Since then, she has made it a mission to document every plant species that can be found in the Gulf of Mexico.
Earle’s career eventually allowed her to attend Harvard as a research fellow and then become resident directorship of the Cape Haze Marine Laboratory in Florida.
In 1968, when she was four months pregnant, Earle travelled a hundred feet below the waters of the Bahamas in the submersible Deep Diver.
But Earle’s research didn’t stop there.
In 1969 she participated in the Tektike Project.
Sponsored by the US Navy, the Department of the Interior and NASA, the venture allowed teams of scientists to live for weeks in an enclosed habitat on the ocean floor 100 feet below the surface, off the Virgin Islands.
Earle had already spent thousands of research hours underwater but went on to create and lead Tektite II, Mission 6, an all-female research expedition, earning the record title for the first all-female aquanaut research team.
In 1970, she and four other women dove 50 feet below the surface to the small area they would live in for the next two weeks, earning an additional record for the longest time spent living in an underwater fixed habitat by a female. During the two-week experiment, she watched the effects of pollution on coral reefs. When she and her team returned to the surface, they were honoured at the White House.
In 1970, Earle and her family moved to Los Angeles where she began teaching at UCLA. She hosted several talks around the country explaining her underwater explorations and even wrote for publications including National Geographic.
Additionally, she continued to go on marine expeditions throughout the world, usually serving as their chief scientist.