Dr. Patrick attends the dedication of a Savannah River Site pond in her honor. Her early studies paved the way for other scientists by establishing baseline data for the river and its ecosystem. SPECIAL

Pioneering ecologist helped site study river

Web posted Thursday, November 9, 2000

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By Katie Throne
South Carolina Bureau

Ruth Patrick remembers stepping off a train onto the vast area designated for Savannah River Site as though it were yesterday.

In 1949, the appearance of the land was different. There were pockets of trees where wetlands existed, but most of the 250,000-acre site was large, abandoned farms, scattered with rotten watermelons and old cornstalks.

Dr. Patrick, one of three female ecology scientists in the nation at that time, and a team of other scientists from Philadelphia had been asked by the Atomic Energy Commission to help its members answer an important question.

What would be Savannah River Site's effect on the waterway it planned to have several discharges into?

Dr. Patrick, now 92, answered by studying all aspects of river life, from bacteria to fish. Prior to the opening in 1950 of what was then called Savannah River Plant, she collected baseline data on the water quality and animal and plant life of the Savannah River and determined the structure of its ecosystem.

Her early studies contributed significantly to the developing field of ecology and established for the first time a set of aquatic indicators that could be used to describe the health of freshwater systems and the impact of industrialization.

``The systems we developed, the ecosystem approach to understanding the environment and things that have happened to it, was ours,'' Dr. Patrick said of the team of scientists from the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences. ``We were the first people who ever used this approach. Now it's used all over the world. The work at SRS helped us establish our principles.''

Ruth Patrick studies plant life in the Savannah River. Dr. Patrick was part of team of scientists from Philadelphia that, prior to the Savannah River Plant's opening in 1950, researched life forms in the waterway to determine what impacts the plant would have. STAFF/FILE

Born in Topeka, Kan., Ruth Patrick grew up sharing her father's passion for science.

His love for diatoms, the unicellular food of freshwater organisms, rubbed off on her at a young age. She had her first microscope at age 7 and remembers lying on the dining room floor, looking at everything she could get her hands on, she said in a telephone interview from her Philadelphia office.

She went on to graduate from Coker College, in Hartsville, S.C., where she studied aquatic biology. Her first encounter with the Savannah River was as a college girl, she said.

Since her relationship with the Savannah River began, Dr. Patrick has waded in rivers all over the world, from Brazil to Ireland. She has been a leader in wetlands research for more than 60 years, written more than 200 scientific papers, advised Presidents Johnson through Bush and those in between, and has been recognized with hundreds of awards.

In 1975, she won the prestigious John and Alice Tyler Ecology Award, considered the pinnacle of achievement in its field and the equivalent of a Nobel Prize.

In 1996, she was inducted into the South Carolina Hall of Science and Technology, honored with a lifetime achievement award by the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography, and visited the White House to receive the National Medal of Science - the nation's highest scientific award - from President Clinton.

The University of South Carolina - Aiken named its science center after her in 1991.

She now holds the Francis Boyer Chair of Limnology - the study of the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of freshwater - at the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences.

But Dr. Patrick would rather tell stories about her adventures on the water than talk about her scores of awards and honors. And one of her favorite stories is the tale of the Savannah River and the people who lived along it when ``the bomb plant'' was built.

``The people I talked to were worried,'' Dr. Patrick said. ``They didn't know what was happening. Land had been bought up, houses were on the move. ... No one really understood what the Savannah River Site was about.''

Many of the families who lived in Aiken and the surrounding small towns wondered what was going to happen to them, she said.

``Were they going to be blown up? What kind of neighbor was the Savannah River Site going to be?'' Dr. Patrick said of the questions asked by many.

There was a considerable amount of fear. No one really understood atomic power, she said.

``Everyone was worried as to what the effects of the plant would be on the environment. Everyone thought it would be degraded,'' Dr. Patrick said. ``Of course, there have been changes in certain areas, but on the whole, the natural diversity is so much better than it was when they took over the plant site. Much of the land was rundown farms with very little growing on them.''

Since her study of the Savannah River began more than 50 years ago, Dr. Patrick has gone back to the river many times to monitor its changes.

``There are areas of the plant site that are forbidden for people to enter and are consecrated for nuclear materials and activity, and these are no longer ecologically available,'' Dr. Patrick said. ``But when you consider the improvement of the general area, I would say the plant has bettered, not hurt, the area.''

Dr. Patrick's study of the river in the early days of the site provided good baseline information to use to continue a sampling program that would reveal any potential threats from plant activities. She laid the groundwork for many other scientists.

Dr. Whit Gibbons, professor of ecology at Savannah River Ecology Lab, said Dr. Patrick collected excellent scientific information.

``Because of her, a lot of research was done that other people might not have had the foresight to do,'' he said. ``One of her real accomplishments is that she was way ahead of her time.''

Dr. Gibbons' colleague, Rebecca Sharitz, professor of botany at the ecology lab, said she has admired Dr. Patrick since studying her papers in graduate school. She later had the opportunity to meet Dr. Patrick.

``It was delightful to see a woman who had been so successful at that stage, when a lot of people didn't really know what ecology was,'' she said. ``And later, to meet her and find out that not only was she an inspirational scientist, but a warm, friendly person who was always willing to give some of her time to discuss science.''

Dr. Patrick's passion for ecology continues today. Although she is holed up in her Philadelphia office, penning a six-volume study of the rivers of the United States, she plans to put on her hip boots and wade once more in the Savannah.

``I've been in rivers all over the world,'' she said. ``And I hope to get out on the Savannah again.''

Reach Katie Throne at (803) 279-6895.

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