Imagine working aboard a research station on the ocean floor, watching sea creatures swim past, then venturing out to explore the ocean’s surface. Or being able to examine the impact of climate change on coral reefs from the windows of your undersea research station.
Such facilities have so far been limited, but the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and developers of a proposed new “first of its kind” research laboratory hope to expand the opportunities and help humans learn more about the ocean.
Proteus Ocean Group – co-founded by Fabien Cousteau, grandson of the late ocean exploration pioneer Jacques Cousteau – is developing an “underwater space station of the ocean.” The group plans to build the station nearly 60 feet deep off the coast of Curaçao in the Caribbean by 2026.
NOAA and the ocean group announced this month they will partner to identify research opportunities as plans to build the station move forward, sharing information and scientific expertise.
The research facility would give scientists and the public a rare window on life under the ocean, the partners said. Much like the International Space Station and earlier versions of marine laboratories, aquanauts will live aboard the station as they conduct research and exploration beneath the sea. READ MORE...
