Living Undersea – the first few days…
All six of our aquanauts have now been living underwater for over two days and with that comes some getting used to as well as some very special experiences.
For the scientists on this mission, they have the luxury of time out on the reef to study how sponges change the surrounding water chemistry. They are sampling before dawn and up until midnight, and taking their time getting the measurements just right. And on this mission, they are also testing what may be one of the only and smallest underwater mass spectrometers in the world – a high tech instrument to measure a suite of substances in the water. For the scientists it is also a chance to observe the coral reef ecosystem around the clock and simply watch as conditions change and organisms interact. The Aquarius undersea habitat provides them time and access to the coral reef, a luxury most coral reef scientists can only dream of. Dr. Brian Popp says that so far what he enjoys the most is, “After dark the yellow tail snapper hang out right by the view port next to the dining room table and we can watch them feed. It is so cool to see little zooplankton trying to swim away and then bang, they become dinner. Really, though the science we get to do here is so unique that it is really the best part about Aquarius”.
Our habitat technicians work alongside the scientists in Aquarius to keep them safe, sound, and enable them to do their research. On this mission Mark and Larry are in Aquarius and working closely with a surface crew to monitor the life support systems, make sure everything is working properly, and keeping the habitat running smoothly (this usually includes a lot of scrapping or scrubbing of algae and other organisms that like to grow on the habitat). And taking a bit of time, I’m sure, to check out all those fish staring in at them – particularly that giant goliath grouper that has been hanging around.
For all of the aquanauts living undersea also comes with its challenges, from living in tight quarters with five other people to eating food under high pressure. Humor is a must when you are living beneath the waves. More on this in blogs to come as we check in with the aquanauts over the next few days.
Dr. Ellen Prager
Chief Scientist, Aquarius Reef Base
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