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​BLOG BY GRACE C. YOUNG                                                                              
                                                                               


​Ocean Exploration -- in Times Square!

10/13/2017

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Last week I hopped across the pond for the opening of National Geographic’s first immersive entertainment experience. “Ocean Odyssey” in Times Square draws visitors under the sea to experience ocean life thanks to clever videography, staging, virtual and artificial reality. Virtual explorers witness a battle between Humbolt squid, get lost in a kelp forest, and see a whale leap from the depths to feed on a school of fish. They can also play quiz games that show how they can improve the ocean.
 
Pictures tell the story best. More information about how you can visit the exhibit is in the Act Now page of this blog. Your ticket purchase supports the National Geographic Society’s great work! 
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"Our oceans are our life support system ..." G.C.Young
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Virtual turtle!
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My face in the explorer's hall!
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Stepping in virtual sea grass.
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Playing with virtual reality seals that mimic your movements - reminds me of my real dives with seals in the UK's Farne Islands.
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Fluorescent models of coral that you can touch.
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My friend Bizzy and I lost in kelp forest mirror maze.
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On the reef with fellow NatGeo Explorer, cave diver Jenny Adler Owen.

PROGRESS

Last year I was in Boston with three other Oxford grad students presenting a new business model for SeaWorld that entertained with virtual and artificial reality instead of captive cetacean. Visitors could have the sensations of travelling with dolphins miles in the ocean, seeing whales breach right in front of them, and experiencing the ocean from the perspective of a stingray in the wild. Our presentation won the 2016 International Business Ethics Competition; see past blog post  "The Future of SeaWorld Won 2016 International Business Ethics Competition!"       

I'm so glad that National Geographic has done it! Hopefully this is a trend that catches on.
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​No more! Experience marine animals up-close as they are in nature with virtual and artificial reality; it's cooler and kinder. Image from The Onion.

Other Update from Yellow Rectangle

Attention teachers! On Tuesday October 17th, your classroom can join me and fellow ocean engineer Shah Selbe in a hangout! Register here. The hangout is organised by National Geographic Education. More helpful links: 
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View teacher's guide here: https://goo.gl/MDxnAZ
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From QUANTUM Physics to Ocean ENGINEERING

10/2/2017

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​"It was CERN's high-powered global community of scientists congregated in one beautiful place to solve big problems that was a magnet for me." -- Grace C. Young
CERN's Symmetry publication recently published an interview I did with them a few weeks ago. Excerpts are below, and you can read the full interview at ww.symmetrymagazine.org/article/cern-alumna-turned-deep-sea-explorer
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 "​Grace C. Young is fascinated by fundamental questions about realms both quantum and undersea."
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Each summer, the international research laboratory CERN, home to the Large Hadron Collider, welcomes dozens of students to work alongside seasoned scientists on cutting-edge particle physics research. Many of these students will pursue physics research in graduate school, but some find themselves applying the lessons they learned at CERN to new domains. 

In 2011, MIT undergraduate Grace Young was one of these CERN summer students. 
Like many young adults, Young didn’t know what career path she wanted to pursue. “I tried all the majors,” Young says. “Physics, engineering, architecture, math, computer science. Separately, I always loved both the ocean and building things; it wasn’t until I learned about ocean engineering that I knew I had found my calling.”

Today, Young is completing her PhD in ocean engineering at the University of Oxford and is chief scientist for the deep-sea submarine Pisces VI. She develops technology for ocean research and in 2014 lived underwater for 15 days. During a recent visit to CERN, Young spoke with Symmetry writer Sarah Charley about the journey that led her from fundamental physics back to her first love, the ocean.

As a junior in high school you competed in Intel’s International Science Fair and won a trip to CERN. What was your project?

GY: A classmate and I worked in a quantum physics lab at University of Maryland. We designed and built several devices, called particle traps, that had potential applications for quantum computing. We soldered wires onto the mirror inside a flashlight to create a bowl-shaped electric field and then applied alternating current to repeatedly flip the field, which made tiny charged particles hover in mid-air. 

We were really jumping into the deep end on quantum physics; it was kind of amazing that it worked! Winning a trip to CERN was a dream come true. It was a transformative experience that had a huge impact on my career path.
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You then came back to CERN as a freshman at MIT. What is it about CERN and particle physics that made you want to return? 

GY: My peek inside CERN the previous year sparked an interest that drove me to apply for the Openlab internship [a technology development collaboration between CERN scientists and members of companies or research institutes]. 

​Although I learned a lot from my assignment, my interest and affinity for CERN derives from the community of researchers from diverse backgrounds and disciplines from all over the world. It was CERN's high-powered global community of scientists congregated in one beautiful place to solve big problems that was a magnet for me.

​You say you’ve always loved the ocean. What is it about the ocean that inspires you?

GY: I’ve loved being by the water since I was born. I find it very humbling, standing on the shore and having the waves breaking at my feet. 

​This huge body of water differentiates our planet from other rocks in space, yet so little is known about it. The more time I spent on or in the water, either sailing or diving, the more I began taking a deeper interest in marine life and the essential role the ocean plays in sustaining life as we know it on Earth.

What does an ocean engineer actually do?

GY: One big reason that we’ve only explored 5 percent of the ocean is because the deep sea is so forbidding for humans. We simply don't have the biology to see or communicate underwater, much less exist for more than a few minutes just below surface.

But all this is changing with better underwater imaging, sensors and robotic technologies. As an ocean engineer, I design and build things such as robotic submersibles, which can monitor the health of fisheries in marine sanctuaries, track endangered species and create 3-D maps of underwater ice shelves. These tools, combined with data collected during field research, enable me and my colleagues to explore the ocean and monitor the human impact on its fragile ecosystems.

I also design new eco-seawalls and artificial coral reefs to protect coastlines from rising sea levels and storm surges while reviving essential marine ecosystems.

​What questions are you hoping to answer during your career as an ocean engineer and researcher?

GY: How does the ocean support so much biodiversity? More than 70 percent of our planet is covered by water, producing more than half the oxygen we breathe, storing more carbon dioxide than all terrestrial plant life and feeding billions of humans. And yet 95 percent of our ocean remains unexplored and essentially unknown. 

The problem we are facing today is that we are destroying so many of the ocean’s ecosystems before we even know they exist. We can learn a lot about how to stay alive and thrive by studying the oceanic habitats, leading to unforeseeable discoveries and scientific advancements.

What are some of your big goals with this work?

GY: We face big existential ocean-related problems, and I'd like to help develop solutions for them. Overfishing, acidification, pollution and warming temperatures are destroying the ocean’s ecosystems and affecting humans by diminishing a vital food supply, shifting weather patterns and accelerating sea-level rise. Quite simply, if we don't know or understand the problems, we can't fix them.

Have you found any unexpected overlaps between the research at CERN and the research on a submarine?

GY: Vision isn’t a good way to see the underwater world. The ocean is pitch black in most of its volume, and the creatures don’t rely on vision. They feel currents with their skin, use sound and can read the chemicals in the water to smell food. It would make sense for humans to use sensors that do that same thing. 

Physicists faced this same challenge and found other ways to characterize subatomic particles and the celestial bodies without relying on vision. Ocean sciences are moving in this same direction.

What do you think ocean researchers and particle physicists can learn from each other?

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GY: I think we already know it: That is, we can only solve big problems by working together. I'm convinced that only by working together across disciplines, ethnicities and nationalities can we survive as a species. 

Of course, the physical sciences are integral to everything related to ocean engineering, but it's really CERN's problem-solving methodology that's most inspiring and applicable. CERN was created to solve big problems by combining the best of human learning irrespective of nationality, ethnicity or discipline. Our Pisces VI deep sea submarine team is multidisciplinary, multinational and—just like CERN—it's focused on exploring the unknown that's essential to life as we know it.
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  • Read more about my recent visit to CERN in my blog post, "Return to CERN."
  • I look forward to presenting at CERN's alumni event in February. 
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OUR PRESENTATION -- The Future of SeaWorld --Wins 2016 INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS ETHICS COMPETITION!

4/29/2016

 
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The 2016 International Business Ethics Competition was last week in Cambridge, Massachusetts. I competed with a team from Oxford. Our presentation, "The Future of SeaWorld," earned us the top prize in our division.
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Professional videos and photos of presentations will be available shortly. Meanwhile, here is a copy of our PowerPoint and a brief summary of our vision for the parks is below. ​

FROM INSTAGRAM

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SUMMARY OF OUR VISION

  • Replace captive animal shows with virtual and artificial reality (VR/AR) alternatives. VR/AR could give visitors the sensation of swimming alongside dolphins in the wild or having a whale breach right in front of them, for example. The purpose of our presentation was not to present a technical plan or storyboard for VR/AR entertainment, but rather to demonstrate the possibilities. We recommended that SeaWorld hire a core engineering and design team, similar to Disney's Imagineers, to produce these attractions. 
  • SeaWorld recently ended its orca breeding program. While this is a step in the right direction, it is not enough. Orcas and dolphins currently in SeaWorld's care should be rehabilitated and moved to sea pens following plans like those detailed in this article.   
  • Existing tanks could be used as part of VR/AR attractions (e.g., holographic shows, as in the video below by Magic Leap). They might also hold FlyBoard shows (e.g., video below by FlyBoard). VIP park visitors could glide and out the water in either whale-inspired water craft (e.g., video below by SeaBreacher) or in tandem with FlyBoard performers.  

Example VR; video by MIT. 
Example use for existing tanks; video by FlyBoard. 
Example AR; video by MagicLeap. 
Example use for existing tanks; video by SeaBreacher.

Here are some facts that struck me emotionally from former trainer John Hargrove's article "I trained killer whales at SeaWorld for 12 years. Here's why I quit."
  • "SeaWorld had a male, Taku, who bred with his own mother, Katina, resulting in the birth of a calf named Nalani."
  • “Another symptom of boredom: I saw the whales float motionless for hours upon hours every day, leading, among other things, to complete dorsal fin collapse on 100% of all captive adult males… This happens in fewer than 1% of wild adult males. In the wild, it's believed to be caused by traumatic injury such as being struck by a vessel — in captivity, it is the unnatural amount of time spent at the surface and the inevitable pull of gravity.” 
  • "I witnessed and distributed the enormous amount of drugs the whales were doped up on: antibiotics to treat chronic infections, medication to treat ulcers and fungal infections, drugs to treat epilepsy. I even gave whales Valium when we would do an invasive procedure, take a calf away from its mother, or move whales from one park to another."

SeaWorld's predicament and the ethical issues it faces are highlighted in the documentary Blackfish and subsequent media focus.  ​​The film isn't perfect, however; it has been criticized in this Medium article by Isaac Wadd and SeaWorld refutes the film's claims. That said, SeaWorld must make changes in order for it to not only remain a viable business, but also stay true to its mission of providing inspiring, exciting, and educational experiences to its visitors.
Thanks especially to the University of Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics, especially its deputy director, Clair Linzey, for helping us prepare. Also thanks to Professor Tom White, author of In Defence of Dolphins, for his inspirational talk last November at the Centre for Animal Ethics. 

UPDATE

Press release from the Centre for Animal Ethics: "Oxford University Animal Ethics Society Wins at IBECC 2016."
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We Need a CERN for the Oceans: Time Magazine Op-ed - How to Save Our Sick, Neglected Oceans

9/15/2015

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I wrote an op-ed that TIME Magazine published about the need to create a multinational research effort (like CERN) for the oceans. It's a timely piece, with the UN General Assembly meetings starting in NYC this week and the UN's International Conference on Sustainable Development next week at Columbia University. Read more at TIME.com/4029379/cern-for-the-oceans/ 
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... read full piece at TIME.com/4029379/cern-for-the-oceans/

Apparently it was talked about in Harvard's Environmental Science class this week!
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TALK IN OXFORD

4/21/2015

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I'm speaking about noise pollution in the ocean and its affect on animal welfare at the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics on Monday 4th May at 8pm. It will be an informal talk/discussion over wine and vegan snacks. If you'd like to attend, shoot me a message!

More information here.
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ONE MORE DAY ON M31, ANYTHING SCARE ME UNDERSEA?

6/30/2014

 
It's scary how fast time as flown by since living and working undersea. Only one day left on Mission 31 and there's so much we'd like to do! In a way, feel like we're just getting started. The research, ocean outreach, great people involved and connected with Mission 31, and experience exploring the ocean have been fantastic.  

I was asked, "Have you been scared underwater?"

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Sylvia, the Goliath grouper, and I under Aquarius. Credit Matt Ferraro

1. Spooked, but Not Scared

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A reporter just asked if I've encountered anything scary on Mission 31. The answer is that I haven’t felt scared; but I have been spooked. I was in the water for over an hour setting up the Edgertronic camera, focusing so intently on the scene we were filming that I didn't notice day had changed to night. When I looked up, it was pitch-black around me. I shined my dive light to my left, and a reef shark brushed right past me! I was spooked, but not scared. We are always in communication with our support teams while diving via the communications line in our helmets, and are trained to deal with any sort of emergency. We also run through a checklist before every dive. I always feel safe down here. I also had a staring contest with a barracuda on one of my first Mission 31 dives. 

PictureI'd like to meet this tiny octo.
Last summer I was working on a robot for NOAA in Hawaii and was scuba diving with a few friends there. We were about 20 ft. underwater. One of my friends is a marine biologist, and while we were swimming, I turned around and there was an octopus (about the size of a scuba tank) wrapped around him! My first instinct, of course, was to freak out! But I looked at my friend, and he looked so peaceful. He was playing with the octopus. The octopus was on him for a couple of minutes and then he swam away. It was one of those moments where you learned to balance emotion and logic. (Learn more about the amazing octopus in my blog.)

2. Scared, but Hopeful

Picture95% of our ocean is unexplored.
In general, my greatest fear is that we’ll destroy many of our fragile marine ecosystems before we even know they exist, or have learned what they can teach us. As I said in our Mission 31 chat from Aquarius with National Geographic, "I find it incredibly frightening that we have the technology to completely destroy the ocean in my lifetime." The oceans are mankind’s life support system. They produce up to 70% of our oxygen, absorb huge amounts carbon dioxide that would otherwise asphyxiate us, filter vast quantities of natural and man-made toxins, and provide essential food for billions of people. Yet we know more about the dark side of the moon than we do about two-thirds of our own planet! We know our survival depends on the oceans, yet we’re killing them with overfishing, pollution, and acidification cause by greenhouse gases, not to mention the implications of rising temperatures. Based on current trends, experts believe all marine life will become extinct in my lifetime unless we start managing our oceans better -- now. 

"We have to start with knowledge; there is so much more to learn and discover about our oceans."
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The Global Ocean Commission just published a new report about sustainability and overfishing.
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I have come eye-to-eye many times now with barracuda on Mission 31, but I'm fine! This snapper also came to the viewport. Credit Fabien
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There's so much beauty and so much to discover undersea. Here's a Sea turtle from the Aquarius bunk viewport. Credit Fabien
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Fish, stop photo bombing my picture of the eagle ray! I was capturing images of sea life from the Aquarius viewport.
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How much plastic is in the ocean? Way too much. This infographic by One World One Ocean explains. We can do simple things, like reuse and properly recycle. We can also ask if the plastic we're using is necessary, such as straws. 

Here's an earlier post from my blog:  Hey, now you can buy clothes made from that plastic that's polluting the ocean.

STUNNING VIEWS OF LIFE IN THE SEA

6/29/2014

 
"We are seeing sea critters move on a whole new time scale." 

Capturing Ocean Life in Ultra Slow-Motion Video

What are currently doing on Mission 31? Here's a behind-the-scenes video diary of some of our work. We are using cutting edge technology to view ocean life like never before.  We need to be fully saturated to capture these images at this depth because of the length of time required for set-up and filming in the ocean.  Living at the same atmospheric pressure as the surrounding sea is a huge advantage that allows us to spend unlimited time working in the ocean. So, the research we're doing this month would take months or even years to accomplish with surface dives. That's one reason Mission 31 is so important and unique.
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It's tough getting the lighting just right. Looking for grouper. Working with Matt and Fabien.
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Filming critters from the window. We never rest in Aquarius! With Matt and Fabien.

Science Day & Night in Aquarius

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Capturing images of plankton at night with the Edgertronic camera with help of Matt (Changing Tides Media) and BackscatterUW.
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That's Liz and I capturing footage of bubbles with the Edgertronic camera.
Read more at:
  • The Underwater World Through Doc Edgerton's Eye's about this amazing camera and its capabilities.
  • Edgertronic High-Speed Camera Testing:  In May at MIT, I was working both on exams and the Edgertronic testing for Mission 31 at the same time!

WHAT'S IT LIKE LIVING UNDER The SEA?

6/27/2014

 
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What's it like to live underwater?
​Aquarius is currently the only working undersea laboratory in the world. It's located just off the Florida Keys and is about the size of a school bus. There are enough bunk beds, three stacked on each side, for six aquanauts to stay at one time.

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Aquarius, the world's only working undersea lab, bolted 60 ft. below
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Fabien Cousteau looking out at the sea from inside Aquarius' bunk viewport

​The Magnificent Exterior

Let's begin with the exterior of Aquarius, which has become a living coral artificial reef. Aquarius is located in a marine sanctuary and run by Florida International University (FIU). I never tire of living among the beautiful vibrant colors here. Take a look at this video to find out what makes living undersea so important for ocean research. ​FIU describes the lab this way:
Aquarius is a "global asset providing an unparalleled means" to study the ocean enabling "an ideal combination of research, education and outreach that is both vital and timely given the state of our global ecosystem and societal needs." 
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A diver and a school of fish outside Aquarius in the Florida Keys where Fabien Cousteau is leading the historic Mission 31 expedition. Photo by Brian Skerry, National Geographic Creative
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This beautiful photograph of the exterior of Aquarius was Bing's homepage yesterday. It was taken by Stephen Frink, the most published underwater photographer, who visited Fabien this week. I never tire of living among these vibrant colors undersea.


​Just Another Day at the (Ocean) "Office" 

We can spend entire days working outside the habitat in the ocean at this depth because we are fully saturated. For example, the other day, Liz spent six hours consecutively in the water while I operated equipment from inside the habitat. Having unrestricted time in the ocean is a huge advantage for conducting research and collecting data. We can accomplish six months or even years worth of data collection in just 31 days on this mission without the time constraints required by surface dives to this depth.

​Being saturated, however, also means that we can no longer just swim to the surface. In a few days, we'll need to decompress for 18 hours before returning topside. Fellow aquanaut Adam explained his decompression experience from the first half of the mission, and here's a video from the mid-mission switch describing what's involved in decompression that's necessary before we return to the surface.
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Liz (left) and I (right) collect plankton samples for Northeastern University. Just another day at the office. Credit Mission 31.
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Checking the time underwater on my DOXA watch while filming an educational Mission 31 video about light waves and color underwater.


​Amazing Views (every minute) from the Viewport

What's the view like living undersea? All sorts of beautiful sea creatures come right up to our kitchen table "window" (technically called a viewport in the Aquarius lab) to to investigate us aliens below. I can sit and stare at them for hours. There are fish, plankton, eagle rays, squid, divers, and a host of other creatures swimming by.

Here are some views from the viewport. The views change every moment, but are always magnificent. Can you imagine this view out your window everyday/hour?
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Hi Eagle Ray at our viewport! Credit Liz.
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Good morning from Aquarius. Credit Fabien.
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Astronaut Clayton Anderson by the table viewport.
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Goliath grouper outside our bunk viewport.
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Video: a shark watches a grouper attack a barracuda. Click on the image as a link to this video.


​The Life-Sustaining Mechanics of Aquarius

As an engineer, the mechanics inside Aquarius also fascinate me, but more on this later. 
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Don't hit the red button! Note the fire extinguisher; the O2 is twice as much at this atmosphere, so the danger of fire is real.
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These valves control the air in Aquarius. It takes 24 people topside to support six aquanauts undersea. Astronauts also train here as a "foreign" environment.
Working undersea with the Mission 31 team has been amazing. It's surprisingly comfortable down here. We are connected to the Internet due to the many Skype-in-the-Classroom lessons and other ocean outreach events that we conduct daily, and we also have many short-term (no more than an hour at this depth) visitors. Frankly, I could imagine having an undersea vacation home someday, though I'm not sure how feasible that would be.  It has taken 24 people topside to maintain Aquarius for this mission. I'll post part two of living underwater with some science questions answered soon.
Three more days and so much research and exploring still left to do undersea! 

Take a look at A Few Snapshots from Yesterday in Aquarius, my previous post. 

A FEW SNAPSHOTS FROM UNDERSEA YESTERDAY IN AQUARIUS

6/27/2014

 
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Seven spotted eagle rays have been circling the habitat. They are majestic.
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This morning two Goliath grouper swam past Aquarius. These fish are over 300 lbs!
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Hello there! That's the provost of Northeastern, Steven Director, taking our photo from the viewport. He visited today!
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Sneak peak at the footage from yesterday's night dive! Captured by Matt Ferraro on a super fancy camera.
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Thanks Fusion TV for the sHoutout and this video here! 
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Hi! from the Aquarius viewport.
Brushing my teeth,
​fish in the viewport!
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Woke up after sleeping on my DOXA... Thanks Fabien for pointing that out :/
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Northeastern's magical Mission 31 talisman, the glowing dolphin. Credit Liz and the AAT Project

AQUARIUS DAY 5: JAWFISH AND FRIENDS

6/20/2014

 
PictureYellow-headed jawfish
I'm so excited I can hardly sleep ... today was incredible! We did so many things. We collected samples of plankton from the traps that we left out overnight, swam with three plankton tows, filmed three scenes for the documentary, set up the nighttime plankton traps and then, the highlight of my day, spent a few hours in the water capturing the stunning behavior of sea creatures in slow-motion with the Edgertronic camera. This is the first time this ultra high-speed camera has been used underwater, and It's amazing what we're able to see through the lens of this camera. We're learning things about animals' behaviors we never knew before!

VIDEO OF THE DAY

Here's a sneak peak of the kind of footage we are capturing. This clip shows a yellow-headed jawfish popping out of it's den, and then spiting out a mouthful of sand. In real time, this happens in the blink of an eye, but today we filmed it at the high speed of 2,000 frames per second, so you can see details of the fish's movement. We've also filmed sail fish, crabs dancing (what are they doing?!), sergeant major, coral cups feeding, Christmas tree worms, and bubbles. Incredible! 

WAIT, WHY IS THE VIDEO IN BLACK AND WHITE?

We are filming with a monochrome camera because it's more light sensitive than it's color counterpart, and in high-speed photography in general (and underwater in particular) we are hard-pressed for light. Visible light just doesn't travel well underwater. However, Edgertronic loaned us a color camera, and it arrived today! Let's see if we can get it to work underwater! 

AQUARIUS VIEWPORT SWIM-BY

This was a great Google hangout today about coral reef health in the Caribbean Basin hosted by Northeastern University's Urban Coastal Sustainability Initiative. Fabien, Liz and i were conducting research outside and "dropped by" to say hello in the Aquarius viewport. "You never know who's going to swim-by the viewport when you're in Aquarius," said Mark Patterson.
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A swim-by the Aquarius viewport during a coral reef discussion are Fabien, a yellowfish, Liz and me.

WOMEN IN SCIENCE

I also posted this great video, Aquanauts Switch Mid-Mission from the Mission 31 production team showing Liz, Matt and I trading places with Adam, Andy and Kip to become fully- saturated aquanuts on the mission four days ago! 

WHAT'S MISSION 31? THIS IS WORTH THE WATCH

6/18/2014

 
What is historic Mission 31 (and why is it so special?) This great video from Fusion explains the story very well: "Living underwater gives ocean explorers an incredible advantage. Unlike normal surface diving, where a person can only stay underwater a few hours a day, Mission 31 aquanauts can be under the surface for 12 hours or more. This is because their bodies are saturated with nitrogen, allowing them to live at the same pressure as the water that surrounds them." 
"To put it in perspective, it would take a normal diver six months to collect the amount of data that the aquanauts can obtain in 31 days."
"To say the least, Mission 31 is  ... cool." 
The cast of characters includes ... yours truly, Grace under no pressure :)
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"This is a story about saving our waters, our oceans, our seas."
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We Visited Jacques Cousteau's Grandson at the Bottom of the Ocean, article and video from This is Fusion.
Another great Mission 31 video is Splashdown: Aquanauts Switch Mid-Mission when when Liz, Matt and I splashed down to Aquarius.

ADVENTURES IN THE MANGROVES

6/14/2014

 
Yesterday I ventured with Matt and Brian to the Content Keys, where we met with two guides who took us on an adventure through the Florida mangroves. Mangroves are trees that grow partially submerged in the ocean. It felt like we were filming a Discovery Channel special (like this one on mangroves). 

We were there because we wanted to learn more about the grouper from an expert, our guide Don, who formerly hunted the fish but now tries to protect them. Matt and I will attempt to film the grouper's unique feeding strike during our saturation on Mission 31. 

Mangroves are amazing plants. They thrive in the salt water either by filtering out the salt at their roots or secreting excess salt through their leaves. They form forests in the middle of the ocean that harbor juvenile fish, filter water, and serve as attachment points for other water-filtering marine organisms. In addition, animals, such as pelicans and other costal birds, find shelter in the branches. There are even stories of monkeys living in the Florida mangroves! 

We snorkeled in the mangroves for several hours. Swimming under their branches, it was an alien world, like a scene from Avatar. We saw grouper, many snapper, some horse shoe crabs, and tiny crabs. The sounds were like nothing I've heard before. I could hear branches creaking and snapping, the rush of the current, and some popping noises from fish. Matt and Brian used the fancy RED camera to film the experience in incredible quality. The RED camera has more than 5 times the number of pixels of the very best HD camera. You'll have to wait to see their footage -- it'll be worth the wait! 
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Intrepid M31 photographers Brian and Matt setting up the RED camera. Their footage will come out later; it's worth the wait! Samantha, our German shepherd mascot, retweeted this photo :) 
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Our captain Mike knew the mangroves like the back of his hand. this was a good thing! The mangroves were like a thorny maze.
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Eerie!! The entrance to the mangroves is mostly bare and dying trees, weathered by hurricanes. 
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The mangroves entrance reminded me of the thorny forest in Sleeping Beauty. 
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This is what the mangroves looked like, although this isn't my photo. Credit floridarambler.com. Sometimes I'd look up and not see the end of our path. It'd be easy to get lost in the maze, but thankfully we had an excellent guide. 
The video shows a 6 second snippet of our hour long boat ride to the mangroves. It couldn't have been a nicer, more sun-shinny day. 
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We went out in a small motor boat, perfect for maneuvering in the shallow water. 

Mangrove Update

Update: Our guide Don just sent me a copy of July's National Geographic with a terrific piece with amazing photos about the Goliath Grouper in the mangroves that they've been working on for years.  I'll write a separate post soon about his fascinating work and this interesting creature that can be up to 800 lbs and nine feet long!  (added 6/21/14)

A REASON TO SMILE: Thank You Notes

This afternoon I got a very pleasant surprise in the mail. The students at Birches, whom I chatted with last week, sent me many thank you notes. It put a huge smile on my face! The letters have more excellent questions too. Kids are so curious! Have you seen anything cool? Have you swam with sea snakes? What other animals have you seen? Will you send me a 'pikshr'?  My first visit with this school was in the fall, and it was great (blog post here). 
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One thank you note asked, "Do you know which valves to turn on your helmet?" Another said, "Grace, We miss you very, very much!"

Some Work, Some fun

The past few days I've also been helping prepare science research, so everything is ready for our saturation on June 17th. The Northeastern surface team, who has a fantastic blog here, started shipping their gear last week, and it's slowly arriving at base. One of the things I was most excited to receive was the plankton traps from graduate student Amanda Dwyer. On our first day in Aquarius, fellow aquanaut Liz and I will deploy a dozen of the traps over different regions of the coral reef. All traps are small, so they are minimally invasive. They will collect zooplankton that rise into the net. Each day and night we'll then collect samples from the net, and Amanda will analyze the results. She'll be able to tell the health of the reef from the samples, and learn more about the zooplankton's nocturnal behavior. Plankton are an incredible resource on earth; they provide at least half of the oxygen we breath! I'm excited to help learn more about their important role in our ecosystem. 

The tools for other research, including for the sponges DNA, coral-stress, and sponge metabolism studies, arrive this week as well. More on that to come! Other exciting news is that the underwater housing for the Edgertronic camera is on it's way here, thanks to the Sexton Corporation, who has amazingly designed, created, and tested a modular system for using the Edgertronic underwater. 
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Graduate student Amanda designed and assembled plankton traps we'll use for her research during Mission 31.  She describes the process in her blog post. 
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We tested her traps in the pool this week. They look good! We just need to add weight so they'll sink. The net and the jar at the top will collect plankton.
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This is what zooplankton actually looks like. They're incredibly tiny animals, barely visible to the naked eye. See Amanda's blog post. 
Credit cmarz.org
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I still think of the plankton character in Spongebob whenever I think of plankton... Despite knowing more about plankton now than I ever did before.
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M31 team member Billy found mascot Samantha (follow her exciting Twitter account!) at a serious moment at mission headquarters, reading papers about plankton, sponges, and coral reefs to prepare for Mission 31 science. Someone said that the world would be a better place if more dogs had twitter accounts.
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Friday night (+Friday the 13th!) full moon celebration on the beach, complete with fire dancers, fireworks, and a Latin-African fusion band. I tried taking a photo of the moon with my phone, but it just looked like a flashlight hanging in the sky.
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Beautiful! Did an interview on the beach yesterday for Univision TV. Couldn't imagine a better back drop! The only issue was that we sometimes had to wait for a paddle boarder to pass in the background :)
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Also beautiful! Credit to Jeremy Childress at the Sexton Corporation, who made this underwater housing for the Edgertronic. He also connected the Edgertronic to a battery and screen that will fit inside the housing. 

RETURN FROM THE AMAZON (AND SAVING A TURTLE)

6/9/2014

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Today Mission 31 team members Matt and Brian returned from the Amazon, where they were shooting a continuing project with Fabien Cousteau's sister Celine. You can see photos, showing how the Amazon has changed during the lifetimes of three Cousteau generations, in the ebook Return from the Amazon available in the iTunes Store. Matt and Brian told us the Amazon was scorching hot, over 105 degrees F. The 80-degree weather here in sunny Florida must now feel like a cool spring day! The intrepid explorers also shared stories of the bugs and difficulty in traveling around the Amazon. What an experience! I can't wait to hear more over dinner. 

Meanwhile, I continue preparing Mission 31 science research from topside. Today we sent out plankton nets for a research project designed by Northeastern graduate student Amanda Dwyer. I'm also counting down till  saturation -- 7 more days! 
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Billy found me working late yesterday, preparing experiments for Mission 31. In front of me are tubes that will store zooplankton for Amanda Dwyer, a researcher at Northeastern University.

The Turtle Hospital 

Last Friday I had the opportunity to visit the Turtle Hospital with production team member Billy Snook. I was completely blown away at the incredible organization. It pained me to see how turtles have suffered from human causes, even indirectly. For example, sea grass absorbs fertilizers that run off into the ocean that turtles eats. The chemical fertilizers can develop tumors called fibropapilloma that will slowly and painfully kill the turtle. If the fertilizers in our crops do that to turtles, what are they doing to us?
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I posted this story to my Instagram. Thankfully the turtle made it into the hospital's care and is on the road to recovery.
             
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This photo shows one of the recovered turtles; without the care of the Turtle Hospital this turtle would have died from human causes. Let's be optimistic! 
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Turtles unfortunately suffer from a variety of human impacts. The turtle hospital helps by removing tumors, helping a turtle eat again, and more, so a turtle can have a second chance in the wild after a human-caused incident.
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This turtle developed fibropapilloma tumors from fertilizers that ran-off into the sea grass it eats. If fertilizers are doing this to turtles, what are they doing to us?
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I could hardly believe, all these debris the hospital found inside a single turtle; the turtle can't digest the debris, not only giving it stomach cramps, but also causing gas to form in it's digestive track. The gas ruins the turtle's buoyancy, causing it to float, unable to dive for food. The turtle hospital can't remove all the plastic from a living turtle, but the can help by adding weights to a turtle's shell so it at least don't starve to death on the surface.
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On the ride home I had a lot to think about. How can we help marine creatures from their impending doom? We take them for granted, but all the creatures help keep the ocean ecosystem in a healthy balance, and the ocean is our live support system. We need more turtle hospitals! And less reasons for turtles to need to go to the hospital from human impacts!

If you extra specially care about sea turtles, check out The Turtle Hospital (maybe even call or donate!). There's also a fantastic non-profit called the Sea Turtle Conservancy; I follow them on Facebook to stay up-to-date on all their work (and see pictures of sea turtles on my news feed.)

A DIVING DRONE

I forgot to tell this story. On Spalshdown Day, the Mission 31 production team smartly deployed quadcopters to capture aerial footage of the excitement. Well, there was some problem with one of the copters (never really understood what happened), and it fell into the ocean. Luckily, one of the Navy divers, Carter, without missing a beat, dove in and rescued the copter on a breath-hold dive to 10m. Amazing! Sometimes robots need the Navy to rescue them too. 
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Mission 31 video editor Toby Wallwork in front of one of the flying quadcopters. Credit to Mission 31.

There's also blog posts:  "Shellebrate" -- It's World Turtle Day! and Sea Life Just Fish? Think Polar Bears Too! 
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SEA LIFE JUST FISH? THINK POLAR BEARS TOO, HERE'S WHY 

6/2/2014

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When you think marine mammals, do you think polar bears? I didn't until I learned more. Polar bears are the only bear considered a marine mammal. Their scientific name, Ursus maritimus, translates to "maritime bear." Born in snow dens, they spend most of their time on the frozen sea, which they use as a platform for hunting seals. Mission 31 will study climate change effects on some tropical creatures. Although the Florida Keys have no polar bears, ocean health and climate change research impacts all sea life, from zooplankton (microscopic animals) to polar bears (up to 1,200 lbs). Want to know more? 20 Interesting Facts about Polar Bears.
A greater understanding of our oceans 
is needed at this critical time of dwindling resources and increased pollution. The oceans affect more life than 
we think.


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Polar Bears live on the frozen sea as a marine mammal. Credit Moses Anderson via Polar Bears International.

Ocean Food Chain, Top to Bottom

Specifically, Mission 31 experiments will study climate change effects on zooplankton and coral reefs, marine life found in the Keys.  An overview of all M31 science research is at blog post 5/24/14.  Polar Bears International, the world's leading conservation group for polar bears, will celebrate World Oceans Day on June 8 in honor of all ocean life, large and small, even the ones that don't first come to mind!   
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Mission 31 is studying effects of climate change on our oceans.
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Polar Bears spend most of their time on the frozen sea, so it makes sense their Latin scientific name translates to "maritime/sea bear." Photo credit Kt Miller/ Polar Bears International
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Polar bears keep from slipping on ice with the help of small bumps on their feet called papillae.

World Oceans Day 

World Oceans Day day will be a big day for Mission 31. Media and celebrities, including Dr. Sylvia Earle and actor Ian Somerhalder,  will visit us in the Keys and there'll be a celebration underwater (what better place to celebrate?). Up to World Ocean Day, I'll post daily about the wonders of the ocean, the current issues it's facing, and how we are bringing attention to those during Mission 31. Stay tuned! 

More blog at What's Mission 31 About? This is Worth the Watch.  
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TRAINING DAY 9: NEW FULL-FACE DIVE MASKS

5/29/2014

 
Today we dove in full-face Kirby Morgan dive masks that we'll use on Mission31. They were designed exclusively for military use, but Fabien secured them for our team. The masks are manufactured by Kirby Morgan, just like our dive helmets, so both have the same name. They look a little scary (or fashionable... depending on your perspective), similar looking to gas masks, I think. ​
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Fashion or Function? Once again, Lady Gaga would love our new full-face dive mask look. I love it because I can talk underwater, breathe through my nose, and relax my jaw with no regulator in my mouth.
The full-face masks were tricky to get used to at first, especially getting them on and clipping the regulator into the side. But once I got the hang of the mask, it was nice to be able to relax my jaw while diving and not have to grip a regulator in my mouth, and to be able to breathe normally from my nose. 

Underwater Choreography & Dive Drills
We practiced many dive drills again today. Remembering basic diving drills is a lot like remembering dance choreography, such as . . . 

Isolate-the-tanks-and-check-everything drill:
  • Turn center knob right
  • Right knob right
  • Switch regulators
  • Right knob left
  • Left knob right 
  • Switch regulators 
  • Left knob left 
  • Turn center knob left... 
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The drills were complicated at first, but now we can all do them without even thinking, with and without our masks!
     
Manatee at the Dock
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I've always wanted to "meet" a manatee. This one was so friendly and wanted to play!
When we returned to the aquanaut house, we had the pleasure of meeting a manatee by our dock! I've always wanted to "meet" a manatee, and this one was so friendly! She stared at us and rolled around for quite a bit before heading below the dock. 

This evening at mission headquarters, we met with a representative from Nokia, one of our sponsors. She showed us some cool features of our new phones, including its professional-quality camera and image editing capabilities. We also finally got to meet Mission31's publicist, Amy Summers, who visited today. It's so nice to meet the face behind so many emails! 

Serious Training  . . .
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A selfie with the new Nokia as we motor to Aquarius.
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"Training is always super serious." Credit to fellow aquanaut Adam.

More Grace Under Pressure blog posts here.

TRAINING DAY 8: NAVIGATING UNDER A TOWEL

5/28/2014

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Today was fun (...even though we were reviewing some serious emergency situations). We started in the classroom reviewing drills we'd do in the water, including how to use the marine VHF radios and safety sausages (brightly-colored, inflatable buoy columns) we'll always have with us underwater. We all got a little competitive during the emergency drills, which kept everyone's attention piqued. 

In the first drill, we practiced navigating with a compass. To make sure we weren't cheating, the instructors put towels over our heads (Mission 31 monogrammed towels, of course), so we had to "blindly" rely on only our compass heading to get where we wanted to go. I'm sure this looked ridiculous to anyone who passed by, but we're all now great at navigating! 
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Mission 31 towel. It's white on navy; classy!
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We also drilled a worst case scenario in which both divers are disoriented and lost their masks. Our goal was to return safely to the habitat. To do this, we attached our secondary reel of rope to a stationary point on the seafloor and used the line to swim in a circle (in a constant radius) around the stationary point looking for one of the neon excursion lines that led back to the habitat (all without masks). Initially the drill was complicated; but practicing it first on land really helped. In the water, Liz and I nailed it. Liz described in her Girls's Rule blog post: "It was a good feeling to be on the same page as my dive buddy Grace, especially considering we are about to spend over 20,000 minutes underwater together! I have a feeling that by the end of the Mission, Grace and I will be able to read each other's minds underwater." 

Billy Snook, a member of the Mission 31 production team, filmed us underwater today with a Nokia (one of our sponsors) Lumia 1020 camera. Thanks to Billy and Nokia for the photos and video clips bleow!  

Here's a video of today's underwater training 

and here's some sea life we saw today

and photos from the boat

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Fellow aquanaut Adam and me, taking a selfie on a Lumia phone from our mission sponsor Nokia.
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The boat was full today, including aquanauts, camera crew, and Navy support divers. In this photo, from left to right: Liz (aquanaut), Billy (camera), Andy (aquanaut), and Marc (camera).
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SCIENCE SATURDAY: MISSION 31 RESEARCH PROJECTS

5/24/2014

 
This morning mission scientists (Adam, Andy, Liz, and I) reviewed all the research experiments with the rest of the Mission 31 team. Researchers from Northeastern also joined us on a conference call. "Mission scientists" aren't the only scientists involved in this mission. Dozens of other scientists and technical advisors are participating by providing knowledge, expertise, research equipment, and other resources. From Northeastern, for example, five graduate students designed experiments for the aquanauts to conduct. Other researchers will also assist us via regular surface dives in the work that don't require saturation diving. See What's Mission 31 All About? Understanding M31 Ocean Research [video] in my blog. 

The Big Take-Away

The big take away here is that we are conducting research that isn't possible without Aquarius, the world's only undersea laboratory. It would take a normal diver six months to collect the amount of data that the aquanauts can obtain in 31 days. Specifically, we're researching: 
  • Coral reef health
  • Goliath grouper feeding behavior 
  • Zooplankton 
  • Barrel sponges
  • Environmental contamination

The Team

Science research during the first half of Mission 31 is run by Florida International University (FIU), and by Northeastern University (and me, from MIT) during the second half of the mission. For the second half, Liz and I are aquanauts working with a large team, including: 
Principal researchers: Mark Patterson, Brian Helmuth, and Loretta Fernandez 
Graduate students: Amanda Dwyer, Alli Matzelle,  Jessica Torossian, and Nick Colvard 
Technicians: Francis Choi and Sara Williams
Media and Outreach coordinators: Morgan Helmuth, Amanda Padoan, Angela Herring, Ursula August, and Kara Sassone 

The Science Details

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Micro-electrodes will help us periodically monitor the health of the coral reef (Image credit: Unisense)

Coral Reef Health

Our research will help answer: How do corals respond internally to daily fluctuations in external temperature, light, pH, and dissolved oxygen? The topside team will insert Unisense electrodes into three coral polyps per colony underwater to measure the gastrovascular system (the gut) of the corals. Data collected 24/7 over two weeks, creating the first long-term data set from wild corals. In addition to the data from the electrodes, Liz and I will measure corals' photosynthetic performance with a PAM fluorometer.

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We'll study the goliath grouper's unique feeding behavior (Image credit: Alan Egan)

Goliath Grouper

We'll record unique predatory behavior of the goliath grouper using a state-of-the-art high-speed Edgertronic camera. The results could validate the unproven theory that Goliath Groupers use the sound of a collapsing cavitation bubble formed in their head as a weapon to stun their prey. It'll help answer: What is happening during a grouper's feeding strike, and does the grouper use sound as a weapon?
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We'll collect zooplankton samples using nets to measure their health and abundance.

Zooplankton

Every day we'll collect small samples of zooplankton with nets to quantify their presence on the reef. The data will help scientists answer: How are plankton communities changing with climate change? In addition, the ratio of alive to "zoombie" (recently dead, but not broken down or consumed yet) zooplankton in our samples will give insight into the populations and lifespans of these creatures, which are necessary for coral reefs to be resilient against coral bleaching events. 
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Giant barrel sponges, like that in the photo, filter water. We'll study their behavior using sensors to measure their metabolism.

Barrel Sponges

Sponges are prodigious filter feeders. They filter water equal to their entire body volume in less than a minute and remove more than 99% of the particles they inhale, most of which are bacteria. Part of the reason visibility is so good on a coral reef is becuase of the filtering by sponges. We are looking to answer the following research questions: How do barrel sponges filter material and how can we model their behavior? Does their behavior fluctuate over the course of a day in a predictable pattern (circadian rhythm)? Are neighboring sponges pumping at the same rate or is every sponge different? We'll answer these questions using sensors that measure fluctuations in temperature, salinity, pH, dissolved oxygen, and flow over the seafloor and in the water coming out of the sponges. From these measurements, the Northeastern researchers can study how sponges' metabolism and feeding rate respond to changes in the environment. We'll also collect DNA from 14 different sponges for the Ocean Genome Legacy Project.     
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We'll deploy and recover sensors that will measure environmental contaminants on the reef.

Environmental Contamination

We'll deploy and recover sensors that absorb and measure environmental contaminants, including PCBs, PAHs, and potentially dispersants from the BP oil spill. They will help us answer: What environmental contaminants are in the coral reef? Based on the findings, Dr. Loretta Fernandez can model contaminants in the area and refine methods for measuring them. 
In addition, Florida International University has planned a number of experiments to conduct during the first half of the mission. We expect the Mission 31 will produce much valuable data and many research papers! 

Continue reading. More Grace Under Pressure blog posts here.

AQUANAUT TRAINING DAY 5: NAVY'S FASHION ADVICE

5/23/2014

 
Today we started promptly at "eight hundred," as the Navy divers say, and headed back to Aquarius with the Kirby Morgan diving helmets. It's our last of training day in the helmets, so we all should be very comfortable in them. The plan is to dive in pairs back to Aquarius for 30 minutes each. My goals today were to trim my weight just right so I'd be neutrally buoyant on the seafloor, practice climbing around the habitat underwater without flippers, get used to keeping my head back (with the heavy 30lbs helmet) underwater so I'm more balanced and air doesn't leak from the neck seal, and to be conscious of the umbilical cord so it doesn't get tangled or caught too often. I also need to remember to speak clearly in the communication device inside the helmet. Interestingly, the communications system filters out (to an extent) high-pitch background noises and sometimes Liz and my voices reach just that high-pitch frequency so they get cut off. It's not a major issue; if I don't hear a response I'll just repeat my message, but still it's something to be aware of. 
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The empty dive vest and tank in the center is for the stand-by diver; every time we go on a training dive, a Navy diver sits there, ready to get in the water at any moment for an emergency. Heading to Aquarius on the boat, left to right: Carter (Navy diver), Adam (aquanaut), Liz (aquanaut), Andy (aquanaut), me (aquanaut), and Hunter (Navy diver). Photo credit to Fabien Cousteau.

Welcome "Back" to Aquarius 

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That buoy/power control tower floats directly above Aquarius, the underwater research habitat and marks the spot.
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No filter! The water was just this clear and gorgeous. See those faint shimmery squiggles in the water? Those are barracuda.
I felt like a superhero being "weightless" underwater, jumping up and over the Aquarius habitat, which is like jumping over a two story building. I also took off my flippers and walked on the edge of the habitat like a tightrope walker. The Bonnet Rogue SCUBA divers caught my ballet "acrobatics" on video, but that footage won't come out until later! It turned out that I didn't need any added weight to reach neutral buoyancy on the seafloor. I also felt like I got the hang of swimming with the extra 30lbs on my head.  

I stared eye-to-eye with a barracuda for what seemed like a few minutes. They are a fearsome-looking fish, known for their scary appearance and teeth, but getting scared is one of the worst things you can do underwater because you might hyperventilate, lose control of your buoyancy, etc. Besides, barracuda will only bite if you look/smell like a fish. With bubbles streaming out of my Kirby Morgan and a tank strapped to my back, I don't look like a fish. 
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Instagram updates from the dive today. Beautiful!
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The neck seal on the dive helmet is pulling on some of my (long) hair, so I need to be better braiding it out of the way. One of the Navy divers, however, recommended that I go for a 2 mm buzz cut ... that's not happening. I'm not ready to take fashion advice from the Navy.

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Mission31 custom GoPro kits from Backscatter. Photo credit Changing Tides Media.
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Look at those teeth! A barracuda and I had a staring contest around Aquarius today.

Afternoon Outreach

After training, Adam, Liz and I visited the local Montessori school's science night to tell them about Aquarius. We showed them the model of Aquarius with a LEGO aquanaut and let them try some freeze dried foods we'll be eating underwater (think astronaut food). It was so fun! Many of the kids were familiar with Aquarius because it's basically in their backyard. 
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Students tasted freeze dried food that we'll eat in the underwater habitat.
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Friday science outreach. LEGO auquanaut on the Aquarius model.
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This lucky girl got to try on a dive helmet with Adam at the outreach event today. Aww...

A Good End to the Week 

Before dinner with the crew this evening, we took a group photo with all the aquanauts, wearing our new gear from Oceanic. Also, Fabien brought us together for a surprise gift... He loaned us each limited edition Mission 31 DOXA watches! 
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Orange is the new black. Doxa limited edition Mission 31 dive watches.
Next week is the final week of training. We'll focus on SCUBA and the details of Aquarius, and a Navy doctor will pull each of us aside for a final check to make sure we are fit for saturation. Safety is of paramount importance, so it's still possible any of us could fail the final check and not be allowed to saturate. Astronaut Ken Mattingly learned 3 days before Apollo 13's launch that he would not go because he was exposed to measles. If any of us for any reason is no longer able to saturate we could still aid the operation and research from topside, and even SCUBA dive down like other support divers. 

Saturday we'll be up early to review Mission 31 science research plans! 

IT'S WORLD TURTLE DAY: SHELLEBRATE!

5/23/2014

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It's World Turtle Day!  All sea turtles breathe air (like SCUBA divers!). Many sea turtles fatally mistake plastic garbage bags as jellyfish food.  With ocean garbage on the rise, using recyclable bags instead of plastic is a great idea.
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Image credit The Nature Conservancy.
25 Selfies to Celebrate World Turtle Day!
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The totally awesome sea turtle, surfer dude "Crush" from Finding Nemo.
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HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

5/11/2014

 
To all mothers of all species! And to my own wonderful mother, of course!
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I WANT TO DIVE IN THE MALDIVES

5/2/2014

 
Gorgeous video of a dive in the Maldives. Shout out to EunJae Im. 

NOW YOU CAN BUY CLOTHES MADE FROM ALL THAT PLASTIC THAT'S POLLUTING THE OCEAN 

4/30/2014

 
Well, not quite yet . . . but soon! Artist Pharrell Williams (yep, the guy who sings Happy) is starting a hip clothing line made from recycled plastic from the ocean. It's not too clear how they're doing this (I'm curious on the engineering details, of course . . . Maybe they're going to use this 19-year old's idea !?). The video showing animated octos making the clothes certainly doesn't explain, but it must be possible . . . 

Speaking of celebs who want to help the ocean . . . Leonardo DiCaprio and the President of Iceland, Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, (link to his 2014 save-the-ocean speech) are also doing great things for the ocean. I hope more celebs will follow to spread awareness of the urgent need for ocean conservation!  

Pharrell's animated video with Raw for the Oceans and Bionic Yarn says the clothing line will be available August 15. 
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In Pharrell's video, animated octos throw plastic bottles into an underwater machine that makes clothing! I'm curious about the actual plan . . . (Maybe this is the actual plan.)
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How much plastic is in the ocean? Way too much. This infographic by One World One Ocean explains.

More Grace Under Pressure blog posts here.

THE AMAZING OCTOPUS 

4/21/2014

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This hilarious video will actually teach you something. Everything the commentator says is true. (Credit to PetFlow for first discovering this.)
There will be octopuses in the Florida Keys near the Aquarius reef base, although octopuses (yes, it's "octopuses," although "octopi" is apparently fine too, despite it sounding ridiculous) tend to fairly recluse. 

While reading up on octopuses I also learned for the first time about Paul the Octopus, who accurately predicted the results of the 2010 World Cup. Why didn't I hear of him before?! 

And despite my love of adventure, I really hope not to run into a giant Pacific octopus, which can grow to 30 feet.  (Photo at right.)

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It's a fake! Speaking of giant sea creatures, this image of a giant squid washed up in California is fake, in case you didn't get the memo. Don't always trust what your friends post on Twitter. The largest known squid is only 30 ft (HA, only 30 ft . . .); the squid in this pic is a preposterous 160 ft.
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I'd rather see this tiny octo.
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The giant Pacific octopus... I love (am mildly obsessed) with ocean creatures, and I still think this is freaky.
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ELEMENTARY OCEANS & LESSON PLAN FOR BUILDING AN UNDERWATER HABITAT

12/3/2013

 
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Yesterday I spent four hours talking to K-3 students about the ocean, and showed them some robots I've worked on. Best question: "Can you turn this building into a cow?" 

They were so curious about everything, but spent most of the time saying hilarious things! Every 10 minutes or so someone would ask if I would get eaten by a shark, or I'd show them a piece of SCUBA gear, and they'd say, "What if a shark ate that?" I said sharks will really only eat you if you smell like blood and maybe look like a turtle. "You'd better not wear your ninja turtle costume under water!" one smartly said. I truly enjoyed my time with these students. 

More great questions from this group are posted here.

P.S. After my visit, these amazing students built an underwater research house, complete with electricity!  I want to go to school there!  A lesson plan from NOAA ocean education for building an underwater habitat is here: Aquarius Technology: Building an Underwater Habitat. Enjoy!

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P.S.S. In June 2014, Mission 31 posted curriculum for grades K-12 to bring back lessons "from the seafloor to the surface," in addition to their M31 Skype-in-the-Classroom.
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    Author

    Grace Young  (B.S., MIT, Ph.D, Oxford) is an ocean engineer, aquanaut, and explorer currently working at X. She lived underwater as a scientist and engineer on Fabian Cousteau’s Mission 31, and is a National Geographic Explorer. 

    Blog Highlights: 
    1. No Engineer is an Island
    2. Mission 31 Highlights
    3. Sailing Across the Atlantic 
    ​3. Return to CERN

    Tweets by @grace_h2o
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