Scientific Diving; Part II:

http://youtu.be/y0IXqexFdh8

Here are clips taken during two days of Nitrox dives on the Indra. Located off the coast of North Carolina, USS Indra was a landing craft repair ship sunk in 1996 after it was decommissioned from the Navy. The site is 60 feet deep at its maximum and visibility varies.

These dives gave us the opportunity to dive in the ocean – something some of us had never done before. In total, we did four dives on the Indra to earn our Enriched Air certification. Nitrox, or enriched air, is a gas mix that contains more oxygen normal. Generally, air (like you and I are breathing now) is used in recreational diving. Higher oxygen levels allow for more time at shallower depth, but using Nitrox also requires more preparation, training, and attention. We collected some measurements of the vessel as we explored to practice tasks like those in field school.

The dives also allowed us to interact with, and observe, the sea life. This skill will be useful in Costa Rica when we inventory the fish and corals located on our sites. Make sure to watch out for the school of Amber-jack in the video. Each one was as big as a SCUBA tank!

Check out the full video by clicking the link below:

http://youtu.be/YIYnE_vbIVs

-Scott