Aquarius Reef Base Location

Aquarius is an underwater laboratory and home to scientists for missions up to 10 days long, but to call Aquarius a home is like calling the space shuttle Discovery a mode of transportation. Aquarius is made to withstand the pressure of ocean depths to 120 feet deep. Presently, Aquarius is located in a sand patch adjacent to deep coral reefs in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, at depth of 63 feet. The laboratory is attached to a baseplate that positions the underwater habitat (underwater laboratories are also called habitats) about 13 feet off the bottom. This means that the working depth of those inside the laboratory is about 50 feet deep. Located inside the 81–ton, 43 x 20 x 16.5–foot underwater laboratory are all the comforts of home: six bunks, a shower and toilet, instant hot water, a microwave, trash compactor, and a refrigerator even air conditioning and computers linked back to the shore base, located in Key Largo, by wireless telemetry!

Location of Key Largo shore base and Aquarius

Location of Aquarius

Detailed bathymetry of Conch Reef Aquarius site

Topographical Map of Aquarius Location

[high resolution image ~ 250KB]

Location of Aquarius at Conch Reef, including work sites and instrument deployments

Aquarius is located at Conch Reef, approximately nine miles south of Key Largo, in the Florida Keys. Aquarius is located in a sand patch approximately 63 feet deep that is surrounded by spur and groove coral formations. Conch Reef is loosely described as a bank reef, with a shallow platform inshore and several deep reef formations found to depths of approximately 115 feet. The seaward spur and groove formations are located a relatively long distance from the shallow reef flats and appear to be antecedent formations with thin Holocene coral cover. A high resolution bathymetric map of the site is available. A good general description of reefs in Florida was compiled by Jaap (1984) and geological considerations are available in Shinn et al. (1989). Aronson et al. (1994) provides benthic community descriptions of Conch Reef and other sites in the upper Keys. A summary of research supported by the Center in Florida is available.

  1. Shallow S4 Current Meter
  2. Pinnacle Wall
  3. Deep S4 Current Meter
  4. NE Waystation
  5. Ridge Site
  6. Aquarius

Map of Aquarius Location

Three dimensional bathymetric representation

Three–Dimensional Bathymetric Representation of Aquarius at Conch Reef

Shore–based facilities in Key Largo

Two houses are leased in Key Largo to support the Florida Science Program. One house includes administration headquarters, accommodations for visiting staff, and extensive workshop facilities. A duplex is available for visiting scientists that includes comfortable dormitory–style accommodations, full kitchens, and laundry facilities. Modest laboratory space is located beneath the duplex and includes two science areas (with good benchtop space), a workshop, running seawater (that uses canal water of variable quality due to high nutrients, presence of coliform bacteria, and rapid changes during rain events), open benchtops, refrigerator–freezers, and a large capacity ice machine.

Shore–based facilities in Key Largo