A new way to conduct science

Like most scuba divers, I have always gone diving for recreation. However, while I love the sport, I always felt a disconnect between me and the ocean: like I was in a museum in which I could get close to the art but never touch it. However, while my dive partner and I were conducting a kelp growth experiment this past week, I realized that I had crossed that threshold. As we were suspended in the water column measuring and tagging our kelp plot, I felt that I was no longer just looking at the underwater environment but was part of it. Between the classes I have taken and the other scientific dives we have conducted, I am noticing more about our dive sites than I ever have.

What also added to this feeling was the fact that we are actually doing something. Don't get me wrong, I love recreational diving but, like I said above, there is a disconnect. You go in the water, look around, leave and have a good story to tell over the dinner table. Yet, we are actually getting data that could potentially be useful, that is we are conducting science. While I am sure the areas we are working on have been so studied that we are not finding anything new, the fact that we could adds a bit of excitement to every assignment.

Even though each assignment is relatively basic, it is also thrilling. For instance, next week we will go on a simple night dive, yet we will compare the same dive site at night versus in the day and the organisms that are abundant during the different time frames.

As I take a breath from my regulator I actually feel like what I came here to become: a marine scientist.

Chrissie after completing an eelgrass (Zostera marina) survey