Aquarius Reef Base in Key Largo, Florida is a unique ocean science and diving facility within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary providing unparalleled means to study coral reefs and the ocean, to test state-of-the-art undersea technology, to train students, astronauts, and Navy divers, and to engage the imagination of people across the globe in ocean science, coral reefs, conservation, and underwater technology.
The Aquarius Reef Base includes the Aquarius undersea laboratory, an ocean-observing platform with access to real-time data via the Internet, and a shore-based field station. The undersea habitat is owned by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the program is operated out of Key Largo, Florida by the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW).
Aquarius is the world’s only operating undersea research laboratory. It sits in about 60 feet of water within a sandy expanse at the base of Conch Reef, some four miles from shore off Key Largo. It is situated within a specially designated research only zone within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Through saturation diving techniques, Aquarius allows scientists to live and work underwater 24/7 during one to two week missions. This enables them to conduct research, surveys, test equipment or undertake in situ experiments that would be difficult, if not cost and time prohibitive, if diving from the surface. Since 1993, the Aquarius undersea lab has supported more than 90 missions, producing over 300 peer-reviewed scientific publications along with numerous popular science articles and educational programs. Our program also supports one of the longest running and detailed coral reef monitoring programs in the world and we work closely with NOAA and the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary to ensure that the research we undertake meets priorities for science to help make management and conservation decisions.
Mission
The Aquarius undersea research station has evolved from the programs of the past into a state-of-the art saturation diving facility for science along with synchronous ocean observing, a test bed for technology development, and advanced communications that now allows for telepresence education and outreach events. The habitat program has expanded into Aquarius Reef Base, which is composed of the undersea lab, an ocean observing station with real-time access via the Internet, and a shore base. Our partners, such as NASA and the Navy, have helped make advanced technologies at Aquarius Reef Base available for research, training, and education, and new collaborations with the media are providing exciting avenues for outreach. Our five-fold mission includes:
Funding
NOAA provides major funding for Aquarius through a grant to NOAA’s Undersea Research Center at UNCW. Other funding to support Aquarius Reef Base comes from Foundation grants, fee-based use of the facility by the U.S. Navy, NASA, and others, and through donations to UNCW.
A Bit of History
Aquarius was built in Victoria, Texas, in 1986 by Victoria Machine Works (VMW). Underwater operations first began in the United States Virgin Islands, in St. Croix’s Salt River Canyon (now a national park and previously home to Hydrolab, the predecessor to Aquarius), in 1988. After 13 missions (and Hurricane Hugo), Aquarius was relocated to Wilmington, North Carolina where it was refurbished over an 18-month period by the National Undersea Research Center at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Aquarius remained in Wilmington until 1992 until it was deployed at its present location in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.
Present Location and Current Operations
In 1992, Aquarius was deployed four miles off Key Largo, Florida in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Its base sits at a depth of 62 feet within a sandy patch on Conch Reef, a coral reef site characterized by spur and groove formations to depths of over 100 feet. After conducting 20 missions, Aquarius was retrieved in 1996 due to funding constraints. New operating protocols were then developed, funding was restored, and Aquarius was refurbished at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution, FL, during 1997. In 1998, it was redeployed to Conch Reef.
Missions in Aquarius typically last ten days and aquanaut trainees undergo five days of specialized training before each mission starts. Missions are conducted on a monthly basis from April through November. From 1993 to 1996, Aquarius was operated from a large (100 feet long by 50 feet wide) manned barge, known as the MSB (Mobile Support Base), which was located immediately above the underwater laboratory. Offshore operations were supported during missions by staff working on 12 hour rotating shifts. As part of the refurbishment in 1997, the barge was replaced by a semi–autonomous (unmanned) Life Support Buoy (LSB) provided by NOAA’s National Data Buoy Center. The LSB is a large discus buoy, 30 feet in diameter, and hosts generators for power, compressors for air, and a telemetry communications system.
During missions a surface-based support crew monitors the aquanauts and habitat 24/7 from a watch desk and command center at the shore base. Divers are available round the clock for emergencies and a workboat goes out to the site almost every day.
Size and Configuration
Aquarius is a three–part system, including the LSB described above, a 120 ton baseplate, which provides a stable platform upon which Aquarius is mounted, and an 85 ton “habitat” (underwater laboratories are often referred to as habitats) that provides living and working space for a six person crew. The habitat itself is a 9 feet diameter by 43 feet long steel cylinder that can support operations to depths of 120 feet. The habitat includes a seawater interface in a “Wet Porch”, and two pressure locks known as the Entry Lock and Main Lock, sized at 500 and 1400 cubic feet, respectively. Approximately 400 square feet of living and laboratory space is available for operations and science. The lab is equipped with computers networked to shore, Internet, telephones, radios, video conferencing and broadcast equipment.
An ocean observing unit now sits adjacent to the habitat providing measurements of waves, currents, salinity, water temperature, chlorophyll, and oxygen; all of which is usually available in real-time at www.conchreefdata.net through a partnership with NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorologic Laboratory.
Operating Environment
Aquarius is an ambient pressure habitat, which means that the interior atmospheric pressure is equal to the surrounding water pressure. The entryway within the Wet Porch, called the moon pool, remains open as the equivalent air pressure inside prevents the water from flowing in. The baseplate rests in approximately 62 feet of water, with the habitat mounted off the bottom at a depth of approximately 47 feet (tidal range at the site is between two and three feet). This operating depth is referred to as “hatch depth”. The pressure of 47 feet of seawater is about 2.5 times greater than the atmospheric pressure found at sea level. At this depth and pressure, non-saturated visitors to Aquarius have less than about 80 minutes to visit and return to the surface before they risk experiencing decompression related illness. However, the mission aquanauts living in Aquarius can stay indefinitely and have 6 to 9 hours of diving down to about 95 feet each day, with unlimited time at storage depth. At the end of a mission, aquanauts undergo 17–hours of decompression that is conducted within Aquarius itself, while on the bottom. At the end of decompression, Aquanauts exit Aquarius and scuba dive back to the surface.
Additional Information
The Aquarius website (www.uncw.edu/aquarius) contains detailed information about current science projects and mission schedules. A virtual tour, lesson plans, archives, and press room are also included. Web cameras operate during missions with cameras inside and outside Aquarius. Live broadcasts (webcasts and special videoconferencing opportunities) are frequently conducted that involve schools, museums, and aquariums across the country. Scientific missions in Aquarius are typically awarded through a peer review process when funding becomes available or through partnership and other funding mechanisms. For more information, or if you are interested in hosting a live program, please contact Dr. Ellen Prager, Aquarius Chief Scientist.
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