The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) has a large dive tank inside one of their buildings. Team SCINI went there on August 23rd to practice diving with the equipment they will use in Antarctica. And the non-divers (like me) learned how to help the divers get on their equipment and make sure they are safe in the water.
This picture (taken by BLee Williams) shows me helping divers in the tank.
Most divers wear wetsuits which are a neoprene layer. Water can get between the divers skin and the neoprene, but the divers warm body temperature keeps them warm enough. But divers in Antarctica need to wear dry suits. Dry suits have rubber seals around the neck, wrists, and ankles so the divers stay dry underwater. The water is below freezing (do you know why?) so the divers would be in danger as soon as they went into the ocean without a dry suit on.
This is Nick Huerta wearing the dry suit on land. He has on an insulated suit (almost like a snow suit) under the dry suit. He will wear a double layer of gloves and two insulated hoods on his head. He is sweating on land!
This is Nick underwater. Ahhh... He looks much more comfortable.
This is Bob practicing his ballet moves.
These two divers look beautiful and graceful underwater.
Do you swim? Do you like that feeling of being "weightless"? Good divers are able to control their position in the water so they don't go up or down too fast, and so they can work underwater. You can tell it takes some practice!
If you like being underwater, that is great! We'll dive into Monterey Bay in the next journal entry.