Project Day 5: 3 March 2011

Today was a very special day! We learned yesterday morning that today's submersible dive would be the 1,000th such dive with the Pisces submersibles conducted by the Hawai'i Undersea Research Laboratory (HURL). Because Dave Pence and I did not dive yesterday, we hatched a plan to commenorate the dive. The original idea (first conceived by Ken Longenecker and I) was to simply hold up a slate with the words, "Congratulations! 1,000 Dives!" written on it. Then Holly Bolick suggested we print out something more fancy on a sheet of 8.5"x11" waterproof paper. Before breakfast yesterday morning, Dave Pence and I had already escalataed the plan to create a 2-foot by 3-foot banner on waterproof vinyl cloth. Thanks to Google, Dave was able to find a sign-making shop right here in Kahului. A quick phone call confirmed that Maui Signs was able to generate the banner and have it ready for us in an hour. Dave and I rushed back to the hotel to design it, and run it past HURL Science Program Director John Smith, before sending the file to Maui Signs. By 1pm yesterday, the banner was ready!

The scientific mission for today's dive was to stain a second coral head, as we had done previously on Day 3. The Pisces V was launched successfully, and pilot Terry Kerby navigated to an area near the previous staining site, where submersible Science Observer John Rooney selected another appropriate coral head. Once again, the communications protocol worked very smoothly, and before long the sub released the maker buoy and the rebreather divers prepared their gear. The dive plan was exactly the same as it was on Day 3: the anchor for the maker buoy would be placed at the site with the "pulse-chase" experiment, which was started on Day 1, then the sub would move about 20-30 meters (65-100 feet) down-current to the coral head selected for the second staining, and wait for the divers to come down. When the rebreather divers descendd, CJ Bradley and Dave Pence would follow the marker-buoy line down to the pulse-chase experiment site, so that CJ could take additional samples for the "chase" part of the experiment; while Ken Longenecker and I would descend directly to the Pisces V to begin the second coral-staining experiment. As before, the dive went off perfectly, and soon Ken was injecting the non-toxic dye into the acrylic dome to get the staining experiment started.

Next came the part of the dive that I was most looking forward to: we pulled the banner out, and held it in front of the center port on Pisces V, where we knew that pilot Terry Kerby would be watching us. I had already given a heads-up to John Rooney, letting him know what our plan was, so that he could make sure the sub's video cameras were ready to capture the event. After allowing time for Terry to see the banner and take pictures of it, we began our 3-hour decompression back to the surface. The ascent was largely uneventful, except for one brief scare. Dave had tucked the banner under his waist strap, and while he and I were taking pictures of each other on the decompression line, the banner slipped out of his waist strap and started to sink towards the depths. CJ immediately saw it and tried to get our attention, but there are so many whales around that there is this continous cacophony of whale-song during the entire dive, and we did not hear CJ above the din. Ken also saw the banner sinking, and immediately started heading down towards it, but he had to stop when the oxygen level in his rebreather climbed too high. I had seen Ken swimming downward, and then I immediately saw the banner sinking below. Fortunatley, it had not gotten too far, and Dave and I managed to catch up with it and retrieve it before it had disappeared into the depths. I was more than relieved when I passed the banner off to the KoK after the dive.

In addition to dropping off the banner and the marker float and anchor to the KoK, we also picked up Brian Popp and Andrea Grottoli (along with their luggage), to take them back to shore to catch their flights back home that evening. It was good to be able to chat and have dinner with them, to compare notes from the perspective aboard the KoK comapred with the dive team's perspective. We all agreed that the new protocol was very effective, and everyone is looking forward to more dives next week, during the second leg of the cruise. Tomorrow is a "service" day, where the crew of the KoK makes any necessary repairs to the submersible, and everyone gets to take a day off from diving. Several more researchers will leave the KoK tommorrow morning, and will be replaced by four more who will fly in from Oahu. After that, we begin the second leg of the cruise.

A very special "Mahalo!" to Maui Signs for doing such a fantastic job producing our special banner on such short notice!

Click this link for the day's Video Highlights. Video by R.L. Pyle and D.F. Pence.

Images:Click on the small images below to see the the full-size image file.
The KoK launches the Pisces V over her stern, while the chase boat stands by. Photo: R.L. Pyle.
Ken Longenecker descends along the marker bouy-line, that had been deployed by the Pisces V just a few minutes earlier. Photo: R.L. Pyle.
Ken Longenecker swims down to the acrylic dome brought down by the Pisces V, and checks to make sure that the special pump is working correctly. The dome is used to apply a non-toxic stain to the Leptoseriscoral head, to be used for measuring the growth rate of the coral over time. Photo: R.L. Pyle.
Ken Longenecker prepares the coral for the staining experiment, while sub pilot Terry Kerby and science observer John Rooney look on from the Pisces V submersible. Also onboard the sub was Kim Binsted, an astrobiologist who is looking at our combined submersible/rebreather diver activities as an analog for space exploration. Photo: R.L. Pyle.
The Leptoseris coral selected by research John Rooney for the second staining experiment. Photo: R.L. Pyle.
Ken Longenecker holds a ruler next to the coral used for the staining experiment. In addition to the staining, we are photo-documenting the coral size so that it can be compared later to determine the rate of growth. Photo: R.L. Pyle.
Richard Pyle records video of Ken Longenecker as he prepares the coral staining experiment. Photo: D.F. Pence.
Ken Longenecker applies some of the non-toxic dye directly to the coral, to help ensure that the stain is incorporated into the coral skeleton. Photo: R.L. Pyle.
Ken Longenecker places the acrylic dome over the coral to be used in the staining experiment. The dome keeps the stain around the coral for several hours, to make sure that it is incorporated into the skeleton. Photo: R.L. Pyle.
Ken Longenecker injects non-toxic dye into the acrylic dome covering the selected Leptoseris coral head. The two black boxes on the right side of the dome are batteries used to run the special pump, which circulates water inside the dome. Photo: R.L. Pyle.
Christina "CJ" Bradley collects samples during the "chase" part of the "pulse-chase" experiment set up on Day 1. Data from these samples will provide insight on how the corals at these depths feed. Photo: D.F. Pence.
The sample corals used in CJ Bradley's "pulse-chase" experiment to determine where these mesophotic Leptoseris corals get their nourishment. Photo: D.F. Pence.
Rebreather divers Dave Pence (left) and Ken Longenecker (right) hold up a banner commemorating the Hawai'i Undersea Research Laboratory's 1,000th dive with the Pisces submersibles. Photo: R.L. Pyle.
Dave Pence swims along the coral-reef bottom with his video camera and lights, as we prepare to ascend from the dive. Photo: R.L. Pyle.
Leaving the Pisces V submersible on the bottom to conitnue its long dive, the rebreather divers begin their three-hour decompression. The acrylic dome with the coral staining experiment can be seen on the bottom, just in front of the submersible. Photo: R.L. Pyle.
Research diver Christina ("CJ") Bradley (left) and University of Hawai'i Diving Safety Officer Dave Pence (right) slowly work their way towards the surface as they decompress from the long deep dive. Photo: R.L. Pyle.
Dave Pence drinks from a small juice bag while decompressing. Not only does this quench his thirst, but it's better for the diver's decompression status to stay as well hydrated as possible. Photo: R.L. Pyle.
Research diver Richard Pyle holds his video camera during decompression. He wore is Sunday-best Aloha shirt in honor of HURL's 1,000th Pisces submersible dive. Photo: D.F. Pence.

Return To Expedition Index Page