Reestablishing a national man in the sea program

摘要

The United States departed the Man in the Sea Program in the early 1970s after the termination of Sea Lab III. The U. S. Navy has maintained the capability for operational saturation di','es but current military diving research is primarily focused upon submarine rescue and special warfare applications in the ocean's littoral zone. The commercial diving industry also ceased deep diving and saturation research in the late 1970s after two decades of cutting edge research moving the working operational depths to 1000 feet and beyond. Now most of the deep dives are the domain of work class ROVs and saturation diving is used for more specialized operations. While the United States and other nations work through an international agreement to build and staff the International Space Station miles in space, the world's only large underwater laboratory, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's AQUARIUS, sits less than a mere 50 feet below the ocean's surface and receives much less recognition. What can we gain by having a routine manned presence in the ocean besides capturing the public's interest in manned undersea exploration? Some compelling reasons are: 1) The collection of live specimens for research and educational purposes. A hands on approach is necessary to retrieve these animals alive for aquarium exhibition and to study them for biotechnology purposes. 2) Missing since the 1960's-1970's is the capability of diving scientists to perform investigations and experiments where the animals live. 3) In order to approach the quality of excavations on land, archaeological studies of underwater culturally significant sites must be accomplished on location by trained personnel. 4) Open ocean aquaculture continues to move ahead in state waters and waters of the Federal Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and divers are required to maintain these facilities. Divers continue to commercially fish for sea cucumbers, abalone, seaweeds, and other species. Both groups would benefit from safer and more efficient operations and equipment. This paper will present considerations for reestablishing a national Man in the Sea program.