It is day 6 of the mission and alas I feel an overwhelming sense of belonging. With such extensive SCUBA gear and the need to replace the compressed air in our double aluminum 100 cubic foot tanks every 1.5 hours it is hard not to feel like a bit of an outcast to the underwater world. One reason for this sense of belonging is the amazing curiosity of the fish in our study sites, especially the site adjacent to the habitat. Other highlights have included watching the graceful movements of an adult spotted eagle ray, a loggerhead turtle, and a very large green moray that decided to switch den sites during the middle of the afternoon.

Today, I am also beginning to feel the thermal consequences of saturation diving. You would think that wearing a six mm two-piece wetsuit, a hood, and gloves would be more than enough to insulate your body...somehow I still had numb hands and feet. Luckily we have wonderful technicians who readily supplied us with hot cocoa and chocolates during the 10-minute air fill intervals.