Aquarius Undersea Laboratory » June, 2004 Saturation

Mission Journal 13 — Addie Coyac:: Mission Day 6 – 8: Monday, June 21st, 2004

Aaron Alexander — Mon, 21 Jun 2004 05:00:51 +0000

Jim and I are in for the day, we had a nice five and a half hour dive this morning. We did lots of surveying and picture taking. These last 3 days have flown by. We’ve used at least 90% of our available dive time and accomplished most of our tasks down here. I’m still thrilled about being down here. I was warned that I would get worn out and tired, but those are things I can deal with as long as I get to be in the water. Last night and the night before, all four of us went on night dives. How incredible! We were looking for coral recruitments at depths of 90, 70, and 50 feet. We used these blue lights with yellow face mask filters. They acted just like black lights and made all the corals fluoresce. We were then able to count and identify the corals in our quadrats. The neat thing was seeing all the other organisms fluoresce, things like tubeworms, anemones, and algae. On our way back to the habitat, we kept our masks on and used only the blue light to light our way. All the coral polyps were out feeding as well as the basket stars. As I was pulling myself along I noticed movement out of the corner of my eye so I turned my regular light on and there was an octopus sitting on the reef. Jim and I interacted with it for a few minutes before it slithered away into the night. The night before, Steve and I saw a reef squid that really enjoyed basking in our light as well as 2 spotted scorpionfish and lots of little shrimp with glowing red lights as we shined our lights on them. Tomorrow morning Jim and I are going out at 5 am to try to get some last quadrats in. I’m a little weary of having to wake up that early, but I’m sure once I get into the water, I’ll be wide awake. That dive will be our last time in the water on this mission, we will have 2 hours and then back to the habitat for decompression. We will be in the habitat for a total of 17 hours while we decompress the habitat to 1 atmosphere. Once this has occurred, we splash once more into the water to the surface to a waiting boat that will take us back to land. I don’t want to go back; I’ve become so used to being in the water that I’m afraid of being land-sick when I actually walk around up there.

Mission Journal 12 — Mark Hulsbeck: Mission Day 7: Sunday, June 20th, 2004

Aaron Alexander — Sun, 20 Jun 2004 05:00:02 +0000

Day 7 of the mission has sneaked up on us like a barracuda on a grunt. It’s here before you know it. The Leichter missions always seem to pass quickly due to the amount of dive time that they put in. Keeps everyone busy. We definitely see signs of survival of the fittest on the reef surrounding Aquarius. We constantly see yellowtail snapper with chomped on fins and other body parts. They’re the ones that got away. Last night a shark was spotted through the bunkroom view port. It wasn’t close enough to tell the species. The next morning we noticed that one of the larger snook had some very deep mouth shaped (as in shark mouth) gashes in it. His fins were pretty battered, too. It looks like he barely got away.

We commonly see fish with hooks and wire leaders in their mouths. The Aquarius is in a Research Only Area designated by the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Fishing, diving, anchoring or boat mooring is prohibited so as not to disturb the scientific studies taking place. Despite this, some folks come in and violate the rules. The fines can be stiff when caught and we hope to spread the word concerning the area being Research Only.

I got a night dive in Friday night. I was cleaning the open bottom bell (an underwater air space near the habitat where Aquanauts can talk to one another) and the usual cast of characters came parading by. First was a giant hermit crab sporting a horse conch shell for a house. Then a smaller hermit crab cousin of his sauntered by. This one had a shell festooned with two anemones attached to it. One anemone was bright orange, the other yellow. It reminded me of a Key West Fantasy Fest Parade participant. A regular customer around here showed up also. He likes to bury himself near the open bottom bell. He (or she) is a large southern stingray with an unusual split on the forward part of his body, between the eyes. It’s all healed over, so it’s hard to tell if it was a birth defect or an old wound.

Time for the Aquanauts to return from a night dive. Back to work.

And thanks for the delicious lasagna and carrot cake Sue!

Mission Journal 11 — Jim Leichter: Mission Day 6: Sunday, June 19th, 2004

Aaron Alexander — Sat, 19 Jun 2004 05:00:08 +0000

t’s already Day 6, and it’s a beautiful sunny Saturday. At least that’s on the surface and some of that we can tell here on the bottom. Looking up at the surface it’s clearly quite calm today and the wavering spot of the sun is appears as a bright patch on the surface. One way to tell that it is Saturday is that during our dives we could hear many more boat engines today than on the weekdays. Even though the boats are not directly overhead (or at least they shouldn’t be inside the research area) the motor noise carries far underwater and it’s always a good idea to look up and check just in case. The early dive this morning was quite interesting because an especially cool, murky layer of water had moved onto the reef. We could see a layer of suspended particles in the top few meters of the cool water layer, and when this cool water spread up the reef we could clearly see the cloudy layer in the low lying depressions and grooves on the reef. As we swam over the reef it looked almost the way fog or smoke hugging the low valleys of a mountain side would look from an airplane. These thin layers right along the thermocline are likely to be full of phytoplankton and zooplankton (that’s why they appear cloudy). So in addition to the dissolved nutrients that are brought onto the reef, the cool water layers can be transporting important food particles for the reef suspension feeders as well as larvae of invertebrates and fish. There are many interesting and important implications of this transport; one is that periods of strong upwelling are likely to correspond to episodes of high delivery of new fish larvae onto the reefs. Another is that the supply of larvae (at least for some types of larvae) for the reefs can be coming from far offshore and from reefs far ‘up stream’ in the Florida current.

Mission Journal 9 — Addie Coyac: Mission Day 4 and 5: Friday, June 18th, 2004

Aaron Alexander — Fri, 18 Jun 2004 05:00:03 +0000

Here we are half way through our stay here in Aquarius, I’m very sad, but I have to look at the bright side, I still have 4 more days of diving. We have been in the water over 30 hours and accomplished so much. BOA is out and surveyed, we’ve taken 10 pictures at each node making that 1000 pictures and we’ve tied each array tightly to the reef in case of a storm. Tomorrow we are heading deep to look for certain species of algae that Jim Leichter samples for nutrient analysis. We also have a night dive scheduled where we will be using blue lights to look for juvenile corals. I’m excited about the night dive; lots of marine organisms become active at night and feed. Time goes by so quickly when I’m out diving. I wish I could slow it down and make this last forever. During my time in the water, I’ve been able to watch and interact with a lot of organisms. Yesterday, I interacted with a Hawksbill turtle. I was watching Dale take a compass heading and something brushed against me. I turned around to see this 100 pound turtle next to me. He hung around for a little while and then gracefully swam away. Today I found a porcupine fish getting cleaned by a cleaner shrimp; of course I coerced him to puff up. Dale took a picture that I will try to get on the web site soon. I’m still really happy to be down here and I’m having a great time. Time for bed!

Mission Journal 10 — Hal Letts: Mission Day 5: Friday, June 18th, 2004

Aaron Alexander — Fri, 18 Jun 2004 05:00:02 +0000

More cleaning of the pipes and valves. Seems the habitat technician’s job is never done. And we love it that way. Didn’t see the tarpon or the big stingray today, but the permit were playing under the habitat. Had visitors from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) at Aquarius today. Seems really odd to have company show up while you’re living and working underwater. Always glad to have company though, means somebody knows we’re here…Just kidding; our surface support is one of the best! It’s strange how the little things in life are really missed down here. An example is one of the Scientists is craving a cheeseburger from a fast food joint…Go figure. Found one of the most interesting and abundant invertebrates and probably one of the least noticed by me. Tunicates are animals that attach themselves to anything and usually have two or more large holes, one is the incurrent or buccal siphon and has a gill net inside for removing food and oxygen; the other is the excurrent or atrial siphon used for the discharge of water and waste. They come in all shapes and sizes, but the one I noticed was by our battery pods when I was cleaning on the starboard side aft. At first I thought it was a sponge, but the opening closed when I got near it. I watched for a moment and the siphon openings opened back up. That’s when I really noticed the beauty of the Giant Tunicate (Polycarpa spongiabilis). Very colorful and surprising intricate since it’s only about two inches tall. Most Giant Tunicate grow to a maximum of three to four inches tall, but this one is smaller. Also found two Slate-Pencil Urchins (Eucidaris tribuloides) which have thick, blunt spines on their bodies and move them pretty fast for an urchin. Both were hidden really well in the piping of Aquarius so I can see how far they move in the next few days. Our Donkey Dung Sea Cucumber has made it 64 centimeters in 4 days! More to come tomorrow.

Mission Journal 8 — Hal Letts: Mission Day 4: Thursday, June 17th, 2004

Aaron Alexander — Thu, 17 Jun 2004 05:00:09 +0000

Day 4 and I get the first dive after the scientists. As soon as I got out on hooka, the big southern stingray I spotted on day 2 came right up to the forward starboard Aquarius leg and covered himself in sand. He has a split in the very front of his body so when it’s in the sand it reminds you of an Atlantic Manta (Manta birostris). All we can figure out is it was caught and the fishing line must have cut the front part of his body. Makes for interesting identification though. During my 4 hour dive I did a lot of pipe and valve cleaning and noticed that the reef is really trying it’s best to claim Aquarius as its own. Not only is there more plant life, but while I was cleaning a valve, a crab came from between the water tank and frame and tried to bite my toes! I think he was trying to tell me to get out of his territory; just like the Damselfish and Sergeant Majors were doing on day two. ( the Damselfish on day two were Brown Chromis (Chromis multilineata)). The amount of growth on the exterior from when I saturated last year is incredible! The most fascinating thing to happen yet was migration of billions of 2mm bugs (Polychaetes of some sort) at around 2100 hours (9:00 PM). It looked like lightning in the sky that instead of going front the clouds to the earth travels from cloud to cloud. It did this in the light at the bow of Aquarius and was incredible. The only visual thing I can thing of was the Nexus in one of the Star Trek movies. FLASH: The microwave was brought down in a very big sealed pot to keep the water out. Mark and I mounted the microwave in place, tried to test it and guess what, it didn’t work! The scientists were drawing out their dive knives and pipettes when they realized it was time for them to dive. To think, saved by a dive…The habitat techs had to work fast and furious. They adjusted the door micro-switches to make the microwave work again. The scientists were once again good-natured and all the Aquarius crew is back to its happy “tortillas and melted cheese” loving self again. More tomorrow.

Mission Journal 7 — Hal Letts:: Mission Day 3: Wednesday, June 16th, 2004

Aaron Alexander — Wed, 16 Jun 2004 05:00:51 +0000

Today was a late start day, I didn’t get in the water until 1:30 PM, but had a great dive! 10 Permits (Trachinotus falcatus) and 4 Tarpon (Megalops Atlanticus) were swimming under the habitat and watching them just frolic was incredible. The Tarpon were the same ones from yesterday with an addition to the pack (a school of tarpon just doesn’t sound right) and the Permit range from 2 feet to 3½ feet. I only wish the fishermen that fish for sport would come to the ocean’s reef and see these magnificent creatures playing. At one point I was in the middle with a loop in my air hose and the permit were doing loop-da-loops though it. I missed my calling as a circus trainer I guess. I did a big general clean up of the area around Aquarius and found a few small Spotted Moray Eels (Gymnothorax moringa) and quite a few Plumed Scorpionfish (Scorpaena grandicornis).The Schoolmasters (Lutjanus apodus) and the Boga (Inermia vittata) were in perfect synchronic swimming mode. Bogas are fascinating to watch, there can be hundreds of them and they all appear to change direction at the same exact time. It’s truly one of nature’s light shows to see all blue one second and all silver the next. The light plays on them like an un-decided artist’s brush to canvas. When a predatory fish is around, their speed increases incredibly. You can also time just right to be in the middle of the bogas if you are real slow moving, that’s really neat! No microwave! The crew of Aquarius is like a taught string ready to snap at a simple tug. The habitat techs are working hard to keep the scientist calmed, but were not sure how much long we can do it…Hopefully, more tomorrow.

Mission Journal 6 — Addie Coyac: Mission Day 2 and 3: Wednesday, June 16th, 2004

Aaron Alexander — Wed, 16 Jun 2004 05:00:31 +0000

These last 2 days have gone smoothly. We finished putting in the BOA and anchoring down most of the arrays. Dale and I are a buddy team, and Jim and Steve are the other buddy team. We started surveying all of the arrays; this involves Dale doing most of the work. I hold one end of the transect tape while Dale swims it to the next array. From there, he takes compass bearings, and depths. During this time I wait and observe all the creatures around me. He then tugs a few times to let me know he’s ready for me to join him. I had a cool encounter with a trumpetfish who seemed to enjoy the bubbles from my regulator. He had absolutely no fear and I probably could have touched him if I wanted to. I also had a curious Nassau grouper hanging out with me during 2 of the node surveys; I think he just wanted some company. They’re kind of grumpy looking and I wasn’t sure if he wanted me to move out of his way. I also noticed many micro-organisms while I was waiting. Lots of little cleaner shrimp, gobies and blennies, and if I sat still long enough, all the feather duster worms would come out. Tomorrow we have a deep dive planned for the morning. There are a few arrays that go out to about 110 feet. We’ll start our survey out there and then move up to a shallower depth. I like going deeper, I always see spotted eagle rays and turtles. Living down here is still great. Today we had a few visitors. A news crew from The News Hour with Jim Lehrer came down to interview Jim Leichter. It’s nice to see new faces and hear about the weather and land news. I do have a few of the ailments that are associated with wearing a wet wetsuit for 8 hours a day but they’re menial compared to all the neat things I’m doing.

I sleep extremely soundly and the night sounds are really soothing. We hear snapping shrimp and see shadows of large fish go by the view ports. Speaking of which, my bed is calling me right now, all this swimming with the fishes tires me out. Night!

Mission Journal 3 — Jim Leichter: Mission Day 2: Tuesday, June 15th, 2004

Aaron Alexander — Tue, 15 Jun 2004 05:00:56 +0000

It’s Day 2 of the mission and everything is off to a great start. Our wake up call came at 6 this morning. Waking up underwater is one of the many exciting things about living in the Habitat. But 6:15 it was just starting to get light out on the reef while we sipped our coffee and looked out the view port. Large fish were still out feeding by the lights of the Habitat darting in from time to time to catch their prey. At one point a shower of fish scales came down past the view port — somebody having and somebody else becoming breakfast in one swoop.

After breakfast we staged out for our morning excursion which was 3-1/2 hours down to a depth of 110-ft. Between this morning’s dive and the ones yesterday when we were out for a total of just over 5 hours we have now already deployed most of the large cable array. This system has 100 individual temperature sensors set up as on a grid across the reef and gives us a unique spatial view of the waves of cool water washing on shore. There still a lot to be done, but by late today we expect to have accomplished 90% deployment that took us over a week of surface diving in last year. And, with the extended bottom time available from saturation diving we can make much more careful observations. But these advantages of saturation diving only come with a lot of work from the various support crews before and during the mission. As we relax now for a lunch of delicious re-hydrated camping food our trusty Habitat technicians, the topside Aquarius crew, and our topside support divers are all hard at work.

Mission Journal 5 — Mark Hulsbeck: Mission Day 2: Tuesday, June 15th, 2004

Aaron Alexander — Tue, 15 Jun 2004 05:00:38 +0000

This is the end of day 2 of my 10th Aquarius mission. I got married last month, so this will give my wife Sue a chance to rearrange the house while I’m away.
So far things are going pretty well with the mission. Jim Leichter knows how to fully utilize the available dive time from the Aquarius. He and his crew have been quite busy.Hal Letts and I are starting to make some progress on the outside habitat maintenance.We have had some large tarpon and permit swimming around the habitat lately. They are a sight to see. Speaking of large, I had to laugh at Dr. Leichter today. He was standing in the water in the wet porch (about waist deep) when Steve Wing said “look behind you Jim!” To Jim’s chagrin, there was a 4 foot (in Jim’s eye’s, a six foot) resident barracuda less than one foot away, sizing him up. Jim leaped up into the dry area of the wet porch in a single bound! Now, I know Jim is not concerned about barracudas in open water, but it is a bit disconcerting to be in a small space with a large snaggle-tooth barracuda giving you the once over. I told him I was laughing with him not at him, but I think Steve was laughing AT him.