Visit the underwater offices of Aquarius

Aquarius is the only permanent undersea research station in the world    VIDEO CNN's Natalie Pawelski visits the world's only underwater research station, located off the Florida keys Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)     ALSO The Official Aquarius Website

October 17, 2000
Web posted at: 1:10 PM EDT (1710 GMT)

From Natalie Pawelski
CNN Environment Correspondent

KEY LARGO, Florida (CNN) -- It looks sort of like a yellow submarine that has put down roots. Aquarius is the only undersea research station in the world -- and the only place where scientists can live and work underwater for weeks at a time.

A compressor on the surface pumps air into the module. Scientists can venture outside for hours a day, replenishing their air tanks at mobile, underwater stations to avoid surfacing.

Celia Smith is leading this particular mission. She spends her days observing a sand-making seaweed called halimeda. On this day, she watched it release gametes -- the part of the organism responsible for sexual reproduction.

"No one has actually ever recorded that for science before so that is just the thrill of a lifetime. I think the really important thing for a lot of us to realize is how much we don't know about the oceans," Smith said.

At the end of an Aquarius mission, the habitat is sealed off and turned into a decompression chamber. Aquanauts spend up to 16 hours at increasingly lower pressures and must slowly return to normal atmospheric pressure to avoid the bends.

A diver looks in as researchers watch the scenery outside one of Aquarius' windows

There are other types of pressure too. Namely, six people sharing the close quarters of a tiny, underwater research station. "I've been on other missions where people snored. You just kind of kick their bunk and just kind of go to sleep to try to get to sleep before they do," Smith said.

The best part, according to the residents of Aquarius, is the scenery. The view from its underwater office windows is often mesmerizing. While looking out of the station's viewports, the scientists say it's sometimes hard to tell whether you're watching the fish or whether the fish are watching you.

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Aquarius

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