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Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and ovmed by the U.S. Navy. 

 Research carried out with ALVIN included investigations of 

 sediment and pollutant pathways in the Hudson River Canyon, 

 studies of deepwater radioactive and hazardous waste dump sites, 

 the Galapagos Rift Thermal Vent Area Study, and studies of the 

 Mid-Atlantic Ridge hydrothermal fields, which identified the 

 largest submarine polymetallic sulfide deposits ever found. 

 Submersibles were essential for these studies because they 

 allowed scientists to perform delicate experiments and 

 operations, accurately relocate sites to perform the same 

 operations on multiple dives, and most importantly, to observe 

 the environment directly and be able to make immediate decisions 

 concerning operations. 



Throughout the early 1970 's, MUS&T conducted several undersea 

 research programs in conjunction with the Office of Naval 

 Research, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Perry Foundation, 

 and the Harbor Branch Foundation. These programs centered around 

 the use of the manned undersea laboratories (also called 

 habitats) HYDROLAB and HELGOLAND. The habitats provided an 

 underwater living and working arrangement that enabled 

 researchers, for the first time, to work safely and effectively 

 for a full eight hour day without concern for the time 

 constraints associated with conventional diving operations. 



The HYDROLAB habitat, built by the Perry Foundation and purchased 

 by NOAA in 1977, was the focal point of many of MUS&T' s major 

 research efforts. The Bahama Banks Research Program was a series 

 of marine science and technology projects which used HYDROLAB 

 between 1971 and 1975. For that project, HYDROLAB was positioned 

 at a depth of 45 feet off the southern coast of Grand Bahama 

 Island near Freeport. More than 300 extended time (or 

 saturation) dives were made from the HYDROLAB, allowing 

 scientists to study the ecology of coral reefs first hand and to 

 determine the effects of pollutants on the reefs. In addition, 

 the habitat was used to train scientists and aquanauts. 



Creation of the National Undersea Research Proqr€un 



In December 1975, NOAA submitted to Congress a report entitled 

 "Concept Paper for the Development and Utilization of an American 

 Underwater Laboratory OCEANLAB". This report concluded that 

 existing facilities were inadequate for undersea research needs 

 and recommended that a highly sophisticated system be developed. 

 In July 1976, Congress appropriated funds to begin the 

 cooperative undersea programs necessary to develop expertise for 

 future OCEANLAB operations. This cooperative undersea program 

 was initiated in 1977 with NOAA's purchase of HYDROLAB and its 

 placement in the U.S. Virgin Islands. HYDROLAB was operated in 

 the Virgin Islands until 1985 and is now on permanent exhibit at 

 the Smithsonian Institution. 



By early 1978, engineering designs for OCEANLAB indicated that 

 construction and outfitting costs would be approximately $50 

 million, with a total 20-year operational cost of about $250 

 million. The high cost of OCEANLAB, coupled with a growing 

 concern within the scientific community that research 



