New Discoveries In Deep Hawaiian Waters
Deep-dive technology has revealed a world of firsts to scientists who
visited the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument last month.
Sailing on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ship Hi'ialakai, scientists from NOAA, the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology and Bishop Museum dived at that coral reef at depths not explored there before, witnessed new marvels and collected the first specimen of a recently discovered species of butterflyfish.
"We're going to these sites that no human has laid eyes on prior to this," said Randall Kosaki, NOAA deputy superintendent for the monument and chief scientist aboard the cruise that ended Sunday.
The mission was to test deep-dive mixed-gas technology that allows dives 200 to 250 feet down. With conventional scuba gear, divers can reach about 80 feet (much deeper records have been set with special scuba gear) and submersibles dive to 700 feet, giving the world information about the two extremes, Kosaki said.
