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Live underwater classroom modules were broadcast from the NOAA Aquarius, the world’s only underwater laboratory, during Project SeaCAMEL from 12-14 November 2007.  These marine science classes have been archived and are available below.  They are unscripted reality TV from the bottom of the sea, involving real scientists doing real experiments, funded by the Living Oceans Foundation.  They are geared to a university audience, but also applicable to advanced high school students and college undergraduates.  Each module has ancillary reading, and web resources, and most have associated data sets suitable for use in guided quantitative exercises.  Enjoy!

1. Introduction to Aquarius: External and internal tour of Aquarius habitat to show Aquarius as an undersea laboratory (marine engineering and technology); broad overview of all modules (given by Dr Patterson from inside the habitat)

2. The reef at night: Focus on behavioral changes of reef organisms – feeding by corals and large predators, fish sleeping (e.g. parrotfish in mucus cocoon), and using ultraviolet fluorescent imaging to see reef organisms in a new way.

3. Reefs under Siege: Introduction to coral biology and threats to reefs; use Pulse Amplitude Modulation (PAM) fluorometry to measure photosynthetic health of corals in the natural environment (light and shade) and under stress (the upstream and downstream sides of coral that is having water pumped past it).

4. Sponges – the reef’s filters: Inject dye into sponges to show and calculate rates of pumping; measure oxygen levels around of the water passing into and out of a sponge to calculate rate of metabolism.  See how sponge size affects metabolism: the mouse-elephant curve.

5. Physical oceanography: Boundary layer measurements – oxygen profiles from seabed to a few meters above seabed; does the Aquarius induce a local “island mass effect” thereby altering the physical environment of the reef?

6. Aquarius as an artificial reef: Video and photo surveys of fish populations around the habitat – do fishes have a preference to shelter on upstream or downstream side of structure?  Can AUV technology be used to quantify fish populations – AUV fly-by collecting side-scan sonar imagery?