It is a pleasure and an honor to be back in Aquarius after almost ten years. I was on one of the last missions when the habitat was in the Caribbean Virgin Islands, just before the hurricane that resulted in its relocation to Florida. Aquarius is an incredible facility and one of the only opportunities in the world to actually live and work beneath the sea. This is a special mission because it is the first U.S./Japanese mission in the Aquarius Undersea Habitat. The Japanese team consists of my old friend, Dr. Mineo Okomoto, whom I first met 8 years ago when I spent two years at his laboratory in Japan as a scientific liaison for the U.S. government. At that time I learned Japanese language and am able to use it again during this mission. I have also made a new Japanese friend during this mission, Dr. Satoshi Nojima, a coral reef biologist from Kyushu University who has a deep enthusiasm for diving and coral reefs. I am also joined by my friend and colleague from the New England Aquarium, Ken Mallory , and we all enjoy the company of the Aquarius crew, Jay Styron and Cliff Rassweiler, who keep things running smoothly and safely, and they help us maintain safe diving. They were in their best form two nights ago when the air-conditioning system sent down in Aquarius and the temperature and humidity both rose to over 95. Jay and Cliff’s persistent trouble shooting, both inside and outside the Habitat, good humor, and a 2:00am trip from the shore-side support team fixed the problem.

The spirit of the mission remains high and productive. All the U.S. and Japanese team members are working hard and enjoying the mission. Drs. Okomoto and Nojima brought lots of gear that now lies on the sea floor around the habitat. The gear consists of plastic domes, undersea wiring, plastic tubes, cameras, and various sensors. It is being used for measuring coral metabolism in order to develop a coral primary production model to learn more about the health and function of the coral reef. We feel like a team of medical "ocean" doctors, trying to diagnose the coral reef for its health and welfare by going into the patient with the most advanced, state-of-the-art equipment. This information will be used to compare these reefs in Florida with reefs around Japan and in other parts of the world to understand changes in reefs, especially those caused by human activity.

This is the first ever Aquarius mission with the Japanese and it points to the need for even more international cooperation to study the oceans. The oceans are the last common resource on the earth and there is no way to understand or conserve them if we do not work with other countries, especially countries like Japan, which is very oriented to the ocean both from their cultural heritage and the geographic location. If we are to protect the oceans, we must learn more about them. Programs like Aquarius make that possible.

This mission has evolved into a routine where we usually make three dives a day. The first dive is in the morning for several hours, the next dive is in the afternoon, and then we try to do one short night dive every other day, before retiring. The Aquarius habitat crew (Jay and Cliff) have been wonderful in accommodating our mission requirements, especially several long distance excursions that Ken Mallory and I have been making for the purpose of photography and filming. We are also aware of many unseen people on the shore, who monitor this operation 24 hours a day to help ensure a safe and successful mission.

The habitat is a buzz with the Japanese and English languages, conversations, jokes and stories in both, in between long hours underwater.