slices through the water. T e captain slows the boat, then sets anchor above a coral reef. You’re 8 km (5 miles) off the Florida Keys. You and your team wriggle into your thick
T
wetsuits. It’s a struggle. You have to yank yours on over your sweaty arms and legs. Your dive partner straps your air tanks to
your back. T e weight of the tanks digs into your shoulders. Leaning forward, you pull on your flippers. With your mask and mouthpiece in place, you test your tanks by sucking in the bottled air. Everything checks out. You’re ready.
Diving In You sit on the edge of the boat with your back facing the ocean. T en you lean back and fall into the cool water. Your teammates follow. Under the surface of the water, you see your
dive partner beside you. T ere are six of you altogether. Four of you are scientists. T e other team members take care of the equipment. Your mission is to find out how certain
types of fish interact with a coral reef. Your research will help reef conservation eff orts. It will help keep reefs healthy. Two divers ahead of you begin swimming to
the ocean floor. You and your partner follow. At first, the water is clear. As you swim deeper, less sunlight filters down. T e water becomes a deeper blue. Below you, you can just make out the shape
of something sitting on the ocean floor. Your dive gauge reads almost 18 m (60 feet). T e shape you see is man-made. It is as
large as a school bus and is made of metal. It is Aquarius, the world’s only undersea laboratory. Aquarius has been in this same spot for
more than 20 years. It weighs as much as a bowhead whale. It’s where you and your group will live for the next 10 days. Aquarius looks like it has become part of the
reef. As you get closer, you see brain corals and sea sponges sticking tightly to its outer walls. Fish swim around it, grazing on plant life. A small reef shark cruises by.
18 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EXPLORER Gulf of Mexico Aquarius *
ATLANTIC OCEAN
Entering the Lab T is is your first trip to Aquarius. Your partner has made this trip before, so you follow him. You see a small, rectangular opening. It’s the border between the water outside Aquarius and the controlled climate inside it. You swim through this hole and stand up
on a landing. T e top half of your body is now out of water. T e lower half is still in the ocean. You look down. Small fish are swirling about your feet. You take off your mask and mouthpiece and breathe in deeply. Welcome to Aquarius. You want to look around, but first you need
a shower. To keep the rest of the lab clean, you need to wash off all the salt water. It feels good to change into dry clothes, but
it’s odd. Even with dry clothes on, you still feel damp. T at’s because it’s very humid inside Aquarius. Yet the temperature is kept cool enough that you need a sweatshirt. Suddenly, you hear a loud noise behind
you—BURP! T e sound echoes through the lab. Your partner laughs at your reaction. T ere’s nothing to worry about, he tells you. It has to do with air pressure. T at’s the
force of air pressing down on a surface. T e pressure of air inside Aquarius is the same as the pressure of water outside of it. Sometimes when air leaks out of Aquarius through the door, it makes that funny sound. T at sound won’t be your only surprise on Aquarius.
he blazing sun beats down as your boat
FLORIDA
Florida Keys
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