1998 NOAA Research Expedition to the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary.

Abstract

Prior to 1998, NOAA had conducted or co-sponsored five diving expeditions to the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary. During the first three expeditions, dives were performed from a lockout submersible using helium/oxygen-breathing gas supplied to the divers via an umbilical. The later two expeditions were conducted using both tethered and untethered surface-oriented scuba with trimix breathing mixtures. In 1998, NOAA conducted two separate expeditions to the Monitor; one by the US Navy's Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit Two, and another by a group of divers from NOAA, the National Undersea Research Center at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington (NURC/UNCW), and the Cambrian Foundation (CF), collectively referred to as the "NOAA dive team." Although the diving techniques used by these two groups of divers varied greatly, they both contributed significantly to the overall success of the expedition. This paper describes the various steps involved in planning and conducting dives by the NOAA dive team under the auspices of the NOAA Diving Program, and compares and contrasts the diving techniques used by both groups of divers.