Since 1993, the Aquarius has been stationed 63 feet below the waves, in the protected waters of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, a few miles off the coast, providing an ideal place to study ocean life and even train astronauts for space missions. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) owns the facility, which is run by UNCW. "You get used to hearing yourself in a funny voice when you're down here," said the University of North Carolina Wilmington associate professor.įinelli, along with several UNCW grad students and technicians, has been living deep under water for nine days now, aboard the Aquarius, the only seafloor laboratory and habitat in the world. In the face of such serious subject matter, Finelli still worried he sounded a bit like Donald Duck, explaining that at 50 feet below the ocean's surface, the extreme pressure can make people sound like they've sucked in a hit of helium. The two top contenders to take over are sponges and algae, and which one emerges victorious will have far-reaching consequences for the species that make their homes in coral reefs and for the humans that depend on them. As coral populations disappear - they're down by 90 percent around Florida - other species are fighting for the newly freed up ocean real estate.
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