By Mera McGrew
Four miles off the coast of Key Largo, Florida sits the world’s single fully-functional underwater laboratory dedicated to marine science and exploration.
Sitting on a sand patch some sixty feet below the ocean’s surface the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA’s) Aquarius underwater habitat has allowed marine scientists and ocean explorers to stay underwater for days, even weeks at a time to conduct cutting-edge research that has broadened our understanding of the world’s ocean and it’s many fragile ecosystems.
Typically, scientists live in Aquarius, which looks like a submarine fixed to the ocean floor, during ten-day missions. During that time they’re able to dive continuously without ever re-surfacing. Instead they return directly to the underwater laboratory, which also houses their living quarters.…