Wheeler James North began his academic career teaching at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in 1953 , after which North joined the faculty of the California Institute of Technology ( Caltech ) in September 1962 . Although North taught marine biology courses at the Caltech main campus in Pasadena , North spent much of his time undertaking research at the Caltech ’s Kerckhoff Marine Laboratory in Corona del Mar North ’s principal research interest was marine ecology , specifically the kelp beds off Southern California and the population ecology of sea urchins . North studied the effects of sewage outfalls and El Niño on kelp forests , and the predation of kelp by sea urchins . North served as a consultant for California ’s kelp-harvesting industry . North was one of the first marine scientists to employ SCUBA technology for marine research beginning as a student in 1949 . While at Scripps , North worked with group studying the physiology of diving and was a pioneer in establishing scientific diving safety protocols . North was a consulting scientist after the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill , and after 1973 oil crisis , he studied the possibility of kelp farms to produce biomass as an alternative fuel . North contributed to the growth of the kelp farming industry in China . North also studied the ecological effects of warm-water discharges from nuclear power plants on kelp forests , and in the early 1990s North undertook studies to reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide using marine biomass and clathrate hydrates
1969 Santa Barbara oil spill
1969 Santa Barbara oil spill
Wheeler J. North