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FlowerGardensReef_Explorations_Schmahl_GP_GalvestonTX_22April2024_Reel4202.mp3

G.P. Schmahl [00:00:01] The underwater submersible and the remotely operated vehicle, or ROV, technology really came into play when I got to the Flower Garden Banks, and that was something that I had never really been exposed to in the Florida Keys.

G.P. Schmahl [00:00:15] But these deeper areas along those other reefs and banks along the edge of the continental shelf are much deeper than the Flower Garden Banks. And so you can't really, except for a few, you can't really study those efficiently using SCUBA diving, and trying to put an underwater habitat down is also very logistically challenging.

G.P. Schmahl [00:00:32] But you can use ROVs and you can use submersibles.

G.P. Schmahl [00:00:36] And right about the time I got to the Flower Garden Banks, Dr. Sylvia Earle, who is, you know, a famous marine biologist, oceanographer, one of the early, you know, female SCUBA divers and proponents of marine science, served at a time as the chief scientist for NOAA, still is active in her 80s, still diving, still promoting protection of the marine environment.

G.P. Schmahl [00:00:58] She got funding to do a project with the National Marine Sanctuary program called the Sustainable Seas Expedition, and it was a five-year expedition, right around 1999 when I started at the Flower Garden Banks. And she had worked in conjunction with these folks who had developed a a single-person submersible called the "Deep Worker". And it could be utilized down to 1000 feet or more. I think it was rated to 2000 feet. And it was simple to operate. You could do it, you know, just with one person.

G.P. Schmahl [00:01:33] So, she brought these deep worker submersibles to many of the National Marine Sanctuaries and carried out projects for the National Marine Sanctuary program.

G.P. Schmahl [00:01:41] And so, I was able to get involved with the Sustainable Seas Expedition and got in on the ground floor, and I was able to get trained on the Deep Worker submersible and became a, you know, sort of pilot of the Deep Workers, and able to utilize those submersibles in the exploration of not only the Flower Garden Banks, but many of the other reefs and banks along the edge of the continental shelf.

G.P. Schmahl [00:02:06] So, and I really I have to credit Sylvia Earle for bringing access to that technology, to helping do some of the research on those areas that eventually became those same areas that were part of the relatively recent expansion of the Flower Garden Banks. In 2021, after a long process, the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary expanded to include a number of other reefs and banks.

G.P. Schmahl [00:02:30] And I really think that those Deep Worker explorations, and the mapping that had to be done in order to support those explorations, were instrumental in raising awareness, providing information that resulted in the expansion of the Flower Gardens Bank National Marine Sanctuary.

G.P. Schmahl [00:02:48] And then, I also was able to dive in some other submersibles. Dr. Bob Ballard did a project at the Flower Garden Banks in 2007 or so. And of course, Bob Ballard, you know, he's a very famous oceanographer. He's the guy that discovered the Titanic and a number of other things. He has used submersibles throughout his career. He's out of Woods Hole, or was at the time.

G.P. Schmahl [00:03:10] And he brought the Navy nuclear submarine, the NR-1, to the Flower Garden Banks. And I actually got to ride in the, in a nuclear submarine to explore some of the areas of the Flower Garden Banks as well...

G.P. Schmahl [00:03:26] And at the same time, we were also utilizing remotely operated vehicles extensively. And, there's a group out of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington that has a underwater vehicle program with remotely operated vehicles. And we utilized those systems extensively over the years to, again, to research those areas that became part of the expansion of the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary.

G.P. Schmahl [00:03:50] It kind of all started with, with Sylvia and the Deep Workers.