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Diving Into Work

Oceanographers use tools ranging from simple nets to complex autonomous robots, but there are times when only a human presence in the ocean will suffice. WHOI diving safety officer Ed O’Brien watches as biological research assistant Zachary Mickiewicz enters the water for the final dive in his open-water training to become a scientific diver. In shallow water, diving allows scientists and engineers to directly manipulate instruments and make observations in situations where autonomous or remotely-controlled vehicles are not as useful. At the completion of his dive, Mickiewicz officially became WHOI scientific diver #466.(Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)