Coral reefs are also among the earth s most threatened ecosystems. But the reefs are significant for more than their biodiversity and their status as endangered ecosystems -there are economic reasons for their study as well. Reefs also help to maintain beaches through cycles of growth and erosion and the development of seagrass and mangrove ecosystems are linked to reefs as well. In contrast to its predecessors, Aquarius is really more a laboratory than a habitat. In addition to a comfortable living environment, Aquarius provides enough space to conduct experiments and includes computer and electronic capabilities to permit research that could not be accomplished any other way.
Scientists spend six to nine hours a day in the water and often venture out at night as well.
With 21 missions off Key Largo, Aquarius has revolutionized the study of coral reefs. Bleaching is the term given to the occasional, massive and sometimes fatal coral maladies that have mystified and alarmed researchers for over a decade. Researchers previously thought that ultraviolet radiation was filtered out in the top few meters of ocean water. Theories about bleaching must now consider ultraviolet light, as well as the higher ocean temperatures that have long been suspected, to play a role. Studies conducted from Aquarius , a mere 100 kilometers from Miami and just offshore form one of the more populated Florida Keys, have measured natural cycles related to nutrient chemistry and assessed the potential for sewage contaminated water to affect reef organisms.