Collecting data
By Phil Colarusso
Breathing air underwater
They pay me for this!
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) uses scuba diving as one of many tools to study and monitor aquatic systems. EPA currently supports 65 divers spread throughout the United States.
Divers are involved in a wide range of scientific pursuits, including studying, monitoring and restoring valuable aquatic habitats (coral reefs, seagrass meadows, shellfish beds), tracking invasive species, collecting sediment and water samples for chemical analysis and a wide range of other duties.
EPA divers go through a rigorous training program and are required to maintain high levels of diving proficiency and safety protocols. For more information on EPA’s scientific diving program go to: https://www.epa.gov/diving
Dr. Phil Colarusso is a marine biologist with US EPA Region I. He has been working on eelgrass restoration, conservation and research for 31 years. He and his team just recently had a paper on carbon sequestration rates in eelgrass in New England accepted for publication.
Enjoyed Phil’s sciku? Check out his previous sciku Blue Carbon and Invasive Species.