Science Under the Sea

You wake up, yawn, and look out your window. Instead of seeing the sunrise, you see a school of fish swim by! You’re inside an underwater research station—100 meters (328 feet) beneath the ocean’s surface. You’re one of several marine biologists living in the habitat for the next few weeks to study coral reefs. After breakfast, you’ll dive into the surrounding water, collect coral, and analyze the samples in the station’s lab.

You wake up, yawn, and look out your window. But you don’t see the sunrise. Instead, you see a school of fish swim by! You’re inside an underwater research station. It’s 100 meters (328 feet) beneath the ocean’s surface. Several marine biologists are here, and you’re one of them. For the next few weeks, you’ll live here to study coral reefs. After breakfast, you’ll dive into the surrounding water to collect coral. Then you’ll examine the samples in the station’s lab.

Today scientists explore the ocean mainly via scuba diving, remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), and submersibles. But each approach has drawbacks.

Scuba diving deeper than 20 m (66 ft) underwater can be dangerous. One of the biggest risks is decompression sickness, also known as the bends. Scuba divers typically breathe in a mix of oxygen and nitrogen gases. These gases dissolve in their blood and body tissues. When a diver returns to the surface too quickly, pressure from the surrounding water on their body drops suddenly. That forces the dissolved gases to bubble out of the body’s tissues. The effect is similar to carbonated soda exploding out of a bottle that’s been shaken. The escaped gas bubbles travel via the bloodstream throughout the body, causing pain, paralysis, or death.

To prevent the bends, divers must return to the surface slowly. A diver doing research might spend 15 minutes descending and less than an hour working—only to spend a whopping six hours gradually resurfacing. To avoid this problem, DEEP’s habitats will be filled with gases at the same pressure as the surrounding water. Visiting researchers would return to the surface only once, at the end of their stay. That means they would face less decompression risk and could spend hours working underwater daily. “Scientists estimate that they’ll be able to accomplish several years’ worth of work in 30 days by staying on the seafloor,” says Wolpert.

DEEP’s habitats are designed to support humans at depths from 50 to 200 m (164 to 657 ft). That makes them perfect for exploring the continental shelf. This shallow region surrounds many continents and is home to the majority of ocean life. Because the continental shelf isn’t as deep as other parts of the ocean, it’s often not practical to explore it using submersibles designed to dive thousands of meters below the surface. And while ROVs can dive almost anywhere, human divers are still better at making observations and collecting samples.

Today scientists have three main ways to explore the ocean. They employ scuba diving, remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), and submersibles. But each approach has drawbacks.

Scuba diving deeper than 20 m (66 ft) underwater can be dangerous. One of the biggest risks is decompression sickness. It’s also called the bends. Scuba divers usually breathe in a mix of oxygen and nitrogen gases. These gases dissolve in their blood and body tissues. The surrounding water puts pressure on a diver’s body. When a diver returns to the surface too quickly, the pressure drops suddenly. That makes the dissolved gases bubble out of the body’s tissues. It’s like carbonated soda exploding from a shaken bottle when you open the cap. The escaped gas bubbles travel through the body in the diver’s bloodstream. They can cause pain, paralysis, or even death.

Divers must return to the surface slowly to prevent the bends. To do research, a diver might descend for 15 minutes and work less than an hour. Then they need six hours to slowly resurface. DEEP hopes to avoid this problem. The gases inside its habitats will be at the same pressure as the surrounding water. Researchers would stay underwater during their visit. They would return to the surface only once, at the end. So they would face less decompression risk, and they could work underwater for hours daily. “Scientists estimate that they’ll be able to accomplish several years’ worth of work in 30 days by staying on the seafloor,” says Wolpert.

DEEP’s habitats can support humans from 50 to 200 m (164 to 657 ft) underwater. So they’re perfect for exploring the continental shelf. This shallow area surrounds many continents. It’s home to most ocean life. The continental shelf isn’t as deep as other parts of the ocean. Submersibles are designed to dive thousands of meters underwater. So they aren’t the most practical way to explore this area. And ROVs can dive almost anywhere. But human divers are better at making observations and collecting samples.

Underwater research bases aren’t new (see “Key Moments: Undersea Labs Through the Years,” below). But the only one in operation today is nearly 40 years old. DEEP wants to create modern underwater labs that can be easily expanded and moved.

To do that, the company is developing capsules that can connect, like LEGO bricks, in different ways to form habitats. Each capsule is about twice the length and width of a school bus and can hold bedrooms, bathrooms, labs, and a kitchen for six people. The capsules will also have an opening in the floor called a moon pool. That will give scientists access to the ocean.

The capsules will be constructed at DEEP’s facilities using a method similar to 3-D printing: A machine with six large robotic arms slowly builds up layers of molten steel to form each unit.

So far, DEEP has assembled two full-size capsule prototypes. One is a wooden model, used to test whether the design and layout are functional and comfortable for researchers. An aluminum version will be installed in a flooded quarry used as a testing site in England. That prototype will serve as a simulator where divers can train.

DEEP’s large habitats will be ready to house researchers in the next few years. The company is also constructing a smaller habitat that’s expected to begin underwater testing this year. It’s designed to house up to four people for a few days at a time and can be relocated as needed. Wolpert hopes that DEEP’s habitats will allow more scientists than ever before to live and study underwater. Maybe you could even be one of them!

Underwater research bases aren’t new (see “Key Moments: Undersea Labs Through the Years”). But only one is in operation today, and it’s nearly 40 years old. DEEP wants to create modern underwater labs. They could be easily expanded and moved.

So the company is developing capsules. The capsules can connect in different ways, like LEGO bricks, to form habitats. Each capsule is about twice the length and width of a school bus. It can hold bedrooms, bathrooms, labs, and a kitchen for six people. The capsules will have an opening in the floor called a moon pool. Scientists can enter the ocean through it.

The capsules will be constructed at DEEP’s facilities. The method is similar to 3-D printing. It involves a machine with six large robotic arms. The machine slowly builds up layers of molten steel to form each unit.

So far, DEEP has assembled two capsule prototypes. These are full-size models. A wooden one will be used to test the capsule design and layout. Does it work well, and is it comfortable for researchers? An aluminum model will be placed in a flooded quarry in England. The quarry serves as a testing site. That prototype will be a simulator to help divers train.

DEEP’s large habitats will be ready to house researchers in the next few years. A smaller habitat is also under construction. The company plans to begin testing it underwater this year. It can house up to four people for a few days at a time. And it can be moved as needed. Wolpert hopes that DEEP’s habitats will change things for scientists. More of them will live and study underwater than ever before. Maybe you could even be one of them!