Aquarius (laboratory)

Aquarius underwater laboratory
emblem
Dimensions
Length:	13.11 m
Width:	4.87 m
Height:	6.66 m
Diameter (habitat tube):	2.74 m
Usable area:	about 37 m²
Mass (base plate):	116 t
Mass (habitat):	85 t
other data
Construction year:	1986
current diving depth:	19 m
maximum diving depth:	36 m
annual operating costs:	approximately US $ 1.4 million
Internal structure of the habitat

The Aquarius Reef Base (English for Aquarius Reef Base ) is an American underwater habitat and laboratory that was long owned by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and operated by the University of North Carolina , Wilmington , but since 2013 the Florida International University is owned and operated by it. It is located about fourteen kilometers southeast of Key Largo in the Atlantic.

prehistory

Trieste before the first dive to the Mariana Trench

In the middle of the 20th century, in addition to the exploration of space, the foray into the depths of the oceans was a dream of mankind. After Jacques Piccard and Don Walsh had reached the deepest point of the world ocean in the Mariana Trench in their submarine Trieste on January 23, 1960 , it was hoped that entire underwater settlements could be built to exploit the resources of the deep sea. In the decades that followed, many underwater habitats were submerged in different parts of the seas. The Aquarius is the last functional laboratory of this era.

construction

The Aquarius on the sea floor

The habitat shell consists of 1.9 cm thick steel on which a 1 cm thick insulation layer is applied. It is connected to the 116-tonne base plate via four pillars. Each of the four pillars is filled with 25 t of lead , so that the entire structure has a mass of around 300 t. The height of the pillars can be individually adjusted within a range of approx. 2 m, which allows the Aquarius to be leveled depending on the nature of the seabed. The habitat and baseplate were designed to withstand severe storms.

The interior is divided into three areas. It consists of a main area, entry lock and wet area, in which different pressure ratios can be set. The underside of the wet area is open to the water. There is always a higher pressure in it than the pressure of the water, so that no water can penetrate. In this way, divers can get inside without the need for an appropriate lock. The wet area is 2.5 m long, 3.6 m wide and 2.1 m high. There is storage space for diving equipment and a hot water shower so that divers can exchange their suits for dry clothing.

An airtight hatch leads from the wet area to the entry lock. The entry lock offers a toilet, a wash basin, the switchboards for the gas and power supply, the life support systems, a workplace and storage space for personal belongings of the crew members.

Aquarius with diving bell in the foreground

Another airtight hatch connects the entry lock with the main area. It is divided into a work and a living area as well as a sleeping area with six 60 cm wide and 1.90 m long bunks. There is also a dining table and benches, a galley with a sink, microwave oven and storage space for food, as well as communication and video equipment, medical equipment and life support systems.

In the event of an emergency, both the main area and the entrance gate can be supplied with power from batteries and breathing air from emergency tanks. Equipment for the disposal of the accumulating CO ₂ is also available in the event that the connection to the Life Support Buoy (LSB) should break.

Outside the Aquarius, a diving bell is available near the exit in case of an emergency , which contains around 1.7 m³ of air and allows six people to stand comfortably.

Life support buoy

The Life Support Buoy

The Life Support Buoy consists of a platform ten meters in diameter, which is fixed to the sea surface above the Aquarius. For fastening, the LSB is anchored to mooring plates on the seabed at five points using nylon ropes about five centimeters thick. The mooring plates themselves are attached to the seabed with 1.2 m long anchor bolts.

In addition to a tower for communication purposes, the buoy has an interior space of around seventy square meters. Inside the buoy there are two diesel generators with an output of forty kilowatts each, two air compressors with a delivery rate of 510 liters per minute, as well as receiving systems for the VHF area and transmitting and receiving systems for the UHF area and the cellular network. The UHF system enables reliable encrypted audio, video and data connections with a bandwidth of up to ten MB per second between the Aquarius and the Mission Control Center on land.

The Aquarius is connected to the life support buoy via a 42 meter long and 8 centimeter thick connecting hose. Inside the hose there are power supply cables to the generators, two coaxial and twelve twisted pair cables to the transmitting and receiving systems and air supply hoses to the air compressors.

Base of operations on land

Base of operations in Key Largo

The base of operations is located in Key Largo in two buildings. One building houses the administration, accommodation for visitors and extensive work facilities. In the other building there are comfortable sleeping areas for scientists, fully equipped kitchens and two laboratories.

chronology

• 1986 - built by Victoria Machine Works in Victoria, Texas
• 1988 - Operation off the American Virgin Islands . After thirteen missions and Hurricane Hugo major overhaul in Wilmington, North Carolina
• 1992 - transport to its current location
• 1996 - after a further twenty missions again uplift due to financial difficulties
• 1997 - After securing further funding, general overhaul at the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution
• 1998 - Transport back to its old location in front of Key Largo
• 2009 - Fatal accident of on-board technician Dewey Smith caused by a malfunction of his rebreather .
• 2013 - Transfer of the system to Florida International University (FIU), which has also operated it since then.
• 2016 - For the first time, five-day courses in saturation diving including an overnight stay in the habitat are offered.

Research missions

The Aquarius offers scientists the opportunity to study life in the ocean over a longer period of time under water. Since its first deployment, more than two hundred scientists from over ninety organizations have carried out more than fifty research missions. By examining coral reefs , for example, they can study aspects of environmental pollution .

Mission overview

2001
designation	Head of Research	Training period	Mission Period
Operational support	Craig Cooper, University of North Carolina Wilmington		April 16-20
ecological aspects of deep-sea sponges	Joseph Pawlik, University of North Carolina Wilmington	May 14th to 18th	April 21-27
near-surface nutrient fluctuations in Florida Key Reef	James Leichter, Woods Hole Ocean Institute	June 11th to 15th	June 18-28
Biology and ecology of the mantis shrimp	Roy L. Caldwell, Integrative Biology Department, University of California, Berkley	July 9th to 13th	July 16-25
Ecology and physiology of brown algae in the coral reef of the Florida Keys	Kevin Beach, University of Tampa	August 5th to 10th	August 13-22
Monitoring corals and testing diving techniques in support of national marine conservation programs	Dan Basta, University of North Carolina Wilmington	September 4th to 8th	September 11th to 19th
NEEMO 1	NASA	October 15-19	October 21-27
Investigation of schools of fish and their behavior in protected marine areas		November 5th to 9th	November 12th to 18th
2002
designation	Head of Research	Training period	Mission Period
Study of the population dynamics of stony corals in the conch reef with a demographic and population genetic approach	Mary Alice Coffroth, SUNY-Buffalo	April 8-12	April 15th to 24th
Space simulation and training project NEEMO 2	Bill Todd, NASA / United Space Alliance	May 6th to 10th	May 13-21
Impact of global warming on coral reproduction: the interacting effects of temperature and germ development on the biology of the Porites Astreoides larvae	Peter Edmunds, California State University, Northridge	June 3rd to 7th	June 10th to 19th
NASA NEEMO 3 space simulation and training project	Bill Todd, NASA / United Space Alliance	July 8th to 12th	July 15-23
Reef Fish Census and Tagging Studies in relation to the Florida Keys National Marine Reserve	Billy Causey, National Marine Conservation Program	August 12th to 16th	August 19-28
Space simulation and training project of NASA NEEMO 4	Bill Todd, NASA / United Space Alliance	September 9th to 13th	September 16 to 24
Investigation of the effects of material exchange, water movement and temperature on the health of reefs	David Wethey, University of South Carolina	October 7-11	October 14-23
Current- dependent metabolism : links between coral bleaching and lack of oxygen in the reef	Mark Patterson, College of William and Mary	November 4th to 8th	November 11th to 20th
2003
designation	Head of Research	Training period	Mission Period
Crew training and system review			March 24th to April 2nd
Crew training and system review			April 21-30
Study of the population dynamics of stony corals in the conch reef with a demographic and population genetic approach	Mary Alice Coffroth, SUNY-Buffalo	May 12-16	May 19-28
Space simulation and training project NEEMO 5	Bill Todd, NASA / United Space Alliance	June 9-13	June 16-29
Current-dependent metabolism: links between coral bleaching and lack of oxygen in the reef	Mark Patterson, College of William and Mary	July 7th to 11th	July 14-23
Reactions of bentic macroalgae to high frequency buoyancy on Florida reef	Dr. James Leichter, Scripps Institution of Oceanography	4th to 12th August	August 11th to 20th
Reef Fish Census and Tagging Studies in relation to the Florida Keys National Marine Reserve	Billy Causey, National Marine Conservation Program	August 12th to 16th	August 19-28
Biochemical and geological influence on the stable carbon and nitrogen isotope compositions of sponges on natural environmental slopes	Dr. Chris Martens, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	September 8th to 12th	September 15th to 24th
Resistance of herbivores to the defense mechanisms of algae and their effects on the community in the reef	Dr. Mark Hay, Georgia Institute of Technology	3rd to 7th November	November 10th to 19th
US Navy mission	Mr. Craig Cooper	December 1st to 4th	December 6th to 10th
2004
designation	Head of Research	Training period	Mission Period
Crew training and system review	Craig Cooper, NURC / UNCW		April 19-23
Investigation of the physical and biological interactions in the Florida Keys reef	Dr. James Leichter, Scripps Institution of Oceanography	June 7th to 11th	June 14-23
Space simulation and training project NEEMO 6	Bill Todd, NASA / United Space Alliance	July 6-10	July 12-21
Development of sponges and nitrogen recovery in the coral reef ecosystem	Dr. Chris Martens, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	2nd to 6th August	August 9th to 18th
Physiological economics of symbiotic dinoflagellates : understanding the influence of physical and biological factors on photosynthetic processes and population changes	Dr. Mark Patterson, College of William and Mary	July 7th to 11th	July 14-23
International Biomedical Research Mission NEEMO 7	Bill Todd, NASA / United Space Alliance	October 4th to 8th	October 11th to 25th
Resistance of herbivores to the defense mechanisms of algae and their effects on the community in the reef	Dr. Mark Hay, Georgia Institute of Technology	November 1st to 5th	November 8th to 17th
US Navy diving school training mission	Capt Mark Helmkamp, ​​US Navy		December 6th to 9th
US Navy diving school training mission	Capt Mark Helmkamp, ​​US Navy		December 11-14
2005
designation	Head of Research	Training period	Mission Period
Crew training and system review NEEMO 8	Craig Cooper, NURC / UNCW	April 18-19	April 20-22
The role of hydrodynamics in nutrient fluctuations in Conch Reef	Dr. Stephen Monismith	July 5th to 8th	July 15-21
Development of sponges and nitrogen recovery in the coral reef ecosystem	Dr. Chris Martens, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	August 8th to 12th	August 15th to 24th
Movement behavior of fish	Dr. James Lindholm, PIER	October 31 to November 4	November 7th to 16th
US Navy diving school training mission	Capt Mark Helmkamp, ​​US Navy		December 5th to 9th
US Navy diving school training mission	Capt Mark Helmkamp, ​​US Navy		December 9-14
2006
designation	Head of Research	Training period	Mission Period
Crew training and system review	Craig Cooper, NURC / UNCW	March 6-7	March 7-11
Space simulation and training project NEEMO 9	Bill Todd, NASA / United Space Alliance	March 27th to 31st	April 3rd to 20th
NURC / Navy advancement of saturation diving Mission 1	Craig Cooper, NURC / UNCW	June 5th to 6th	June 6-10
NURC / Navy further development of saturation diving Mission 2	Craig Cooper, NURC / UNCW		June 10-14
Space simulation and training project NEEMO 10	Bill Todd, NASA / United Space Alliance	July 18th to 20th	July 22nd to 28th
Space simulation and training project NEEMO 11	Bill Todd, NASA / United Space Alliance	September 12-14	September 16-22
NURC / Navy advancement of saturation diving Mission 3	Craig Cooper, NURC / UNCW		3rd to 7th November
NURC / Navy advancement of saturation diving Mission 4	Craig Cooper, NURC / UNCW		November 9th to 13th
2007
designation	Head of Research	Training period	Mission Period
Crew training and system review	Otto Rutten, NURC / UNCW	April 2nd to 5th	April 6th to 9th
Space simulation and training project NEEMO 12	Bill Todd, NASA / United Space Alliance	April 30th to May 4th	May 7-18
NURC / Navy advancement of saturation diving Mission 1	Craig Cooper, NURC / UNCW		June 5th to 9th
NURC / Navy further development of saturation diving Mission 2	Craig Cooper, NURC / UNCW		June 10-14
Space simulation and training project NEEMO 13	Bill Todd, NASA / United Space Alliance	July 30th to August 3rd	August 6th to 15th
If reefs could talk	Kate Thompson, National Marine Conservation Program	September 10-14	September 17th to 25th
The role of sponges in nitrogen utilization and respiration in a coral reef ecosystem	Niels Lindquist, UNC Chapel Hill	October 8th to 12th	October 15 to 24
SeaCamel project: Aquarius classroom	Captain Philip G. Renaud, Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation	November 5th to 9th	November 12th to 16th
2008
designation	Head of Research	Training period	Mission Period
NURC / Navy advancement of saturation diving Mission 1	Craig Cooper, NURC / UNCW		April 15-19
NURC / Navy further development of saturation diving Mission 2	Craig Cooper, NURC / UNCW		April 21-25
NURC advancement of ambient pressure diving	Craig Cooper, NURC / UNCW	May 19-20	May 20th to 24th
Aquarius experiments on the restoration and resilience of corals	Dr. Margaret Miller, NOAA Fisheries	June 2nd to 6th	June 9th to 18th
The role of sponges in nitrogen utilization and respiration in a coral reef ecosystem	Niels Lindquist, UNC Chapel Hill	September 8th to 12th	September 15th to 24th
The acidification of the ocean	TBA	October 6-10	October 13-22
Instructor under the sea & behavior and movement of coral reef fish in a marine reserve (Teacher Under the Sea & Behavior and Movement of Coral Reef Fishes in a No-Take Marine Reserve)	Dr. James Lindholm, California State University Monterey Bay	3rd to 7th November	November 11th to 20th
2009
designation	Head of Research	Training period	Mission Period
Aquarius Reef Base / US Navy Saturation Mission, practical test of rebreather diving equipment under saturation conditions (NURC / Navy SRDD Development Mission 1) (fatal accident involving technician Dewey Smith)	Craig Cooper	k. A.	May 4th to (8th) 9th
POSTPONED: NURC / Navy SRDD Development Mission 2	Craig Cooper	k. A.	May 10-14
POSTPONED: Aquarius Coral Restoration / Resilience Experiments (Aquarius Coral Restoration / Resilience Experiments - ACRRE)	Dr. Margaret Miller, NOAA Fisheries	June 1st to 5th	June 9th to 18th
POSTPONED: Marine acidification: controlling reef pH (Ocean Acidification: Controls on Reef pH)	Chris Martens, UNC Chapel Hill	September 8-11	September 15th to 24th
POSTPONED: Space simulation and training project NEEMO 14	Bill Todd, NASA / JSC	October 5th to 9th	October 12th to 25th
Influencing herbivore diversity to restore coral reefs (Manipulating Herbivore Diversity to Restore Coral Reefs)	Mark Hay, Georgia Institute of Technology	November 2nd to 6th	November 10th to 19th
2010
designation	Head of Research	Training period	Mission Period
Space simulation and training project NEEMO 14	Bill Todd, NASA / United Space Alliance	May 4th to 7th	May 10-23
Aquarius Coral Restoration / Resilience Experiments (ACRRE)	Margaret Miller, NOAA Fisheries	June 7th to 11th	June 15 to 24
Acidification Project	Dr. Chris Martens, UNC Chapel Hill	July 6th to 9th	July 13-22
Florida coral reef sponges: demographics and influences on water quality (Sponges on Florida Coral Reefs: Demographics and Impacts on Water Quality)	Joseph Pawlik, UNCW	August 9th to 13th	17th to 26th August
Aquarius 2010: If Reefs Could Talk	NOAA National Marine Sanctuary Program	October 4th to 8th	October 12-21
Influencing herbivore diversity to restore coral reefs (Manipulating Herbivore Diversity to Restore Coral Reefs)	Mark Hay, Institute of Technology, Georgia	November 1st to 5th	November 9th to 18th
2011
designation	Head of Research	Training period	Mission Period
Florida coral reef sponges: demographics and influences on water quality (Sponges on Florida Coral Reefs: Demographics and Impacts on Water Quality)	Joseph Pawlik, UNCW	June 6-10	June 14-23
Coral Reef Landscape Responses to Ocean Acidification	Marc Slattery, University of Mississippi	July 5th to 8th	July 21-21
Marine acidification: controlling reef pH (Ocean Acidification: Controls on Reef pH)	Chris Martens, UNC Chapel Hill	August 1st to 5th	August 9th to 18th
Influencing herbivore diversity to restore coral reefs (Manipulating Herbivore Diversity to Restore Coral Reefs)	Dr. Mark Hay, Georgia Institute of Technology	September 6th to 9th	September 13-22
Space simulation and training project NEEMO 15	Shannon Walker , NASA / United Space Alliance Principal Investigator: Bill Todd, NASA-USRA	October 10-14	October 20-26
US NAVY Saturation	k. A.	November 1st to 4th	November 9th to 17th
2012
designation	Head of Research	Training period	Mission Period
Space simulation and training project NEEMO 16	Bill Todd, NASA / USRA	June 4-8	June 11-22
Florida coral reef sponges: demographics and influences on water quality (Sponges on Florida Coral Reefs: Demographics and Impacts on Water Quality)	Joseph Pawlik, UNCW	May 12th to 15th	May 16-25
Celebrations "50 years of life under the sea"	Dr. Mark Patterson	July 9th to 13th	July 14-21
2013
designation	Head of Research	Training period	Mission Period
Space simulation project to test outboard activities (EVA = extravehicular activities) and training for Seatest II ( NEEMO 17) (Space Environment Analog for Testing EVA Systems and Training Seatest II ( NEEMO 17))	Joe Acaba , NASA, commander	k. A.	September 9th to 13th
2014
designation	Head of Research	Training period	Mission Period
Mission 31	Fabien Cousteau	k. A.	July 1st to 2nd
Space simulation and training project NEEMO 18	Akihiko Hoshide, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency	k. A.	July 20th to 29th
Space simulation and training project NEEMO 19	announced	k. A.	7 days from September 7th
2015
designation	Head of Research	Training period	Mission Period
Space simulation and training project NEEMO 20	Luca Parmitano	k. A.	July 20th to August 3rd
2016
designation	Head of Research	Training period	Mission Period
Space simulation and training project NEEMO 21	k. A.	k. A.	July 21st to August 6th
FIU : Shark Influence on Coral Reef Ecosystems	Alain Duran	k. A.	07-14 September

Future prospects

The Aquarius will continue to be used and further developed in the future. NOAA plans to make the laboratory more autonomous. For this purpose, breathing air tanks are to be installed, for example, to be able to supply an entire mission with air. In addition, efforts are being made to relocate the power generation underwater in order to be able to do without the LSB and only need a buoy for the communication links. CO ₂ recycling systems are being tested for the same reason . Work is also underway to increase the maximum diving depth.

Web links

• Aquarius homepage
• Video about the Aquarius (English)
• Video Archive of the University of North Carolina (English)
• Items. Spiegel-Online , March 5, 2008
• NOAA website about the Aquarius Habitat
• UNCW website about the Aquarius Habitat

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b} Leonard Ho: It's Official: Aquarius Reef Base still in business. January 15, 2013, accessed October 1, 2016 . 
2. ↑ ^{a b} Aquarius Reef Base. In: Facebook. Retrieved October 1, 2016 . 
3. ^ FIU: Aquarius History. Retrieved December 9, 2016 . 
4. ^ ^{A b} Robert Silk: Aquarius diver's death remains a question. (No longer available online.) Florida Keys: keysnews.com, May 9, 2009, archived from the original on March 26, 2010 ; accessed on December 9, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
5. ^ ^{A b c} Kenneth D. Johns: Scientific Diver Rebreather Fatality: An Incident Review . Ed .: University of North Carolina Wilmington. AAUS_2013_18. Wilmington NC, S. 139-146 ( rubicon-foundation.org ).
6. ^ FIU: Introduction to Saturation Diving. October 2016, accessed December 9, 2016 . 
7. ↑ FIU: Missions 2008. Accessed December 11, 2016 (English). 
8. ↑ FIU: Missions 2009. Accessed December 11, 2016 (English). 
9. ↑ FIU: Missions 2010. Accessed December 11, 2016 (English). 
10. ↑ FIU: Missions 2011. Accessed December 9, 2016 (English). 
11. ↑ FIU: Missions 2012. Accessed December 9, 2016 (English). 
12. ^ David Sutta: CBS Miami. July 2, 2014, accessed December 9, 2016 . 
13. ↑ nasa.gov NASA, June 10, 2014
14. ↑ NASA: NEEMO 18 Aquanauts Complete Underwater Mission. July 30, 2014, accessed December 11, 2016 . 
15. ↑ Sarah Loff: NASA: NEEMO Undersea Crew Tests Tools and Techniques For Future Spacewalks. July 31, 2015, accessed December 11, 2016 . 
16. ^ Sarah Loff: NASA: Aquanauts Splash Down, Beginning NEEMO 21 Research Mission. July 22, 2016, accessed December 11, 2016 . 
17. ^ FIU: Current Missions. Retrieved December 9, 2016 . 

Coordinates: 24 ° 57 ′ 0 ″  N , 80 ° 27 ′ 12.99 ″  W.