Mission & Project Info | NOAA’s Aquarius Undersea Laboratory
Mission Blog

We’re excited to announce the Aquarius Reef Base has received a 2010 Royal Caribbean Ocean Fund grant! The grant will allow us to continue our efforts with Drs Chris Martens and Niels Lindquist in developing technology to better monitor and study ocean acidification impacts in coral reefs. Be sure to check back here in July for more on the Martens/Lindquist ocean acidification project!

About the Ocean Fund

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., which operates Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Cruises, established the Ocean Fund in 1996 to support marine conservation organizations in conserving the world’s oceans. The mission of the Ocean Fund is to support efforts to restore and maintain a healthy marine environment, minimize the impact of human activity on this environment, and promote awareness of ocean and coastal issues and respect for marine life.

Ocean Fund grants are made annually to a variety of nonprofit groups and institutions conducting activities directly related to marine conservation. These activities cover ocean science and conservation projects that relate to climate change, key marine species, technology and targeted education of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. stakeholders and communities. Over $10 million has been awarded to organizations since the fund’s inception.

Pete Berardi asks: Howdy! Can you tell me who built Aquarius?

Dear Pete,
Aquarius was built in 1986 by Victoria Machine Works in Victoria, Texas. The original engineering and design work was done by Perry Oceanographic, Inc.

Craig Cooper
Operations Director, Aquarius Reef Base

Aquarius Reef Base is now on Twitter under the name ReefBase. We’ll be sharing info about missions, operations, and just anything interesting we happen to come across. We also want to hear from you! Follow us and join the conversation!

If you’re not sure what Twitter is, check out the video below.

Check out this blog post about Aquarius at The Reef Tank.