The Western Regional Undersea Laboratory: A New Research Facility For Temperate Water Marine Scientists

In late 1984 the University of Southern California plans to conduct its first science mission from a new saturation diving-habitat complex at Santa Catalina Island, California. The Western Regional Undersea Laboratory Program will consist of a 9-foot diameter, 40-foot long habitat attacbed to a baseplate in 70 feet of water, and will allow aquanauts access to a variety of substrates and habitats including large kelp beds, rocky reefs, and a highly productive soft-bottom area. Typical missions will include studies on algae physiology, animal behavior, physical/ biological interactions, resource development, pollution, human physiology, gear development and archaeological survey methods. Emphasis will be placed on long- and short-term experimental work, and will be oriented toward making maximum use of the available study sites and the need for saturation capability.