The open ocean - A Fascination for Fish: Adventures of an Underwater Pioneer - page 254

justed the ballast so the sub would be neutrally buoyant when on
the bottom. I was ready to go.
With butterflies in my stomach, I climbed up onto the sub and
squeezed through the access hatch on the top of the conning tower.
It was definitely cozy inside; only a contortionist would be able
to turn around. I lay down on a pad on the floor beneath the pi-
lot's seat. Dave climbed in, closed and secured the pressure-proof
hatch, and sat down, his feet on either side of me.
After Dave had given the okay to the hydraulic crane operator,
we were lifted up, swung over the side of the ship, and lowered
into the water. Clouds of silvery bubbles surged over the view ports
as the sub rolled in the surface waves. This could be a seasick ma-
chine if you had to spend much time rocking and rolling on the
surface. Throwing up in this tiny space wouldn't be fun for any-
one. The crane hook was released, and Dave quickly powered us
away from the side of the Point Lobos. Lying right next to a large
steel ship in a rough sea is probably the most dangerous time of
a dive.
Once we were clear, Dave asked if I was comfortable. I assured
him I was okay, and we started down. The bubbles at the surface
were gone and there was nothing but blue water ahead with count-
less particles of what is called marine snow (or, as marine biologists
refer to it, “sea snot”). It's actually complex stu¤ made up of or-
ganic flocculent debris that originates in the sunlit surface waters—
dead plankton particles, animal feces, mucus, and bacteria all
clumped together—and slowly sinks. Scientists are finding that it
serves an important role as a transporter of nutrients, the sun's en-
ergy, and carbon to the deep sea. Although I felt no sensation of
descending, the particles of marine snow looked as if they were shoot-
ing up toward the surface. A fish or two shot by and also went up.
The blue became darker and darker until eventually it was com-
pletely black. As my eyes adapted to the dark I saw flashes and
streaks of bioluminescence, the response of creatures disturbed by
the passing sub. At one point during the thirty-minute descent,
my mind wandered to the bizarre situation I was in, descending