So what is it that we do down here underwater everyday? We get up at 6 to give ourselves an hour to eat breakfast, tend to our wounds, get our dive gear together, so we can get out on the reef by 7. At our sites, which are 95-100 feet deep, Leanne and I search for numbered aluminum tags that were cemented to the reef last year. These tags mark colonies of various sizes and species that were photographed and measured during last year's April mission. There are over 300 marked colonies, and as we find them using compass headings and distances from last year's map, we mark their locations with flagging tape. Once all are found, they are photographed and measured.

Each morning we spend 5 hours and 20 minutes completing these tasks, the maximum time allowed at 100 feet. There are stations out on the reef where we can fill our tanks, talk with the technicians in Aquarius and eat our snacks. Our favorite by far is the Kamper station, located near our sites in 93 feet of water. We are religiously back to the habitat by 12:20 to begin our required four hour "storage interval". This is when we eat lunch, watch the fish through the viewports, grab a nap, take care of the data we have collected, and have visitors. Yesterday Gina, our Navy diving doctor or DMO came down to look at our ears to make sure they were healthy. Four other visitors from FSU came down, including Cody Johnson, an enthusiastic 14-year old who was visiting Aquarius with his father, an ex-Navy NEDU diver. He is writing an essay on his trip, so he asked a lot of questions about the habitat.

At 4:20 we are back in the water to finish our tasks and are ready for dinner at 7 when we are done diving for the day. We are exhausted and famished as we talk about all of the great things we saw during our day at work diving at Conch Reef.