Oceanic Exploration: A Revolution - ::Aquanauts::

Palomar · 2005-02-21 12:19:36

http://www.spacedaily.com/news/ocean-tech-05b.html]An "alien world" on Earth

*Fab article. Seems to indicate that oceanography has lagged to a point, but that's swiftly changing.

Coral cities of thousands of meters...rockfish hideouts...Jacques Cousteau just came to mind.

Science for better terrestrial health as well (prevention of oil spills, etc.).

"For every tool we have to explore outer space – space stations, tethered missions, rovers, mapping – we have a comparable tool for ocean exploration," says James Lindholm of the Pfleger Institute. "This suite of technologies allows us to study an environment that is equally hostile to human life."

Mr. Les Watling of the U of Maine says "There hasn't been this level of true exploration in the ocean for a hundred years."

Cool.

Check out the section entitled "New Powers of Mapping."

Talk about a room with a view:

Ocean Aquanauts

Aquarius, the only undersea "space" station in the world, allows researchers to do more than just visit the seafloor: scientists stay on 10 day missions, not to Mars, but to "inner-space" off the coast of Florida.
"You actually live underwater with the fish. You can watch them while you take a shower, on your bunk, or eating dinner" says Lindholm, who is preparing for his third underwater research trip this fall.

Info on Aquarius, fish behavior (after a storm). Interesting. :up:

--Cindy

Trebuchet · 2005-02-22 23:58:19

I believe that there is a hotel underwater in the Keys you can visit as well - it's not as deep as Aquarius, though. (sounds of frantic googling) Correct, it exists - only $395 per night, too. Interesting.

http://www.jul.com/overnight.html]http: … night.html

SpaceNut · 2005-02-23 07:06:28

Which brings back a thread in where I asked Earths Oceans Explored but why not colonized
Possibly some of the responses that are in this thread explain why we are not taking the chance for such under water vacation more seriously.

Palomar · 2005-02-23 07:06:40

I believe that there is a hotel underwater in the Keys you can visit as well - it's not as deep as Aquarius, though. (sounds of frantic googling) Correct, it exists - only $395 per night, too. Interesting.
http://www.jul.com/overnight.html]http: … night.html

*Cool! That'd be the ultimate honeymoon (1st or 2nd or even 3rd -- lol), IMO. Have not heard of this before. Couldn't help noticing a one-day stay isn't 24 hours; they say sign in at 1:00 p.m., out by 11:00 a.m. Guess they want that 2 hours for housekeeping.

I'd like to see their menu, i.e. what the "mer-chef" might be able to whip up.

--Cindy

Grypd · 2005-02-23 18:06:31

Seen a programme on discovery tonight about a cowboy from texas who has got a british firm to make a submarine for him so he can take tourists down and see wrecks.

Apparently like yachts and powerboats no one needs a license to drive a submarine. And since this submarine is using modern materials and benefitting from some now very cheap items (fork lift batteries for power etc) it really could become a very popular pastime.

Still there has been a general revelution in underwater technology and with systems like deepflight showing what could be done I can see someone trying to create an underwater settlement sooner rather than later. Especially with a general reduction in prices for things like steelwork to allow for large structures to be made.

Palomar · 2005-02-24 12:41:04

I believe that there is a hotel underwater in the Keys you can visit as well - it's not as deep as Aquarius, though. (sounds of frantic googling) Correct, it exists - only $395 per night, too. Interesting.
http://www.jul.com/overnight.html]http: … night.html

*Oh my...the trend revs up:

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u … 109]5-Star luxury undersea hotel

A guy from FL plans to build this on the ocean floor near the Bahaman Island of Eleuthera. $1500 per night. 50 feet underwater. "Poseidon resort."

...will be connected to the mainland through two tunnels and an escalator, and pressure will be the same as at the surface.
The hotel will have its own restaurant, a bar and 20 large suites with transparent acrylic walls facing coral gardens that can be lit up at night.
Guests can expect to see a large variety of tropical fish, tuna and turtles, and with a bit of luck, sharks, from the comfort of their rooms, or even from their private jacuzzis, says Jones. "They will enjoy five-star luxury accommodation, all with stunning views of the underwater world."

Another resort is in the works as well: Hydropolis, 220 suites, to be built off Dubai. $500 per night.

--Cindy

SpaceNut · 2005-02-24 13:05:09

As more places are created will the price come down for the adventurous?

Trebuchet · 2005-02-24 23:29:31

Hey, that $395/night one isn't exactly breaking the bank, you know. When you consider the hotel/tickets/miscellaneous expenses it's going to be ballpark in the same area as a trip to Disney World, maybe a bit more expensive.

Palomar · 2005-03-01 12:44:34

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=16253]UCSB scientists probe sea floor venting

*...to gain understanding of early life on Earth.

Microbes and minerals.

Those black smokers are so cool. :up: Nice pic.

New keys to understanding the evolution of life on Earth may be found in the microbes and minerals vented from below the ocean floor, say scientists at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
The UCSB scientists are making new contributions to this field of inquiry in their studies of seafloor hydrothermal fluid discharge into the Earth's oceans, which has been occurring ever since the oceans first formed four billion years ago. Conditions below the sea floor may most closely mimic the environment when life began...
The discovery of deep sea hot springs and an abundance of microbes in the subseafloor are among the most remarkable scientific findings in Earth science during the latter half of the twentieth century, and have now become a powerful motivation for research and exploration

Perhaps more comments on this article later (am pressed for time currently).

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-03-04 10:19:23

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u … y]Towering white mineral chimneys

*"Lost city" -- a "newly explored field of thermal vents." See-through shrimp and crabs.

Discusses black smokers and their differences to the Lost City, including lifeforms.

Microbes found in the chimneys at Lost City — named for the research vessel Atlantis — appear to live off large amounts of methane and hydrogen. There is little or no carbon dioxide, the key energy source for life at black-smoker vents.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-03-25 13:17:03

http://www.livescience.com/forcesofnatu … icroplates

*First I've heard of them. They're making wax models of microplates, rather than computer simulations:

"One of the complicated things about microplates is that we don’t know much about them dynamically," Katz told LiveScience in a telephone interview. "To do a computer model, you need to know the forces involved."

Microplates were discovered in the early 1970s. They spin (very slowly), on average by 15 degrees every million years. They also grow, some up to hundreds of miles in diameter.

A dozen of them have been identified, mostly in the Pacific Ocean. Article says they are one of the least understood features of plate tectonics. Speculation about microplates on other planets/moons.

Interesting all around.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-06-10 05:43:06

http://www.livescience.com/animalworld/ … html]Great balls of snot!

*Will put this here, rather than create a new thread.

They're gigantic sinking mucous "houses" produced by small critters. Aka "sinkers," they fall to the ocean floor with the critters and food particles stuck to them.

This is fascinating but weird.

For years scientists have observed loads of life at the bottom of the ocean. But they weren’t able to find enough food – carbon – to support all that life. Sinkers, previously overlooked, may help fill that gap.
"We have 10 years of data on sinkers, and using average figures from those years, we can account for twice as much carbon than sediment traps can measure below 1,000 meters..."

The animals responsible for making sinkers are called giant larvaceans. They spin a mucus web, about a yard in diameter. They sit in the middle of the house and use it to filter food that is small enough for them to eat.

One scientist calls these "sinkers" a "fast-sinking carbon bomb." :laugh:

Sinkers are extremely fragile. Relates info about trying to obtain one.

--Cindy

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#1 2005-02-21 12:19:36

Re: Oceanic Exploration: A Revolution - ::Aquanauts::

#2 2005-02-22 23:58:19

Re: Oceanic Exploration: A Revolution - ::Aquanauts::

#3 2005-02-23 07:06:28

Re: Oceanic Exploration: A Revolution - ::Aquanauts::

#4 2005-02-23 07:06:40

Re: Oceanic Exploration: A Revolution - ::Aquanauts::

#5 2005-02-23 18:06:31

Re: Oceanic Exploration: A Revolution - ::Aquanauts::

#6 2005-02-24 12:41:04

Re: Oceanic Exploration: A Revolution - ::Aquanauts::

#7 2005-02-24 13:05:09

Re: Oceanic Exploration: A Revolution - ::Aquanauts::

#8 2005-02-24 23:29:31

Re: Oceanic Exploration: A Revolution - ::Aquanauts::

#9 2005-03-01 12:44:34

Re: Oceanic Exploration: A Revolution - ::Aquanauts::

#10 2005-03-04 10:19:23

Re: Oceanic Exploration: A Revolution - ::Aquanauts::

#11 2005-03-25 13:17:03

Re: Oceanic Exploration: A Revolution - ::Aquanauts::

#12 2005-06-10 05:43:06

Re: Oceanic Exploration: A Revolution - ::Aquanauts::

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