July 15, 2003
Daily log of Surfnaut Lauren Batte: Mission Day 2

Hello again from Aquarius! Two days of the mission are now complete
and our experiments are well underway. Yesterday, the Surfnauts 1)
photographed coral samples for analysis later and to document changes
over time and 2) retrieved a set of tissue samples that needed to be
brought to the shore facility for freezing. The Surfnauts are limited
on bottom time while diving much more then the Aquanauts who continue
to work long after the non-saturation divers return to shore. This is
the reason that saturation diving is such a valuable tool. Much more
work can be done when the time is not limited and the sign of a
smoothly running mission is one in which the Surfnauts don't have to
use all of their bottom time. More tomorrow.
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July 14, 2003
Daily log of Surfnaut Lauren Batte: Mission Day 1

Greetings from the Aquarius underwater laboratory in Key Largo,
Florida! My name is Lauren Batte and I am currently working in Key
Largo, Florida as a "Surfnaut" as part of a scientific mission at
Aquarius. I am also a GEM-SET mentor.

Today, I, and my colleagues, began the 3rd mission at the lab in 2003.
At this minute, four scientists from the Virginia Institute of Marine
Science, College of William and Mary, are living underwater inside
Aquarius 6 miles offshore from the Florida coast. Three of the four
scientists are female graduate students at the College, led by their
Professor Mark Patterson. They join two technicians for a total of
six "Aquanauts" for the duration of the 10 day dive.

The purpose of the mission is to study coral reefs and better
understand the dynamics of coral bleaching. Over the course of the
next week and a half, I invite you to follow along with the mission,
read my daily logs in which I will incorporate science themes related
to the mission, and ask any questions you like. I may even send you an
email from underwater! The web site for the mission is
www.uncw.edu/aquarius. There are pictures, scientist profiles,
information about the lab and the science, and even live web cams.

I hope you enjoy the mission and learn more about marine science in the
process.