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Gearing
Up
Typically,
the Dry Valleys' divers went down solo, different to most situations
in which divers work in buddy pairs, each looking out for the
other. Solo descents were possible because the communication system
meant that an underwater problem could be rapidly communicated
to the surface. If help was needed, a standby diver, geared up,
could get in at a couple of minutes notice.
"The big advantage of diving solo - with communications
- is that you can concentrate fully on the job at hand, rather
than having part of your brain always thinking about your buddy",
explains Donna. "It also halves the number of people in
the water and, hence, decreases the potential for damage to the
delicate lakebed. And it reduces the overall size and complexity
of the operation". |
Donna
descends into the hole |
In addition to the diver and the standby
diver, the third and last person on the Dry Valleys' dive team was
the supervisor. The supervisor tended the air hoses, made sure that
everyone was safe, and that the dive was proceeding at least close
to the plan.
Donna
hands a sample bag up to Maria
|
The plans generally allotted
only around 45 to 50 minutes for the divers to collect
samples. After that, their hands got too cold for them
to properly manipulate instruments.
To find their sample
sites in the low light environment, the researchers
followed a rope that led them to stakes made of plastic
tubing that marked sample locations.
The rope also had another
all important function - that of guiding the divers
back to the one place in the ice where they could surface
and have their teammates pull them out.
|
|
Ian after he
gets out
of the dive hole |
Photos courtesy of Karen Cozzetto.
May not be used outside this website without her express permission.
|
