Friday, December 06, 2002

AQUARIUS: UNDERSEA LAB, will be featured on a landmark episode of

The Science Channel’s series, SCIENCE OF THE DEEP premiering at 8

p.m. ET, Saturday, Dec. 14.

The Science Channel, the definitive source of science-related

programming, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

(NOAA), the federal agency dedicated to observing, protecting and

better understanding our environment, joined forces to present the

program.

In the world’s only “inner space station,” an 81-ton underwater habitat

and research lab, a crew of aquanauts will spend 10 days living, eating,

sleeping and working together—61 feet underwater. This is “Aquarius,”

owned by NOAA’s National Undersea Research Program and operated

by the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. Here, in the dark and

dangerous waters off the Florida Keys, researchers study the effects of

rising ocean temperatures on coral reefs, which are key indicators of the

health of the seas. Meanwhile, these dedicated men and women must

adjust to a life without sunlight or creature comforts, and under the

sustained pressure of “saturation diving.”

“We’re very proud to join with NOAA in presenting this dramatic

episode of SCIENCE OF THE DEEP,” says David Karp, senior vice

president and general manager, Discovery Digital Networks. “The

exclusive access and the footage highlighted in this show illuminate

some of the most intriguing mysteries of the ocean—demonstrating once

again why viewers turn to The Science Channel for the very best in

science programming.”

“We’re delighted that The Science Channel viewers will be able to join

our aquanauts during a 10-day mission aboard Aquarius,” said retired

Navy Vice Admiral Conrad C. Lautenbacher, PhD., undersecretary of

commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. “For

more than 30 years, NOAA’s mission has been to provide an enhanced

understanding of the environment. And this episode of SCIENCE OF

THE DEEP goes to great lengths—and depths—to show how we go

about building a greater understanding of our oceans. We hope that

through better understanding we can encourage better stewardship. This

is vital, given the seas’ crucial role in the overall environmental health of

the planet.”

AQUARIUS: UNDERSEA LAB follows a team of aquanauts through an

entire undersea mission at Aquarius, starting with their surface

preparations where they learn the safety procedures and diving

guidelines, and discuss their scientific objectives. Viewers will then

descend with them to their new home beneath the waves, observing life

aboard Aquarius, and taking daytime and nighttime diving excursions

with them as they conduct their undersea science during their 10-day

mission.

The focus of this Aquarius mission is a multidisciplinary study of the

health, reproduction and fate of corals as they react to higher water

temperatures. A key indicator species used to measure the overall health

of the seas, corals around the world are being stressed by rising water

temperatures. What is learned about coral physiology and reproduction

at Aquarius will add to the global understanding of this vital marine

resource in a changing world.

And when the 10-day mission is over, the aquanauts celebrate their

accomplishments and revel in the warm tropical breezes of the Florida

Keys—while the next Aquarius team is at work preparing for their

mission into inner space. AQUARIUS: UNDERSEA LAB was produced

by David Clark.

Programming on The Science Channel runs the gamut from the cosmic to

the microscopic, from prehistoric secrets to the promises of the future,

attracting a broad spectrum of viewers.

Discovery Digital Networks, owned by Discovery Networks, U.S., is a

family pack of distinct networks offering a world of quality, convenience

and choice that appeals to all ages, genders and families including The

Science Channel, Discovery Home & Leisure Channel, Discovery

Civilization Channel, Discovery Wings Channel and Discovery en

Español. Discovery Networks, U.S., a unit of Discovery Communications,

Inc., also operates and manages the Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal

Planet, the Travel Channel, Discovery Health Channel and Discovery

Kids Channel. The unit also distributes BBC America.

NOAA is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety

through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related

events and providing environmental stewardship of our nation’s coastal

and marine resources. To learn more about NOAA, please visit

http://www.noaa.gov. To learn more about Aquarius, please visit

www.uncwil.edu/nurc/Aquarius or contact Dr. Steven Miller,

305/451-0233. To learn more about UNC Wilmington, please visit

www.uncw.edu.