Observation Platforms: Submersibles
As much as we may learn about our planet's underwater habitats through the use of satellites, shipboard sensors and divers, these technologies scratch only the surface of the oceans. Over the last few decades, engineers have developed submersible technologies capable of meeting the many challenges that the deep sea imposes upon explorers, allowing us to dive to depths where utter darkness, crushing pressures, and extreme cold temperatures prohibit SCUBA operations. Submersibles alone enable us to explore the abyssal depths.
This section of the site highlights some of the submersibles used on recent NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research-supported missions, allowing us to travel deeper and with a greater degree of freedom than ever before, so that we can observe, describe, and ultimately better understand and manage the deep-ocean realm and its resources.
