NOAA
MISSION TO AQUARIUS UNDERWATER HABITAT TO STUDY IMPERILED REEFS IN FLORIDA
KEYS NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY
September
12, 2007 — Scientists and educators from NOAA’s
National Marine Sanctuary Program will embark on a nine-day mission
to the world’s only undersea scientific facility starting Sept.
17. (Click
NOAA image for larger view of the Aquarius undersea lab. Located 63
feet below the surface in Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, it
will serve as the base for a nine-day mission to study corals and marine
life. Click here for high resolution
version. Please credit “NOAA.”)
While
living underwater in the Aquarius
ocean laboratory, scientists will investigate changes to corals and
marine life in Florida Keys National
Marine Sanctuary and broadcast their activities in real time to
students and general audiences via the OceansLive.org
education Web portal.
During
the mission, dubbed “Aquarius 2007: If Reefs Could Talk,”
scientists will conduct research mainly on sponge biology and ecology
and long-term monitoring of coral and fish species. Mission results
will be compared with previously collected data, going back to 1994,
to assess change on the reef, which may be due to anthropogenic climate
change and associated natural variability, as well as human contributions
in the form of pollution. The mission will use advanced technology for
underwater research combined with communications to create and broadcast
web-based educational programming.
“Six
aquanauts will be living and working in a state-of-the-art undersea
facility for an extended time to test new equipment, learn new things
about what makes reefs healthy, and update long-term data to measure
what’s happening to the reef ecosystem in the Florida Keys,”
said Steve
Gittings, national science coordinator for the National Marine Sanctuary
Program and lead scientist for the mission. “The findings will
help us all better protect our fragile ecosystems for future generations.”
(Click NOAA image for a larger view of a scuba-diving researcher
investigating changes to corals in the Florida Keys National Marine
Sanctuary. Starting Sept. 17, this work will be broadcast to students
and general audiences via the Internet. Click here
for high resolution version. Please credit “NOAA.”)
Located
nine miles southeast of Key Largo, Fla., in Florida Keys National Marine
Sanctuary, Aquarius lies 60 feet below the surface at the base of Conch
Reef. The undersea research station is nine feet in diameter, 43 feet
long, and can support diving to depths of 120 feet. The six aquanauts
will live in Aquarius for nine days supported by a shore-based crew
on watch around the clock. Real-time video, audio, and Internet feeds
will provide high-resolution communications and an exciting virtual
experience for the public, educators, and students.
Aquarius
is owned by NOAA, administered through NOAA’s
National Undersea Research Program, and operated by the University
of North Carolina Wilmington’s National Undersea Research Center.
“We
are thrilled to join forces with the National Marine Sanctuary Program
during this exciting mission to better understand and assess change
on our threatened coral reefs and to bring the wonders of underwater
living and science to students through the Web,” said Ellen
Prager, chief scientist for Aquarius Reef Base. (Click
NOAA image for larger view of the Aquarius undersea lab. Located 63
feet below the surface in Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, it
will serve as the base for a nine-day mission to study corals and marine
life. Click here for high
resolution version. Please credit “NOAA.”)
NOAA's
National Marine Sanctuary Program seeks to increase the public awareness
of America's marine resources and maritime heritage by conducting scientific
research, monitoring, exploration and educational programs. Today, the
sanctuary program manages 13 national marine sanctuaries and one marine
national monument that together encompass more than 150,000 square miles
of America's ocean and Great Lakes natural and cultural resources.
NOAA, an agency of the U.S.
Commerce Department, is celebrating 200
years of science and service to the nation. From the establishment
of the Survey of the Coast in 1807 by Thomas Jefferson to the formation
of the Weather Bureau and the Commission of Fish and Fisheries in the
1870s, much of America's scientific heritage is rooted in NOAA.
NOAA is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety
through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events
and information service delivery for transportation, and by providing
environmental stewardship of our nation's coastal and marine resources.
Through the emerging Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS),
NOAA is working with its federal partners, more than 70 countries and
the European Commission to develop a global monitoring network that
is as integrated as the planet it observes, predicts and protects.
Relevant
Web Sites
NOAA
NOAA’s National Ocean Service
NOAA’s National Marine Sanctuary
Program
OceansLive
Aquarius
Virtual
Dive to Aquarius
Media
Contact:
Lou Cafiero, National
Marine Sanctuary Program, (301) 713-3125 x248
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