Ukrainian researcher Dr Kateryna Terletska has spent her career deciphering oceanic mysteries and engaging young people in science. Everything changed when the Russian invasion brought war to her doorstep. Kateryna Terletska has always been a problem solver. As a child, she immersed herself in puzzles, riddles and mysteries, and it was this insatiable curiosity that led her to science. “Being a scientist is like being a detective,” the Kyiv-based mathematician and physicist told The Brilliant. “It’s always about going from fairy tale, legend or mystery to a point of discovery.” With a focus on hydromechanics (the mechanics of fluids), Terletska is investigating extreme internal waves in oceans – a poorly understood natural phenomenon that can hinder maritime navigation and damage underwater facilities. Studies of these waves can inform measures to mitigate such impacts, while also providing valuable insights into the effects of climate change. “These waves are hidden to the naked eye, yet with amplitudes of up to 100 metres, they can have a huge impact,” says Terletska, who holds a Dr. Habil, the highest academic award in many European countries, in hydromechanics. For centuries, internal solitary waves were the stuff of maritime myth and legend. Roman leader and naturalist Pliny the Elder, for example, attributed the defeat of Antony and Cleopatra by Octavian’s weaker fleet in the Battle of Actium in 31BC to an all-powerful sucking fish. It was not until Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen set off on a polar expedition in 1893 that the first scientific observations of such waves were recorded. In the icy waters of northern Siberia, The Fram, a state-of-the-art ship constructed for the journey, was stalled by a strange force. Referring to it as dødvann, the ‘dead-water effect’, Nansen hypothesised that it was the result of fresh water layering on top of salt water, a phenomenon that occurs when snow and ice from mountains slide into the sea. Scientists have since studied the way that internal solitary waves transfer heat, energy and momentum through the ocean. Terletska is one of a small number of researchers who are seeking to better understand their profound effects on the climate and marine ecosystems. She is also committed to popularising science among teenagers in Ukraine. “Few people want to do research in Ukraine because it’s not so fashionable, especially for women,” says Terletska. Awards, such as L’Oréal-UNESCO’s Women in Science, and interviews with scientists in magazines such as Vogue and other “juicy educational content and visualisations” have been helping to change that, she says. But today, the world of ‘fashionable science’ seems far away, as war rages in Ukraine, with implications for Europe and the wider world.
Ukrainian researcher Dr Kateryna Terletska has spent her career deciphering oceanic mysteries and engaging young people in science. Everything changed when the Russian invasion brought war to her doorstep. Kateryna Terletska has always been a problem solver. As a child, she immersed herself in puzzles, riddles and mysteries, and it was this insatiable curiosity that led her to science. “Being a scientist is like being a detective,” the Kyiv-based mathematician and physicist told The Brilliant. “It’s always about going from fairy tale, legend or mystery to a point of discovery.” With a focus on hydromechanics (the mechanics of fluids), Terletska is investigating extreme internal waves in oceans – a poorly understood natural phenomenon that can hinder maritime navigation and damage underwater facilities. Studies of these waves can inform measures to mitigate such impacts, while also providing valuable insights into the effects of climate change. “These waves are hidden to the naked eye, yet with amplitudes of up to 100 metres, they can have a huge impact,” says Terletska, who holds a Dr. Habil, the highest academic award in many European countries, in hydromechanics. For centuries, internal solitary waves were the stuff of maritime myth and legend. Roman leader and naturalist Pliny the Elder, for example, attributed the defeat of Antony and Cleopatra by Octavian’s weaker fleet in the Battle of Actium in 31BC to an all-powerful sucking fish. It was not until Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen set off on a polar expedition in 1893 that the first scientific observations of such waves were recorded. In the icy waters of northern Siberia, The Fram, a state-of-the-art ship constructed for the journey, was stalled by a strange force. Referring to it as dødvann, the ‘dead-water effect’, Nansen hypothesised that it was the result of fresh water layering on top of salt water, a phenomenon that occurs when snow and ice from mountains slide into the sea. Scientists have since studied the way that internal solitary waves transfer heat, energy and momentum through the ocean. Terletska is one of a small number of researchers who are seeking to better understand their profound effects on the climate and marine ecosystems. She is also committed to popularising science among teenagers in Ukraine. “Few people want to do research in Ukraine because it’s not so fashionable, especially for women,” says Terletska. Awards, such as L’Oréal-UNESCO’s Women in Science, and interviews with scientists in magazines such as Vogue and other “juicy educational content and visualisations” have been helping to change that, she says. But today, the world of ‘fashionable science’ seems far away, as war rages in Ukraine, with implications for Europe and the wider world.
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