4 OBJECTIVES OF SEALAB II PROJECT 



Teams 2 and 3 only: 



Excursion diving 



Team 1 only: 



Fish migration studies 

 Fish gas bladder studies 



Team 2 only: 



Porpoise evaluation 



Team 3 only: 



Foam-in-salvage evaluation 

 Salvage tools and equipment evaluation 

 Geological airlift evaluation 

 Geological corer evaluation 



In addition to the above specifically assigned work assignments, many other assignments 

 had to be accomplished as part of the regular routine. These everyday assignments included: 



Watchstanding 

 Medical observations 

 Housekeeping 

 Pressure-pot transfers 

 MK-Vl set-up and check 



The investigation of physiological changes in man as a result of the extended saturation 

 diving of Sealab II resulted in a conviction that: 



1. No significant short-time physiological changes occur which result in deterioration 

 of the aquanauts' physical condition. 



2. Acclimation to stressful temperature changes of Sealab habitat living (85° F) and 

 ocean-floor swimming (47° to 54° F) occurs, with the result that aquanauts can perform better 

 and for longer periods of time in the surrounding ocean waters. 



The measurement of work performance to determine work degradation or improvement as 

 compared to surface-diver operations and as a function of dive duration resulted in the 

 following: 



1. The results of a lift-and-pull strength test showed a decrease in exertable strength 

 between dry land and Sealab. 



2. The individual triangle assembly (manual dexterity) tests revealed a 37-percent de- 

 crease in performance between dry land and Sealab. 



3. The Two-Hand Coordination Test showed a 17-percent decrement in performance 

 in Sealab. 



4. The three-dimensional group assembly task took twice as long in Sealab as on 

 dry land. 



5. No decrement was found between predive and Sealab mental arithmetic tests. 



Determination of stressful conditions and their effects on the group interactions of the 

 aquanauts leads to the conclusion that there can be little doubt that the Sealab environment was 

 stressful. The conditions which contributed to this stressful environment included the following: 



1. The water was cold and visibility poor. 



2. The work schedule, requiring long hours of preparation, was very often interrupted, 

 delayed or revised. 



