over 80 missions, beginning in December 1971 and culminating in a 

 series of deep excursion dives in April 1975. This project used saturation 

 diving, deep-air excursions, and submersible lockout techniques for 

 deep-reef studies of fish corals, algae, and the geology of the reef en- 

 vironment. These studies were done in cooperation with the Smithso- 

 nian Institution and the Harbor Branch Foundation, which sponsored 

 the use of the Johnson Sea-Link lockout research submersible in their 

 programs. In the course of the project, 314 individual saturation dives 

 were made by 212 different individuals, 22 of them women, with a total 

 of 1.682 man-days or over 4-1/2 man-years spent in saturation. 



NOAA has also sponsored research missions using saturation-diving 

 techniques to determine coral reef ecology; to establish the effects of 

 pollutants on reef metabolism; to provide a means of calibrating and ex- 

 tending the utility of in-situ instrumentation; and to provide a vehicle 

 for international cooperative marine science programs. NOAA, through 

 MUST and Sea Grant Offices, has also cooperated with USN Coastal 

 System Laboratories, Panama City, Florida, in providing support to the 

 training of marine scientists in conjunction with the Scientists-in-the- 

 Sea Program. 



In 1975. the NOAA Diving Manual was published. It is designed 

 especially for NOAA-sponsored working and scientific divers. The 

 manual addresses, principally, "shallow" water diving, to depths of 300 

 feet. The NOAA Diving Manual contains the basic information on ap- 

 plied diving technology needed to carry out NOAA's scientific in- 

 vestigations and working tasks. NOAA has also developed standards, 

 operational plans, and safety requirements for using research submersi- 

 bles and has established standards for the use of NOAA recompression 

 facilities and the training and certifying of chamber operators. In addi- 

 tion, NOAA. through the sponsorship of a study by the University of 

 Rhode Island, has been working with the U.S. Coast Guard in developing 

 information on fatal scuba-diving accidents, primarily recreational. 



Working closely with the National Institute for Occupational Safety 

 and Health (NIOSH), NOAA has been involved in the development of a 

 program concerned with the safety and health of commercial divers. 

 NOAA participated in a task force consisting of representatives from 

 NIOSH, National Heart and Lung Institute (NHLI), the U.S. Navy, 

 ERDA, U.S. diving contractors, and representatives of diving-related 

 labor unions formed to develop such a program. A "National Plan for the 

 Safety and Health of Divers in Their Quest for Subsea Energy" was pro- 

 duced by the Undersea Medical Society under a contract from NIOSH 

 with additional contract support from ERDA. NHLI. and NOAA. The 

 plan was prepared by over 80 international diving, medical, scientific, 

 and operational experts from diving-related industries, universities, the 

 USN, and foreign countries. 



71 



