The ocean is vast. The means of exploring its depths, though,
is anything but. Terry Kerby, operations director and chief
submersible pilot for the Hawaii Undersea Research Laboratory,
shows the awkward position, bottom, a pilot must assume when aboard
the deep-diving submersible Pisces V -- half kneeling, half lying down,
with forehead pushed against a pad above the window. The Pisces V,
shown below with bottomfish researcher Chris Kelley, is about 20
feet long and can dive to a depth of 6,600 feet. Despite its size, it
carries enough oxygen to supply a three-member crew for six days.
Yesterday, after surveying bottomfish habitats around Oahu, scientists
reported an encouraging increase in red snapper, or ehu. The vessel
also has been used to explore the undersea volcano Loihi, among
other purposes. And sometimes it uses a suction device to collect
underwater treasures like the two shells below. The one in front is
a Sassia -- one of only four or five that have been collected
in Hawaii -- and behind it is a Mitra Maui, about a dozen of
which have been collected here. Both rare specimens were
alive when photographed yesterday.
