titled Glacial Limitation of Tropical Mountain Height and holds an adjunct scientist position at Dartmouth College. His current research is focused on the timing of glacier retreat in the tropics, the pattern of global cooling during the last ice age, and the meaning of a topographic record left by glaciers in mountains throughout the tropics. More broadly, he is fascinated by the myriad ways that the dynamic climate seems to affect the evolution of mountain ranges, and is puzzled by whether there is an ongoing interaction between the long, slow churn of erosion and a global climate that seems quick to change. He combines satellite remote sensing techniques with field work in hard-to-reach places, such as the high peaks of the Talamanca Range of Costa Rica and the Central Range of Taiwan, where he has collected rock samples from glacial moraines for geochemical analysis. Outside of his earth science research Max maintains intense personal interests in the martial arts, Jungian psychology, landscape photography, cold water immersion, and the joy of his tiny toothless cat. 

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