Beneath the Five Oceans Thirty Years of SCUBA Experience
Mikhail Vladimirovich Propp
™m
Translation of: V glubinakh piati okeanov Leningrad : Gidrometeoizdat,
tridtsat' ISBN:
1991. 255: 1p.
letpod vodoi. M.V. Propp.
5-286-00321-4. Copyright 1991 M.
V. Propp. Reprinted by permission of the author from an unpublished translation, with image scanning and text editing by Peter Brueggeman,
retired Director of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography Library of the UC San Diego Library.
Doctor of Science, Biology, Mikhail V. Propp is one of the pioneers of underwater research in the USSR, and he has great experience in scuba diving in the Arctic and Antarctic, off the Kuril Islands and the Great Barrier Reef.
This book about my personal experience in the formation and development of underwater research in the vanished Soviet Union is, of course, a very Russian book. At the same time alongside with the national and social specifics it depicts a lot of things, characteristic of pioneers in general, and in a broader sense, the frontier psychology - the underwater world has been a challenge to a man and the very last frontier he could cross without any assistance from the state or any other governing bodies, at his own risk penetrating the underwater realm. Unlike in the West, money under "socialism" was of little importance then, since everything was distributed by the state through different bodies and institutions. The order, however strange it was, had its benefits, since one could get accustomed to it, and get many of the necessary things and services either free of charge or at a ridiculously small price. There was also a shadow economy ready to offer assistance at any time for the corresponding fee.
One way or other, practically having no access to considerable funds and lacking assistance from the central, very conservative Moscow organizations for a number of years, I had an opportunity to develop scuba diving as I wished and thought right. Only twenty years after, when public interest and concern about underwater research got dampened, and official diving operations with its strict rules and orders, borrowed from the military and extending into underwater marine research, did my influence on divers around gradually came practically to a halt. I continued to be respected as a living relic of the past, and enjoyed freedom to dive.
I dived off all the continents and was the first to use scuba in three polar seas - in the Barents Sea in 1959 (I cannot tell for sure if the Norwegians started to dive in the West Barents Sea in the same years), and in two Antarctic seas in 1965-1966. Yet, Russia lagged several years behind the rest of the world. The chapter on tropical research is likely to be of little interest for many readers, since they were well described in numerous books by the time we got access to tropical waters. In Russia they say - you cannot drop a line from a song; if I meant the book for a foreign reader, I would have written differently. Still, I do believe it will find its reader as it is. I should also apologize for the quality of translation, which in some places is obviously awkward.
M. V. Propp
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1: Chapter 2: Chapter 3: Chapter 4: Chapter 5: Chapter 6: Chapter 7: Chapter 8: Chapter 9: Chapter 10: Chapter 11: Chapter 12: Chapter 13:
INTRODUCTION: page 4
FIRST STEPS: page 10
TO THE NORTH: page 19
PROFESSION-ECOLOGIST: page 27
THE SIXTH CONTINENT: page 40
DEEPER AND LONG
Tr.
ER: page 51
MORE SCIENCE: page 66
THE PACIFIC OCEAN: page 82
TROPICS: page 88
THE WORLD WITHOUT TH
USHISHIR, CRATI!
Gl n
UN: page 109
EXPEDITION DISCOVERS THE ALI
EN WORLD: page 119
ER: page 127
CONCLUSION: page 137
To all those, who dived.
To all those,
To all those, who waited.
who never came back.
INTRODUCTION
Thousands of years ago, when primitive men approached the seashore for the first time, they were sure to feel perplexed and horrified. Men's fear of water has very deep roots - unlike many of the quadrupeds, monkeys, apes and people by nature cannot swim. While in water they strive to get out, holding their heads above surface, unless they choke and drown. The animals that move on four legs swim in the same way they walk, and all of them, even the ones that avoid water - like cats, - can swim from birth. There is no need to teach them to swim since they can walk.
Man's fear of depth continues today. Eskimo people inhabiting the northern coasts of America and Asia subsist on fish, seal and whales. By a single skillful move an Eskimo could bring on an even keel the overturned kayak - a tiny skin boat. But none of them could swim, and more than that, a person fallen to the sea was considered to be lost. Even if he managed to get out, his fellow- tribesmen killed him; he was no longer a man but some evil spirit that imbued the body of the dead, since no man could get out of the water alive. Really, even the best of swimmers are unable to endure a few minutes in the icy cold water of the Arctic, and death by hypothermia is inevitable. In the areas wher water is not so cold, fear of sea has never been so absolute.
No doubt, population of the sea coasts with their abundant and easily accessible food resources started in early prehistoric times. On the North American coasts the first European colonists met Indian tribes that fed on mollusks, digging them out of sand with long sticks. On the southern extremity of the American
a
hemisphere, on the gloomy shores of Terra del Fuego, the natives subsisted on what they could find at a narrow tidal strip, while their women dived in ice cold water to gather mussels.
Nevertheless, there are several reasons that delayed man's penetration into the underwater realm for millenniums. There is no oxygen under water to breathe, man's eye can distinguish little unless there is a glass and air layer before it, and hands and legs are poorly designed for movement through water. There is a legend, hardly true, that Alexander the Macedonian submerged in a glass submersible. Through its walls he would have been able to s the underwater life, but even the best divers of ancient and medieval times, although able to dive at reasonably large depth and stay under water for a long time holding their breath could see almost nothing and had to move to the touch. From ancient times the stories about the constructed diving bells reached us, and from a technical point of view there is nothing impossible in that. Nevertheless, all these stories exist now only in the rendering from medieval centuries, and there is little certainty whether some of the projects were realized in ancient Rome, or whether only brave conjectures of scientists are in question.
he situation changed in medieval Europe when seafaring flourished. Ships sunk requently right in harbors with all their cargoes of priceless treasures rought from distant locations, and not less valuable bronze cannons. Kings, surers, bankers and other rich men spared no expense to rescue their wealth. here were lots of adventurers ready to risk their lives, and scientists who ried to design a submersible vehicle. Many of the sunken treasures were raised rom the bottom of the sea soon after the wrecks, although sometimes divers worked in conditions that are considered to be difficult even for modern advanced technology.
hot He OM
On August 10, 1628, the "Vasa", a famous Swedish man-of-war, sank within an hour of her launching in Stockholm harbor. She sank at a depth of 30 meters,
considered water, King's orde
to be a great dep
Swiss scientis
— 7
th in those times particularly in cold and and was absolutely inaccessible for free divers. ts had constructed a diving bell and with g difficulties managed to rescue almost all of the bronze cannons. After
reat that
turbid In 30 years upon the
the
frigate's hull was lost for more than 300 years and rediscovered again in 1956.
Advanced modern gear was used to lift it,
is hard for us - for instance, kets and hoses we
Sometimes i those times all the gas tarpaulin.
In the early nineteenth century, the to a helmet. This gear turned out to diving for more than 120 years, just
equipment. A diver in this suit can stay under water for a long But he moves slowly and awkwardly, to the ship with a hose and usually with a lin
out different complicated jobs.
with the wo
absolutely unknown, treated leather and
rk lasting for five years. to evaluate the difficulties and achievemen seals made of rubber were re made out of specially
ts of and
air pump was improved, and be such a success that it was used for recently being ousted by mo
as well, h ds several
n
tenders, a diver meant the use of ven
mainly a small diving bell on the
with an air pump at the surface, div
professionals whom one could admire and envy, devoting all of one’s life to the purs known French biologist Alphonse Milne-Edwa the assistance of several Greek divers.
researched Gullmar Fjord,
ba Ca wi
thysphere in a kilometer of depth.
ribbean Sea, thout a suit. Later h
Ww
wrot
the warm and transparent wa Dear reader.
rs represented a rather small group of but never belong to unless uit of diving. As early as 1844,
In the 1920s, ry enthusiastic diver was the became famous for diving ina da helmet to study fishes of ters of which allowed one to dive
who
He us
diving equipment and at least once in your life have a look under the sea
surface, there is nothing that could Yet, in spite of some exceptions, circle of professionals and scientis books, and films about the sea benea majority of people had nothing to do
eyes of experts. By late 1930s,
reduced a diving helmet to a mask covering th
rubber fins. This made the underwat This gear was soon completed with an and stay under water for several hou
In several years, enthusiasts of diving unheard-of enthusiasm. first time used SCUBA
Buy, lend, if you can't - s
be compared to a coral reef under wa
diving remained a prerogative of a narrow
t until new equipment was invented. S th the surface were popular,
with it and could see it only through
CO
enthusiasts from the Mediterranean Sea coast and invented
nose and eyes only, r world more accessible at shallow wate oxygen rebreather,
rs, but was rather dangerous in use.
stirring a wave of
the bell reduced
re sophisticated time carrying he is bound
and he is subject to danger while descending and ascending. When being tilated gear,
head
a well- rds dived in helmet near Corsica with a Swiss Torsten Gislén and his diving method can be regarded as a model even according to today's standards. Another ve prominent ichthyologist William Beebe, the
teal
ries,
but the great
the
rs.
allowing one to breathe
books and films by Jacques Yves Cousteau and some other early became known all over the world, Was that due to the fact that Cousteau's team for the designed by Emile Gagnan? It is likely to be one of
several reasons - the idea was not a new on The same patents have been known since the second half of nineteenth century, with the original being a technical treatment alone. The combining of three elements: a mask, fins and rather cheap, reliable and safe breathing apparatus turned out to be a crucial thing. Having
gotten rid of a hose and lines connecting a diver to the surface, aman may seem
of a necessity to have tenders, freedom of fish. The significance of
such events as research in the Arctic and Anta aviation - it was a time when the first genera
appeared, the Earth seemed to reduce
finally to have acquired the
the inven
tion of jet passenger airc
in size, and distances became shorter.
and gotten rid
tion stands in the same line with rctic and the brisk development of rafts
One of the reasons for accessibility - after s
or construct scuba equipment and start diving. Different people pu
different goals in thei scientific research was
r yearning to penet
rate th
each individual. A desi stimulators of human activity;
were already known to p for more than a century,
lf to humanity,
up deep emotions and de ups.
that
and what
the immense popularity of diving was its relative veral lessons one could purchase at a reasonable price
rsued
underwater world and
not always the main or only objective. An immense world full of mysteries and wonders revealed its re to discover some it can stir behavior of both individuals and large gro rofessionals,
is more - to
thing new is among the most powerful
termine the
The fact that many of its wonders the sea had been an object of study was of little importance to the enthusias
CS.
Almost nobody among the pioneers of diving were professional divers or
scientists. Everything began from a zero point. Who wer devoted all their lives to diving, or several years, dreamers, idealists, adventurers,
thos
who
aim, or had their aim alr the question. In a course for others diving was but contributed to the discov
ady b of years some of them became professional researchers; an episode. ries mad
n
reached? No definite answer can
Those who dived in the 1950s under the sea surface,
are no mysteries left, at enthusiasm to penetrate th
least the ones underwater r
traces in the history of science and man known to divers and scientists although from different angles, t from books, inaccessibility and maybe some of its at ty around men.
everyone knows about i
become a part of reali Russia has several kinds of
in diving. Before field research on obtained were kep
the industry star
rathe
ret.
tC SEC
were too heavy,
In late 1956 in Moscow and Leningrad, widescreen films - was demonstrated. Among o
the old traditions of underwa
kind. The underwater world
films, and TV. Deprived of its
tractiveness,
ter research. In pre-World
r good oxygen rebreathers wer and during World War Two, the underwater physiology of mixed gas diving,
ted to produce the fi only as a means to train in swimming.
made it rather easy to get high pressu years previously would have been rathe and aluminum alloys we
"Twenty Minutes Under Water," depicting scuba dive . This film a the first documentary reel about the underwate and then a film releas gained an immense popularity
seaweed, and sea stars was the World of Silence" Bruno Vailati,
xperienced befor were not very much separated in of people. Lack of diving gear enthusiasm. less skilled engineer. already been used in aviation, fill scuba tanks. Nevertheless, rebreathers. These oxygen rebr
sponges,
SCUBA is rather simpl It was mo
and
developed and
re seldom used.
the latest novelty of cinema
thers
peopl or several months - or fanatics? Did they pursue an unattainable
but In 1955-56 on the eve of the postwar Olympic Games, rst specimen of fins that were The development of metallurgy and aviation re compressors and light tanks r difficult to construct since steel tanks
be given to
1960s
and nowadays there that are close to the surface. alm is in the past, but it left its
Mass
had been
while nowadays
the underwater world has
War II years, widely used
academician Leon A. Orbeli conducted
the results
regarded
that twenty
technique -
there was one film titled
ttracted no attention,
d lat the "Blu
v,
experience could not s
re and in ath
utilization was possible only when
experience by following all the
r world. A Cousteau film Continent" by that documentary cinema never
In several months underwater travel and sport diving that those early days thrilled hundreds and thousands top the wave of
rs in the Mediterranean Sea,
although it AY Tey
to be designed and constructed by a more or
difficult to make a compressor, a discarded plane comp
the first years, many used
strict rules were obs
but they had
ressor could be used to oxygen rs did not require a compressor,
rved. Those who gained rules acquired enough practice in the long run,
but their
but many who ignored them never returned from their dives. By 1960 the use of rebreathers was practically stopped; experience showed that they wer xtremely difficult to ensure a diver's safety.
Science enthusiasts - marine zoologists, biologists, geologists, and archaeologists, placed great hopes on new methods to penetrate the underwater world. Hordes of amateurs longed to look under the sea surface. The first though not numerous groups of divers with masks, fins and diving gear appeared on the shores of the Black Sea in 1957. In winter 1957-58 at the marine clubs of the Voluntary Societies of Assistance to the Army, Navy and Air Forces of Moscow and Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg), the training of instructors for unprofessional diving was organized. The programs trained oxygen rebreather divers preparing to work at rescue stations. There were no domestic made scuba tanks yet, and it was unclear whether oxygen rebreathers supported swimming underwater, as it was designed for divers with heavy loads who worked underwater in a vertical position. Later the first masks and scuba tanks were manufactured and in summer 1958 several expeditions worked on the Black Sea coast. Almost all of them employed all sorts of self-made improvements, and the quality of diving equipment left much to be desired.
The geographic area of diving enthusiast activity in the first years was limited to the Black Sea alone, where it seemed one could dive in summer without a diving suit. In reality, nevertheless, suits were necessary almost everywhere. In many respects the Black Sea resembles the Mediterranean (although the marine life here is less diverse), from where scuba diving started. The warmest and calmest of all Russian seas, the Black Sea in years to come preserved its role as a ground for conducting research and tests. At the same time it becam obvious that it was necessary to explore all the seas surrounding the country, although diving conditions in them were much more complicated. In the early 1960s brisk research of the Northern seas as well as the Japanese, Caspian, and Aral Seas began. The first expeditions were mainly from Moscow and St. Petersburg; later on the most powerful center of underwater research was formed in Ukraine. Research groups were established at the Barents and the White Seas, as well as in the Far East Pacific seas.
By now the Russian researchers of the world ocean have achieved great results. Studied was the ice cover of the Arctic Ocean, sea animals and plants of Antarctic, coasts and islands of the Southern seas, coral reefs and coastal waters of the tropical seas, and craters of active volcanoes. The results obtained late 1950s - 1960s seem primitive, even obsolete now. Nevertheless that was the time when the foundation was laid and the path to follow determined, personnel trained, and experience gained. Everything that made it possible in the years to come was put forward and the tasks to use for research diving were resolved, in studying polar latitudes and many other things. The times when new, undiscovered, pristine worlds, continents, and islands appeared before researchers now belong to history.
Nowadays a scientist seldom discovers anything in the traditional sense of discovery, i.e. faces something absolutely unknown of which the novelty and originality is obvious at first glance. If, for example, a biologist discovers some new species, it should not be understood so as the newness is clearly seen. As a rule there exists only some possibility that should be either confirmed, or rejected by the scientists, who are experts in some separate classes and kinds of animals having access to different collections. The discovery of a new species might take years. The situation in experimental sciences is even mor complicated. The results of the experiment usually became clear after the
statistical treatment. Very often different interpretations are admitted that may cause objections and a need for repeated tests.
Does that mean that an immediate discovery itself has no place in modern science? To ascertain that would be premature. In research there is always a place for the unexpected, particularly in research of such natural phenomenon as the ocean. On the pages of this book the discovery of deep-water oases hydrothermal vents, is mentioned. This gave impetus to the searches for unusual manifestations of life in the areas of volcanic activity in shallow waters, and these searches turned out to be a success. But this is a rare exception. It is very common: a scientist discovers something new, but understanding of the originality of his discovery is obvious only to some of his colleagues and very often is of purely local importance. In academic approach, ocean resources and the possibilities to discover something new are inexhaustible, since new
problems appea
The image of a literature. Bu another withou in reality. Ve
r more rapidly
true scientis
than their
t any difficul ry often years
solutions are fo
t differs considerably from rning with inspiration and genius, ties and mistakes does not correspond to what it is pass in monotonous labor wi
followi
und.
that depicted in ng from one discovery to
thout any achievements,
and sometimes it happens that after years of work the them ither expires itself, or someon lse takes the leadership. In this case it is hard to estimate whether the results obtained paid back or whether it was a deadlock way.
The euphoria of the first years when great hopes were placed on diving has passed completely by now. In a great number of sciences such methods of research re auxiliary. Man underwater - even in the best gear, is but a visitor, his bility to carry out work is very limited and related not only to the quality of iving equipment, but some technical and scientific skills, and special
raining. The underwater realm has lost its charm of novelty and attracts few ople unless they work in it or study it. For the professionals it is in the irst place a job like any other. The underwater world is beautiful, but a rofessional usually works in turbid water, over a flat sand or silty bottom where only a specialist can see anything at all. A person whose job is underwater can feel satisfied at the thought that he was able to overcome the difficulties, carry out hard and sometimes dangerous work, but seldom he realizes himself as a pioneer or feels deep emotions while underwater.
Tw Mh'd tag wo
For more than thirty years of diving the author faced different situations, and dived at the shores of all the continents and in all the oceans. These expeditions and works cannot be regarded as something prominent concerning achievement or hardship - this was ordinary research according to the standards of that time. In this book the author has his objective the task to convey the spirit of the epoch when the underwater world just started to reveal itself to the pioneers of underwater research, but he does not aim to follow its history. It is not yet written, but one can get some impression about it from the books
published in those years, many of which, unfortunately, became a rarity.
Underwater research was and still is a collective activity; one cannot readily conduct it alone. None of my work would have been possible without the cooperation and generosity of my friends and colleagues, and without them this book would have never been written. A feeling of unanimity among the people who risked their lives for the cause of common deed is deeper than any other emotions, - together we lived, worked, and dived. I cannot take the liberty of describing that particular feeling, but cannot but mention it. Those ones who
dived or climbed will understand what I mean. One either can or cannot be a
diver or a mountaineer; there is no middle ground. Underwater research, nevertheless, is not an isolated activity, its objectives changed as it developed, and gradually it became just one of the means to supply the laboratories with material. Some special issues of marine science are touched upon in this book to such a degree as is necessary to understand the way of our research.
The pictures used are made mainly by the author and also by V. Vakhranev, S. Rybakov, and N. Ivanov. [PB: For this translated edition, pictures from the book that are human-oriented featuring people, divers and diving operations, etc. are incorporated. Pictures featuring animals, nature, scenery, etc. are not incorporated.] The author expresses his deep gratitude to experts who helped him to classify the animals, mainly the researchers for the Institute of Marine Biology, Far Eastern Branch of the USSR Academy of Science, Vladivostok and Zoological Institute in Saint Petersburg, - Yu. Latypov (corals with lime skeleton), A. Maliutin (soft corals), O. Kusakin (invertebrates), V. Levin (echinodermata), A. Sakharov (tropical fishes), V. Shuntov (the Kurils Islands fishes), S. Chaplygina and S. Grebelnoi (hydroids and coelenterate).
FIRST STEPS
As a child I felt a strong yearning to glance underwater, and out of a gas mask, several inflated balls and a tap, I made a sort of a diving apparatus and put my head under the surface of a small lake near Leningrad. In 1956 I was a chemistry student at Leningrad University. Classes, student activities, and sport swimming took all my time and left little hope that someday I would repeat my childhood's experience. But late 1956 in the "Velikan" cinema hall, I saw a French widescreen film "Twenty Minutes Under Water", and a yearning to see the underwater world with my own eyes became my goal. Nothing is inaccessible when you are young and full of enthusiasm. By summer 1957, all the basic problems
were settled. The most important thing was to find the advocates.
A young lecturer at the Refrigerator Institute, Yuri Kuzin, was elected as head of our small expedition that comprised two of my fellow students: Tolia Zosin with whom I trained in a swimming pool, and Dima Korolkov. Kuzin and I graduated from a professional diving school with a certificate of junior diver and a right to dive using hose helmet gear and oxygen apparatus. There were some vagu
rumors about SCUBA but nobody knew anything definite. We decided to use oxygen diving gear. Somewhere Kuzin got the components of discarded oxygen equipment; out of them I, being a chief technician, collected seven units apt for use. We made masks, bought fins, filled a large rubber bag with carbon dioxide absorbent, and several tanks with oxygen. And here we were, in a train to Feodosia, where we were to meet a group of archaeologists who could not help us with money but directed us to a number of sites where we hoped to discover the ruins of ancient ports and sunken ships. Our plans were grandiose, although we were yet to see the sea for the first time in our lives. Soon we arrived at Koktebel. In summer 1957 the Crimea's beaches were nearly deserted, with the tourist boom several years ahead. The country more or less repaired the damage inflicted by the war, but people did not yet travel much.
Our first diving ... The sun was hot, water - warm and transparent. We were beside ourselves with joy. The most breathtaking film adventures fade when you s the underwater world with your own eyes: kelp forests, crabs, colored fish, and mussels in their own element - everything excited us. In my heart, every time I dived I expected that something strikingly unusual, something beyond human imagination would happen. Alas, this was never realized; the reality if measured by the present day standards was more than modest.
But at that time marine wildlife was still pristine. Although fish in the Black Sea were less diverse than in the Mediterranean Sea, to say nothing of coral reefs, they were absolutely not afraid of man. One could come very close to scrutinize fish, almost touch. In the next year, 1958, a well-known English writer, James Aldridge, one of the pioneers of underwater hunting, came to the Black Sea especially to s the fearless grey mullet. Crabs, some being very large (there are no crabs that size now), were not afraid of us as well. In the first post-war years, a large gastropod mollusk - Rapana shell - got to the Black Sea from the Far East. The number of these most beautiful predators reached its peak in the 1950s, when Rapanas were met everywher
We spent a fortnight diving when some tiredness began to tell, partially related to over cooling in water. We did not have any difficulties while diving since we were rather well trained as sport swimmers. While in water we felt no fear or tension and could dive without breathing apparatus at a depth of 20 meters. Unfortunately, we failed to understand that in these achievements of ours, there were the portents of our future failures. We thought that there was nothing unattainable for us, and ignored nutrition, rest and diving regime - it was nice to realize that you are in good shape and there are no limits to your capabilities.
In Koktebel we found nothing worth interest but a few sea-rolled crocks, and decided to shift our expedition to Novyi Svet. This site is one of the most beautiful in the Crimea, and before the war they happened to find on the shores the ancient amphorae. Having looked around the site that in beauty of scenery yielded nothing to Koktebel we started to dive in search of archaeological artifacts of which ceramics were best preserved. We had to dive at a very great distance from the shore since a flat bottom 12-18 meters deep - marginal for our equipment - was several hundred meters off the shore line. We had no boat and had to swim to our diving place using inflated bags of our oxygen rebreathers as safety belts. (If all the taps and valves are properly closed an eight-liter bag keeps a man afloat.) The place from where we dived was rather far from where we lived. Every time we walked a long distance carrying all our heavy gear, and after that we swam several hundred meters to the diving place. Physical load increased considerably, tiredness aggravated.
In a few days we found the first broken amphora, then detached pieces and fragments of pottery, and enameled cups. The most difficult thing was to orient ourselves both under water and on the surface; very often we failed to get to that very place where something interesting was found. Y. Kuzin telephoned th Simpheropol [Simferopol] Archaeological Institute, they promised to send an archaeologist and local newspaper correspondent to see our finds. They also had to help us with a boat and to put the places on the map.
So far we kept on diving and thanks to our boundless enthusiasm increased the duration of diving to marginal limits admissible for oxygen equipment. Some technical problem appeared. A diver who uses a rebreather inhales oxygen from a rubber bag and exhales carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is removed by a special absorbent with soda lime in its composition, and additional oxygen supplied from a tank. When a diver comes to the surface gas both in bag and lungs expands. Even inconsiderable ease of pressure corresponding to a raise by 2-3 meters may cause lung over inflation and rupture, so-called lung barotrauma - one of the most serious illness of divers. To release th xpanded gas a bag is provided with a release valve. In our ISAM-48 apparatuses a valve had a hand-closed screw, closed when a diver in water turns his back down in order not to release oxygen at pressure difference to the water.
We have noticed that despite all our precautions and pressurization tests some water penetrates our apparatuses and the absorbent gets damp. If the absorbent becomes wet during diving it still works, but on the surface a crust covers the granules, their activity greatly reduced. Diving with such an absorbent may cause carbon dioxide poisoning. If the absorbent hardly works carbon dioxide accumulates ina bag very rapidly and a diver may lose consciousness in 2-3 minutes without noticing it. This happened to Dima Korolkov. Fortunately he was attached to a line and we took him to the surface immediately, there were no any grave consequences.
Soon we found out that release valves leak in water, since the gear was designed to work in vertical position, when rubber tabs are contracted by pressure difference. But if a diver swims horizontally contracting forces disappear anda valve leaks. Tolia Zosin suggested to close the valve before diving and to open it just before ascending, but I considered it to be rather dangerous, since one can't always rely on his memory underwater. The accord was not reached, and everybody did as he considered right. Everything could have been all right but for the exhaustion that accumulated gradually: a possibility of mistake increased.
For several days we worked as usual at a distance of about 400 meters from the shore trying to find new amphorae and their fragments and really found them from time to time. Strange it may seem, they were of different types and size and belonged to different epochs separated by centuries. We discovered nothing that could remind of a sunken ship and gradually arrived to a conclusion that these are not traces of a wreck, but broken pottery tossed overboard for centuries at the times when Novyi Svet was a port city. The fragments themselves were not of real archaeological value, in large quantities they were found at land excavations. We tried to find some traces that could help us to understand the past and explain the origin of these diverse pieces of pottery.
6 a 2 = o< zO of ze a | Mg eo =
TO. H. Kysun c name nepsoi amopoi.
Usually we dived thr times a day and stayed under water for 25-30 minutes during each dive. This happened during the third and final dive of a day. Tolia and me - Kuzin had his rest after diving, Korolkov was on duty and made dinner - reached our diving place, opened the valves of our tanks and went to the bottom in 15-16 meters of water. For a long time we stayed in transparent blue water orienting ourselves to our surroundings and the sun that struggled through the water thickness. The sand bottom was deserted but for occasional rocks and fragments of pottery that we ignored - we had enough of that stuff.
Thirty minutes passed - maximum time one can stay at that depth without risking acute oxygen poisoning. We exchanged "lift" signal - oxygen was coming to an end - and went to the surface. Head above water I turned to see the shore, looked around in search of Tolia and saw him nowhere. Then I suddenly saw his head
above water several meters away; Zosin was in a helmet and did not move. Horrified I approached him; he remained motionless and only a bag inflated during an ascent kept him afloat. I tore the helmet off him; his eyes were open, but he was unconscious. I gave him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. A yellowish foam went out of his mouth. He breathed and suddenly started to kick his legs and arms on the water. We both went to the bottom, and water closed above us.
By some great effort I managed to push him and myself back up and took several deep breaths. The shore was approximately 400 meters away and it seemed as far as another continent. I pulled a lifeless body for several meters until again we went down through the layers of blue water where reflected sunbeams played. The sea so beautiful and so indifferent to what was going on with us. Once more I managed to get to the surface and immediately we started to drown. "We can't
We simply can't drown here. Not we ..." Thoughts beat in my head, pink circles danced before th yes, I made efforts to understand what was wrong. "It must not be that way, oxygen apparatus holds a swimmer on the surface like a life belt, so either mouthpiece taps or release valves are open and gas leaks." Holding Tolia's head above water I started to poke about my gear and soon discovered that in a haste I forgot to close the release valve. Turning on the cover I pressed the by-pass button. The pressure in the tank was low, gas hardly hissed, but finally the eight-liter bag was inflated. I examined Zosin's apparatus. Taking the helmet off him I hadn't close the mouthpiece tap. In the same way I inflated his bag. Under no circumstances we could drown now.
I pulled Tolia to the shore and from time to time I cried and waved my hands, but Kuzin was too far away to hear. Sometimes unconscious Zosin began to kick his arms and legs trying to swim, yellow bubble escaped his mouth. We approached the shore unbearably slowly.
Finally, Kuzin heard the cries, helped to pull Tolia and took the gear off him. Under barotrauma of the lungs, gas bubbles might block blood vessels in different organs, including brain and result in grave consequences. The suffered had to be placed in a high pressure chamber. The nearest was in Sevastopol, and that was as far is the Moon. Tolia was unconscious, foam on his lips. Fortunately, in three of our apparatuses there were some oxygen left. We laid Zosin face down, switched on the apparatuses to open circulation and put a mouthpiece into his mouth. In 2-3 minutes his breath stabilized, pulse steadied, Tolia regained his senses. But as soon as oxygen in the apparatus came to an end, he lost consciousness again.
There was no doctor in the village and we faced a very difficult choice: either to help him with our own forces, or to transport him through all the Crimea risking his life. Although there was no paralysis or any other particularly dangerous symptoms, Zosin's condition was very poor, he was half conscious, respiration and pulse quickened. Later I got to know that barotraumas are
ndured easier if oxygen is inhaled, since gas bubbles are absorbed by the tissues. Luckily, we just recharged all the cylinders. We put the apparatus near Tolia so he could use it whenever he felt bad. Every time oxygen inhalation brought instant relief, but it lasted as long as he breathed in gas. We all had a sleepless night, and by next morning Tolia was out of danger, only later on he could not remember that day.
An accident with Tolia, although ended well - in two months medical examination revealed no breach in his health, - showed all the difficulties and risks we faced. Yet, we did not give up diving, although the aggravating exhaustion and sense of danger dampened our enthusiasm.
In years to follow underwater pursuits in Novyi Svet were continued by other groups. Better preserved and rarer amphorae were found, but nothing principally new was discovered.
Baarojapa HOBbIM CAMORCABHBIM allapaTaM MpOLOAMUTeENLHOCTL CHYCKOB YBCAHUHNACh, HO OHH HE CTaH MeHee OnacHBIMH. 1958 roa.
The situation changed drastically next summer. In 1957 in two months’ time we had met on the Black Sea coast only three amateur divers - two with self-made masks, and a lucky one with Italian mask, snorkel and fins. In winter 1957-58, hundreds and thousands of people became divers. We continued our work without Kuzin, who through the diving section of his Institute managed to get a large boat that required repair, and decided to boat in it on the Volga and through the channels to the Black Sea. We were not interested in that since too little time would be left for diving. With certificates of divers, somehow improved equipment, including diving suits, and cameras we went to Novyi Svet again. A student of Leningrad Shipbuilding Institute Zhenia Zeiger and Tolia Zosin's younger brother Lionia joined our expedition.
We had to use oxygen gear again - there was no time and forces to make scuba and a compressor. We could dive in the Black Sea using th quipment we had, but we ran more grave risks as the number of divers and diving increased. Frequently we met groups with scuba, usually self-made, but the expedition of Moscow
University was equipped with the apparatuses of the well-known Draeger Company.
Relationships in those times were rather casual, allowing us to test different types of scuba. Before that only once did we dive with scuba, and that was with the Marine Club in Leningrad in 1958. The advantages of scuba over oxygen equipment - reliability, simplicity, safety - were obvious. We had met a large
amateur expedition among the members of which were Slava Stepanov and Oleg
Serov. Their engineer skills and the capacities of the plant where they worked allowed them to design and construct very decent gear: their compressor, scuba, masks, and fins were of better quality that the ones produced by the industry. Good gear allowed them to dive deeper and stay under water longer, than it was
possible in our rebreathers.
The most important thing was, of course, safety.
The season brought no particular discoveries, the area was better studied, pottery collected, a short film shot. This time we did without accidents, but some minor troubles like carbon dioxide poisoning still happened.
The expedition completed, report written and handed in to the archaeologists,
the question arose: what next? We were rather experienced divers since oxygen equipment makes you think while you are under water. But now better equipped expeditions worked on the Black Sea coast, besides, underwater archaeology did not appeal to us. To undertake it, it is necessary first of all to be an
archaeologist, to have a well The Crimean archaeologists co
provided technical base and lots of other things. uld hardly help us since divers became so numerous
that it was necessary first of all to control this spontaneous activity so that unique underwater artifacts were not damaged by amateurish excavation. In
general we had an impression prospects. It is desalinated,
that the Black Sea did not promise us any bright plants and animals are not so numerous and diverse
here as in the other seas, the flood of divers and holiday-makers increased from
year to year and we simply go abundant in marine life, with were not far from Leningrad.
cv tT
t lost in it. We wanted to s the other seas deep waters. Such seas - the Barents and the White
TO THE NORTH
They started to research these northern seas as early as the second half of the
late ninet
last century. In th were set up there. Th but nobody yet dived ther
incomparably more severe than in the Black Sea: that cause strong and unpredictable currents, fauna of the Barents Sea is more diverse
nth century a number of biological research of these seas had its history and achievements, using SCUBA. The diving conditions in the North are
stations
cold deep waters, high tides inhospitable climate. Flora and and rich than that of the Black Sea.
The White Sea was not so rich and thus little attracted us.
Our task was very complicated. We had to replace th make new cold-proof diving suits and lots of other things.
students and our capabilities wer
rather limited. volunteers for our expedition - at that time peopl
oxygen gear with scuba, to Yet, we were just
Zosin and I failed to recruit preferred to spend their
vacations on the Black Sea coast and the idea to have a vacation in the North
sounded ridiculous. Kola Peninsula coast. mosquitoes. better. Through
Murmansk Hydrometeorological Observatory on A response was categorical:
Barents Sea.
I myself had a very vague idea about the conditions In my imagination tundra was a vast flat marsh ab Zosin born in Monchegorsk near Murmansk knew the Kola Peninsula the administration of the Marine Club we made an inquiry at
on the undant in
the possibility to dive in the
"Diving in the Barents Sea is
impossible due to large quantity of sharks and killer whales." Getting ahead of
my story I say that having worked for more thousand times near the Murmansk coast, likely that even in winter when sharks come near a depth attainable for a diver. whale fin only once from a great distance.
than saw a Great the shore,
Polar shark. It is they never appear at
than thirteen years and dived more neither I nor my team divers ever
We saw a killer
Having got such a response the Marine Club administration refused us any
assistance. people wer
diving school had not only golden hands but brains. for himself and agreed to make one more for us. Vasiliev considered that time has not yet come to
Fortunately, our club-fellows attitude was different. very gifted. One of them Victor Iogansen whom I first met at the
Many of those
He was making a compressor Medical Institute student Tolia
xplore the Barents Sea, but
to dive in lakes near Leningrad he developed rather simple technology to produce
diving suits out of thin rubber.
A design of self-made scuba was worked out apparatuses were completed. Unfortunately 1959 and we ourselves had made two rathe mining respirators of 1936 - a museum ra good quality. Our friends helped us a lo
was prepared.
At that time interest in diving was grea I was invited at the Insti
great demand.
We could
use that.
in the Club; later on twenty
they failed to produce them by summer r decent scuba using close-circuit rity, discarded long ago, but of rather
t and by summer our minimal expedition
t and trainers and instructors were in
tute of Cytology of Academy to deliver
course of lectures on scuba diving and to conduct several training lessons but
without diving since the only one in Leningrad, others were self-made and not approved for
Marine Club; all
There I met Aleksei V. Ph.
Zhirmunski,
of Science, at the Institute and great enthusiast of th asked us to deliver
a scuba ABM-1, belonged to the any official diving.
Biology, underwater res
scientific secretary arch. After hearing 120 liters of
that we are going to the Barents Sea h
seawater to study sea animals. We were paid forty rubles each which was very
fortunate,
and were assigned to Dalnie Zelentsy.
In the very last hours left
before the departure we still soldered and packed our equipment, scuba, compressor, suits, and boxes for cameras.
The train took us to Murmansk, where we changed to a very old "Derzhavin" ship that once a week headed for its voyage along the coast. A trip to Zelenetskaia or Dalnie Bay took a day. In the mid-1930s, the Academy of Science established a biological station there, shortly before our arrival reorganized to the Murmansk Marine Biological Institute.
The very first hours in Kola Bay struck me; Zosin happened to be here before. I imagined the North as a dull plain, but instead saw high precipitous dark and red rocks that steeped into the sea, streams running down the slopes. The sun shone brightly, streams glittered, tundra criss-crossed in all colors. Sea birds flushed by the ship ran on water surface a long time before to they took off, dolphins and seals played in water around the ship. Seaweed forests were seen in the transparent water. There was nothing of the leisure beauty of the Crimea, but the Northern nature impressed.
The sun never set, we spent all the night on deck. The Derzhavin entered a narrow Iarnyshnaia Bay, we transferred to dory - a small Pomor boat that took us to a shaky wooden moorage whose piles were covered with long and thick strips of kelps. The only truck in the village took us to our destination. Shortly before that a coastal fish processing plant was shut down here, with fishing and processing now being done on the large floating factories. The plant's premises and barracks for workers were in good condition still, and together with other students we occupied a large room soon packed with our equipment. The warden of a hostel showed us where the oars from the boat belonging to the Institute were kept, warning that we should see it was not smashed through the rocks during the ebb. In a pump power station we installed our compressor, and our preparations to diving completed.
Particularly striking on the Barents Sea coast was a littoral belt several hundred meters wide that revealed at ebb tides. Ebbs on the Murmansk coast are semi-diurnal, i.e. occur twice in 24 hours, to be more precise - in 24 hours 47 minutes. Marginal difference of levels between a flow and an ebb depends upon the relative position of the Sun and the Moon and in Dalnie Zelentsy was almost five meters difference. All of the littoral was densely covered with kelp of several types, and some of them were provided with air bubbles that raised them during a flow tide. Algae swarmed with different small animals, particularly numerous were gastropod mollusks with twisted shells and amphipod crustaceans. One could walk on the littoral belt for hours scrutinizing its diverse population and collecting the most interesting specimens. That was the task of the numerous students for their practical work in hydrobiology and invertebrate zoology, as well as the researches of the Institute studying the littoral belt.
As for us we were to explore the depths of the sea, insufficiently known in those times due to lack of diving facilities. To study soft sea bottom - sand and silt - trawls, dredges, core samplers wer mployed, which are of little use on rock bottoms.
Regular research of the Barents Sea by the Russian scientists in the early nineteenth century, with a great amount of work carried out by Professor K. Deryugin at a station in the Kola Peninsula. In 1915 he published his capital work "Fauna of the Kola Bay and the Conditions of its Existence". Bearing in mind the population of the rock coastal bottom he wrote: "...these biocoenoses remain as an inheritance for the scientists to come." Later on we were to carry
out that precept of his, but at the moment we were guided by the adventurous motives mainly, although we knew of his work by hearsay.
We took our equipment to a small cape as if on purpose named Probnyi (Trial)
that was four hundred meters off the Institute's premises in a narrow strait
between the islands. We were particularly fearful of rising and falling tides and started to dive with great caution.
Bnepsiie nox soay Bapennesa mopa.
2 A2i1n
The richness of the sea life was striking. First we swam above the littoral which was covered with vertical thickets of algae - rockweed and bladder wrack, glittering in the sunlight patches in all shades of yellow and brown. Among them amphipods and numerous juvenile fish resembling small cod swam.
per were forests of long kelps - laminaria. At first there were the lashes of
ugar wrack up to two meters high, and they gave plac hick leather-like blades were cut in several lashes and waved in water hither
to split whip wrack - its
he function of an anchor or sucker. Small mollusks
covered with a thick
cringe of red and green algae. Laminariae held onto the rocks with powerful hizoids that resembled the roots of the land plants,
but in reality bore only
D Ss and thither like long strips of light-brown. Some wer f c
mussels, sea anemones,
rabs and other animals were abundant. Here, very close to a shoreline one could ummage for hours, but the greater depths appealed to us.
At Probnyi Cape the laminaria belt was narrow, and soon after it spread the fields of red algae - Lithothamnion in their appearance resembling small corals. All the sea floor was covered with sea urchins of green and violet colors. In the dim light of the polar sun the floor itself seemed pink-red because of the numerous colonies of Lithothamnion that covered it in a thick carpet and formed incrustations of the most whimsical forms. Echinoderms common for the fauna of seas with normal salinity and almost lacking in the Black Sea were numerous and diverse here. For the first time we saw the ordinary large starfishes of Asterias kind, and more rare colorful multi-armed Solasters of half a meter in diameter of all shades from blue and violet to yellow, and bright-red Crossasters, usually with fourteen arms. All these starfishes are predators,
they feed on all types of sea animals - sea urchins,
large bivalve mollusks -
horse mussels, whose shells look like the ones of the Black Sea mussels, but
larger and coarser and numerous others.
The impressions were numerous, as were the difficulties. We had to carry all our
equipment to the diving places that were sometimes several kilometers away.
Every scuba weighted 22 kilograms not counting a suit, diving underwear, fins, weight belt, camera boxes and lots of other things. We failed to decide which is better: to pull 50 kilos for once, or to divide the load and walk twice. At times we used a boat, but it was a large awkward and cumbersome thing discarded
as a lifesaving boat from a ship years ago. Two rowers were not enough for it,
it moved at a snail's pace. Our equipment caused us lots of trouble. Something was wrong with the system of sealing of our suits, and soon we had to ignore the numerous pinholes in rubber. After the first diving woolen underwear in the best of cases got moist, but very often became soaking wet since we dived twice or three times a day. There was absolutely no possibility to dry out the underwear, while to put on a wet one was torture. Although the water was not very cold - from seven to ten degrees Celsius, hands and soon all the body felt cold from the very first minutes of diving, and seldom did we swim for more than twenty minutes. Our boundless enthusiasm helped us to overcome all the hardships, and we were busy from early morning till late at night - it was a polar day and the sun never set hanging low above the sea like a red-hot saucepan.
Tleppnie akBasiaHru. BapeHueso mope.
Once late at night there was a knock at the door and Oleg Serov - our friend in the days when we dived in Novyi Svet entered the room which was blocked up with the gear in all the stages of repair. We were surprised not only at our friend's unexpected appearance, but the news that other divers worked here; we never saw anyone. It turned out that Oleg was a participant in the expedition that left Moscow several days ago and he had to join it in Murmansk. The expedition reached Zelentsy only by the next ship bringing with it a powerful compressor and equipment, in comparison to which ours was very primitive.
Delirious with joy we tried to share our first impressions about the true sea, but only Serov and a friend of his Slava Stepanov and two or thr other peopl shared our excitement. It was one of the regularly occurring periods of bad weather and the view of a sullen clouded sky depressed many of the expedition members. W xpected that the newcomers would start diving immediately, but instead they organized a meeting where only one question was considered: to leave for the Black Sea immediately, or stay here for several days. A compromise settlement was reached, and for a couple of days we were allowed to use their
compressor and dived a lot with Serov and Stepanov. Soon the expedition boarded
the ship and we were lef
Every time we expanded o
t alone face to face with our unreliable compressor that
overheated and stopped constantly; we wasted half a day to fill our tanks.
ur area of diving and on the days when there was no
storm rested on the seashore and swam in a narrow strait. We could not ignore
ebb and flow tides: they and only for a very shor reason we had to choose
are inconstant, their force and direction changeable t time did they stop during high and low water. For that the time so that the tides helped us, not prevented us
from diving. In many places precipitous cliffs steeped to a depth of more than 30 meters, and very often it was hard to find a place to moor a boat or have rest. It was very easy to get lost underwater among the large stones covered with kelp. If a diver fails to come back to the place from where he descended the consequences may be grave, since the currents are too strong to swim
against.
SCUBA is simpler in use than oxygen equipment and a diver does not run a danger
efficient and safe. Bitt
we did without accidents we saw around; each tim
to lose his consciousness due to the slightest mistake. We were rather well trained, but we still organized our diving so that the work under water was more
r experience we acquired in the Black Sea made us
rather cautious, and although not everything was as good as we wished it to be,
. For all our efforts we were rewarded with everything
we dived we saw new plants and animals of which was
known little or were unknown. Sponges, sea cucumbers, numerous crabs, and other
sea creatures gradually became for us not some abstract object of curiosity or
study, but a reality of our everyday life.
Our problems were related mainly to our equipment that left much to be desired.
Only scuba proved rather
reliable, but soldered alternately with silver and tin
solders they rusted by the seasons end so that it turned out impossible to repair the holes. According to some strange rul veryone who undertakes something new from a zero point follows the way of technical progress all by himself. In technical books of the 1950s advanced methods of sealing, and design
of valves were described
. Nevertheless, at that time and later the underwater
cameras were provided with fingers cut off from rubber gloves, and there were lots of other "improvements" of the kind. The development of the present day diving suits took more than twenty years, and while nothing principally new was invented, some features of rubber were taken into consideration. If the same
amount of investments as could have had much more
the ones made in space-suit development were made w perfect diving equipment.
But even with our leaking suits and unreliable cameras, and a compressor in
permanent need of repair Barents Sea is inhabited
, we advanced in our knowledge and experience. Th by plants and animals of different origin, and related
to the particularities of its hydrological regime. The greater part of the sea
freezes in winter and is
inhabited by polar water organisms, in general typical
of the whole Arctic basin. The Gulf Stream warm current that takes its source in
the Gulf of Mexico penetrates the sea from the southwest. One of its branches comes near the Murman coast, that is why the sea here never freezes in winter and alongside with the Arctic animals it is inhabited by the warm water ones, so-called boreal organisms. Many of them are characteristic of the coastal waters of France and Portugal, and despite the numerous slight differences the general outlook of the coastal animal and plant communities along the European coast is very similar. Depending on fluctuations of the Gulf Stream’s power and the century climatic changes the boundary between the Arctic and boreal
population groups shifts
constantly.
AxsananructTe: Ha Bapennesom mope.
Starting to dive at greater depth in the straits along the open seashores w discovered animals considered to be rare here. There were large sea urchins Echinus esculentus (i.e. sea urchin edible), of 12 centimeters in diameter, and large crabs resembling the Kamchatka king crabs but smaller. K. Deryugin saw these animals near the Kola Bay, but during all that time that biological station operated in Dalnie Zelentsy only a few specimens were caught. Now it turned out that they are not at all so rare, but live at a depth of more than 20 meters in the straits on rocky bottom. We were very proud that the specimens w collected were placed in the Institute's museum and the director himself, Professor Kamyshilov came to have a look at them.
Mikhail M. Kamyshilov was an extraordinary person. In the 1930s while working in Moscow he had written one of the best works on genetics in the country (today it is still cited). But in 1948 genetics was proclaimed a pseudo-science and it was changed for so-called Michurin's biology, in fact the same Lysenkovism that promised to resolve all the scientific and applied problems of biology and agriculture in the shortest time possible. That biology had very little to do both with I. Michurin and science in general, since it demanded to take on trust all the dogmas without any objective proofs. M. Kamyshilov had to give up his research and move to Murmansk Biological Station where he studied zooplankton.
Very soon the groundlessness of the administrative solution of the scientific problems became obvious, and genetics regained it place among other sciences du to the development of nuclear power engineering and the striking achievements in
microbiology that developed new antibiotics. Yet it didn’t happen immediately and for some time there was both classic genetics and Michurin's biology. M. Kamyshilov headed the institute he organized on the basis of the station, but never came back to genetics. A very dynamic, erudite person speaking several languages he was one of the first real scientists whom I met. He was formed both as a person and scientist at the times when science was not regarded as a productive force and nobody expected any practical results from it. As director of the Institute Mikhail Mikhailovich was not always right, but everybody admired his personality and creativity.
He invited me to his office. I never saw a director’s office so filled with Petri dishes of the protozoa cultures that he studied that time, anda microscope in the middle of his large table. Later, working at the Institute I got to know that this very microscope served not only for the research. If some annoying person entered the office the director bent over microscope and said: "Later, I'm counting." Mikhail Mikhailovich offered me to organize a diving research team at the Institute.
That was when I for the first time pondered on the prospects of my future life and work. I could not accept the offer immediately, since I was assigned to one of the Leningrad-based research institutes. Fortunately, that particular institute just as the Murmansk one was within the Academy of Science, and transfer to the Far North could by no means be regarded as evasion from assignment. There were vacancies at the Murmansk Institute since by some strange order the application of polar benefits did not extend to it.
I had to change the profession, since I was a chemist by education and knew little of marine biology and zoology. How could I apply my chemistry background that I must admit was hindered considerably by diving? The sea appealed to me, but there were some family problems and it was not clear what would I do in the North during long polar nights and what at all I would do. I could not give an immediate answer, but Kamyshilov's offer sounded irresistibly appealing to me. My spirits were vague, we kept on diving for two more weeks, and then with large bottles of seawater for the Institute of Cytology and collections came back to Leningrad.
That autumn I was appointed as senior laboratory assistant. I studied kinetics of thermal decomposition of plastics ina full glass experimental apparatus. But my thoughts were at the steep cliffs, I heard sea birds cry and felt that unusual smell that only the sea has... Particularly depressing was that before my eyes I saw another senior laboratory assistant, a junior researcher who had worked at the laboratory for several years and was getting bold, and so on, so forth, all the way up the hierarchy to the laboratory head, a respected scientist with high degrees. Many of these people worked within one and the same laboratory for years. Kamyshilov's offer appealed so that it was impossible to resist.
My family was against my removal to the North, they would like it more if I worked as chemist in Leningrad diving - so be it - at vacation time. But the decision was made. The formalities delayed me in Leningrad for a year, in summer of 1960 I was again in Dalnie Zelentsy with two scuba, a diving suit and small amount of poor equipment.
PROFESSION - ECOLOGIST
They gave me a warm welcome at the Murmansk Biological Institute. But nobody could imagine what I, a chemist would do, as well as what underwater explorations are and how one can manage them. I got a free hand and they offered me their assistance in taxonomy. The director agreed to cover some small costs to invite two or three divers in summer time, reimbursing their travel and meals expenditures. From time to time I dived alone, but had not enough courage to make it a system, so in the fall of 1960 I invited K. Gorchin, an old friend of mine to visit me in the North. By that time a great number of divers had already gained experience in the Black Sea, and our film, pictures and stories about the diving in the North aroused interest and stirred another wave of enthusiasm. More appealing were the Far Eastern seas, but for the majority of Muscovites and Leningraders they were beyond their reach. The sports club of the Academy of Science once organized an expedition to Moneron Island, a small islet with clear water and rich life near Sakhalin. The academicians could manage flying to the Far East, but the common people could not afford such a trip; Murman was much closer - a little more than 24 hours by train from Moscow or Leningrad.
The matter with diving was cleared somehow, not with the choice of research theme. In the late 1950s - early 1960s at many institutes the groups started to apply the new underwater approach to research. In general diving training was not very good, while equipment was not supplied much at all, say nothing of the quality of it. For years they invited amateur-divers to carry out different works. Large diving clubs, particularly the ones in Ukraine carried out their own research programs. At the same time it became clear that the underwater investigations should be conducted by professionals.
The hardest task of all was to choose the research theme - I had little knowledge of biology, while nobody could help me. To suggest a theme to a young researcher is difficult first of all because it must correspond to those aptitudes of a person that should reveal only during his work. The ability to suggest to a beginner the appropriate object of study is a gift not every scientist has. If the task chosen is too complicated a young researcher can fail in it, while too simplified it may be of no interest, the results disappointing.
At first I intended to observe the behavior of fish under water, to register their reaction to the sounds of bass and infrasonic frequencies. The majority of fish have special organ - a lateral line that in ichthyologists’ opinion let them sense movement and low frequency acoustic vibrations. Such disturbances appear when any object, fish itself, moves in water; they almost never die down and are propagated a long distance. They are likely to create the acoustic picture of the world for the fish, since the light even in transparent water does not penetrate deep. The study of fish behavior in relation to low frequency vibrations is of interest from a theoretical point of view since it may open a possible way to the control of fish behavior at sea. Nevertheless, the issue is very complicated to be researched: th xperiments cannot be performed in tank, since the length of acoustic waves in water is very large. I realized that there is not any reasonable technical and scientific approach to that problem; the undertaking itself seemed unreasonable. I decided to explore more accessible and better studied communities of the sea floor. As for the species composition the plants and animals of the Russian northern seas have been reasonably well studied. Marine hydrobiology appeared almost simultaneously on the Black Sea coast where Sevastopol biological station was established in 1872, and in the North Sea, where a small station in the Solovetskie Islands appeared in 1881. The Solovetskie Islands belonged to a monastery and upon the synod's complaint (the lay educated men drink vodka, don't keep fasts and bring women to the
islands creating temptation to the monk's brotherhood) the station was soon closed. K. Deryugin put great efforts to open the new station in 1899 in the Kola Bay, the Barents Sea. I knew Deryugin's works rather well, and practice was
ahead of me.
peocsnt
/lanbune 3exeHuEI B Kypry.
It was hard to choose the specific research topic; one needs both a feeling and experience for that, but luckily, ecology - a science on relations between an th vague boundaries.
organism and its environment is a very broad subject wit
does is the subject of ecology." I had nothing against
Eugene Odum, a founder and leading figure in modern ecology wrote: "An ecologist is a free bird, he decides for himself where to go and what that
uncertain whether I would be able to cope with the purely biological job of
to do, and what he approach, but felt
sample treatment and taxonomic determination of the animals collected. The
literature on the subject is voluminous. I could also count on assistance of the experts. The animals of the Barents Sea are well presented in the collections of both our and the Zoological Institute; nevertheless, it took me several years to overcome that uncertainty and start practically treating the samples in full
scale.
There were two things to be cleared out in the first place. First - how typical of the Murmansk coast (later on the works were held in the other areas of the Barents Sea) were the regulations of plant and animal distribution in the area of Dalnie Zelentsy. Second - what were the seasonal changes in the vertical distribution of marine life?
The first task was resolved mainly by small offshore expeditions. The Institute had two small vessels of 40-65 tons capacity that took us to the different points along the coast. For two-thr weeks we worked at one point using inflatable dinghies or walking along the shore, then the vessel came and took us to another place. We visited a number of islands and bays from Kharlovskie Islands in the East to the Ain Islands in Waranger-fjord in the west.
As early as the Middle Ages the Ain Islands were famous for their rich hayfields that belonged to a monastery off Pechenega. Large colonies of sea birds, puffins, eiders, gulls, terns inhabit the islands. Long ago the islands were proclaimed a wildlife preserve and bird colonies are numerous here.
Puffins are the most beautiful birds here. They are rather small dove-size birds with a red beak, white front and bright black feathering. Puffins belong to the Alcidae (auk) sea bird family that includes auks, guillemots and some others. With their strong beak the puffins dig holes in a soft turf soil where they hatch two eggs. The holes are found on the islands only, since there are no small predators here - ermines, weasels and rats - mortal enemies of sea birds. Several nesting-places in the Ain Islands belong to puffins, the rest of the territory occupied by the numerous colonies of gulls, eiders and terns.
The underwater realm off the Ain Islands in some general features was similar to the other places of Murman, but particularly was noted for its richness and diversity. Seaweed several meters long formed thick forests, below stretched Lithothamnion fields teeming with sea urchins and starfishes of all types. Further followed dull sand slopes, but at a depth of more than 20 meters Lithothamnion appeared again inhabited by numerous animals, scallop among them. The latter one was not only beautiful but delicious and nutritious. Among the underwater population of the Ain Islands, as it was expected, warm water boreal forms prevailed as compared to Murman. In our net collecting bags we found oar weed typical of waters off England and Norway but never discovered here befor Warm water Echinus sea urchins and Lithodes crabs were abundant, hermit crabs, gastropods and bivalve mollusks common for the European waters and occasional to the east off the Kola Bay were abundant.
ira
The waters off the Kharlovskie Islands to the east off our Zelenetzkaja bay were characterized by abundance of cold water organisms and lack of many species we found off Dalnie Zelentsy. At the same time the basic, or so-called dominant forms of the rocky bottom population of the Murman coast were very similar or close; the general impression of the underwater environment in different points of Murman was approximately the same.
YoOexume Tin 3MMHHX CHyCKoB.
These high granite islands to a larg xtent were an antipode to the low, covered with rich vegetation the Ain Islands, and impressed with their arctic magnificence. Steep cliffs were occupied by the rookeries of guillemot and auks. Total number of birds reached a million which was large for the Barents Sea. Th birds fed on zooplankton and small Arctic cod. That fish spawns in great quantities in the areas of the upwelling where bottom waters rich in nutrients come to the surface. In summer time these nutrients comprising nitrogen, phosphorus, and silicon are absorbed by the numerous microscopic algae, which in their turn serve as food for the herbivorous crustaceans, consumed by predator crustaceans, eaten by fish and birds.
As a result of several small expeditions it was elucidated that sea organisms inhabiting the Dalnie Zelentsy area are typical of all the Murman coast of the Barents Sea and that is why it was expedient to conduct the research here.
These few years were the time w
hen the backbone of our team of divers was
formed, people who nearly always spent their vacation time in Dalnie Zelentsy and participated in expeditions. They were V. Iogansen, A. Vasiliev, B.
Kotletsov, S. Aganezov, S. Ryba from Moscow. There were lots of
and help
in our work. Those wer
by a common interest and passio
Gradually we gained experienc based on thorough personal training of every diver under the guidance of an
experienced coach. The rules established by the official diving service could hardly help us. There were no g managed to learn how to scuba d trauma ear bleeds, with treatm understand his senses. Only by
and what surface.
kov from Leningrad, O. Serov and B. Volodenko others who came once or twice to see the North
e very different people, but they all were united
n for diving and underwater exploration.
and worked out a system of accident-free diving,
rave accidents in our group, but few people ive without damaging the ear drum. Under the
is not, when you may s Our doctor S. Aganezov
nt required. To prevent the trauma a diver should personal experience one can learn what is allowed tand ear pain and when it is necessary to
did well with the cases.
In the early 1960s Dalnie Zelentsy became very popular with divers. Every summer large groups of divers came here, and several accidents with lethal outcome
happened
. It was necessary to i
nvestigate all the reasons to make our own diving
safe, and to work out some rules and recommendations for amateur divers who very often did not have any experien diving training was either formal, or based on good swimming results. Skills
acquired under such sportive training are useful to carry out that kind of work during the implementation of which lungs and circulatory system fail to supply
the tissues with
ce. Accidents were caused mainly by two reasons:
the required amount of oxygen, resulted in oxygen deficiency
that is liquidated gradually after th xercise is completed. The use of these skills in cold water, in a cumb and caused oxygen deficiency of
consciou
sness, Since in human b
fall of oxygen partial pressure was secured did not always provide safety: there were the cases when a diver
ascended
to the surface, tossed
ersome and rigid diving suit hindered breathing such a degree that it resulted in a loss of
ody there are no organs warning of a dangerous in blood. The use of a line to which the diver
off a helmet and lost his consciousness. He
usually drowned before buddies managed to drag him out.
Neither me, nor the director of diving. We approached the issue
air free powerful tanks we thorough years we
the Institute had any formal right to forbid from another angle. We could provide compressed
to all the certified d compressor. I worked o re filled only after th ly. This measure howev did not have any grave teams were able to s
ivers, Since by that time we had a rather
ut the regulations on accident prevention, and
e heads of the diving teams studied them
c simple it may seem proved efficient: in twelve mishap, not counting ear barotraumas. Even the the underwater realm of the Barents Sea, while
weakest the most
xperienced divers und
erstood that there is no easy diving here. Up to
now I praise it as my great achievement that we managed to do without
administ divers.
rative measures or any It is hard to tell for
kind of prohibition and helped a great number of sure what role was played by the safety system,
but when I left and our group disintegrated, mortal accidents started to happen
again.
Tlepex norpyxxenuem
It should be noted that the very spirit of the time was conducive to the achievements. Now it is hard to imagine particularly for those who never participated in a collective work at that time that the attitude to a deed, the aims and motivations differed greatly from the present ones. The majority of the participants in our diving were not going to become professional divers or researchers and never pursued any mercenary or selfish goals. The very participation in an exploration of the unknown underwater realm was both the ulterior motive and the highest reward. Numerous were cranks who spent months to make the gear to dive once or twice. Many of the hardships we perceived as something absolutely natural; nobody complained or showed his displeasure at the idea that to reach a diving place one would have to row in a cumbersome boat for two hours. The general level to resolve all sorts of technical, organizational, research tasks was rather low at that time; the same work can be done quicker and better nowadays.
Attitude to a job as the main thing in one's life was a characteristic feature of late 1950s - 1960s. At long polar nights many windows of the Institute were lit - in all the laboratories the work was done. At that time it was considered to be improper to write a Ph. D. thesis during work hours. All sorts of formalities like reports, plans, and meetings were not numerous, at least behind the Polar Circle, but all the researchers had to do the rough work for themselves. I have already mentioned the director who himself counted bacteria colonies in Petri dishes and did the job any laboratory assistant could do.
Nevertheless, skilled as they were at practical work many of the staff knew little foreign languages and the world scientific literature; with great difficulties they wrote research publications, the greater part of the materials piled up in unpublished reports nobody ever read. Because of research journals' heavy burden of manuscripts the publication was delayed for years; a scientist defended his dissertation years after the thesis was completed. The majority of the Institute's personnel worked hard in expeditions and for a long time processed the data collected. Frequent absence from work, long tea breaks and
personal career interests were not at that time so wide spread as to hinder the research, at least in the Far North. Disputes among the staff occurred, but the feeling of unanimity was so great that they never allowed them to prevail.
Jlero — Bpema akcne_unMi,
Life in the North was hard; meat was in scarce supply, while fruits were delivered here only twice or thr times a year. In summer we hunted for sea birds, although their meat has a very specific smell. Hunting and fishing were not regulated and were practiced in all seasons and without any licenses. Rifles and cartridges were sold freely. All the cargoes bound for the Institute and materials for construction were unloaded by the researchers with the help of primitive winches. Living conditions were poor beyond description, but there were little complaints. There occurred hard drinking, suicides, some people left Dalnie Zelentsy for large cities, but the backbone remained and worked. On the whole it was austere, but an exciting life. Nobody felt himself to be a second- grade person, since nobody considered that true science was made in Moscow or Leningrad only, while we are too far away. Everybody did what he did and regarded it as important and necessary. Spring and summer were the seasons of general animation - the human dependence on natural factors is more obvious in the North than anywhere else.
The Kola Peninsula changed little since when the first people appeared her several thousand years ago. That was the last glacial period and prehistoric tribes inhabited the seacoast free from ice, some of the sites preserved till nowadays. Of hordes of wild reindeer, few remained. The White Sea coast was inhabited by the Russians hundreds of years ago, and the distinctive culture of Pomory developed here. In summer they fished in Murman in their small sailboats, and happened to reach Scandinavia and Spitsbergen. In the river mouths small temporary fishing towns counting several thousand residents appeared. Nevertheless, the permanent population was very small, and only in the late nineteenth century some measures were taken to urge people to stay here for permanent residence. The true adoption of the Murman coast started in the 1920s when commercial trawl fishing began to develop and numerous fishing villages appeared.
B. C. Jly6anon.
In the 1930s they fished mainly from the traditional Pomor boats; small-capacity
trawlers were few. All the fish-processing facilities were based on the shore. Murman was rather densely populated, and villages were located in almost every
convenient bay.
Reorganization of the fishing fleet, transition to employment of large floating fish processing factories, and expansion of fishing grounds to the high sea resulted in the gradual decline of coastal fishing and all the fishing settlements. Many of them were deserted, and the population of the Murman coast decreased considerably.
B. C. Morancen.
Rocky tundra is absolutely unfit for agriculture, and little changed since prehistoric times, Arctic birch forests were preserved well mainly because they were of no value for construction. Salmon was still plentiful, rivers and lakes boiled with loach, Arctic char, and grayling.
Sea animals had already learned to be afraid of men, but seals still formed teeming rookeries in river mouths. More than once I tried to approach seals in scuba, but each time failed since the keen animals heard the sound made by the regulator and kept 10-15 meters away.
Dolphins of several kinds were common in summer, when the water got warm; belugas sometimes six meters long appeared in spring on their way to the White Sea and Arctic. Only once in all those years I happened to s large Greenland whales which were numerous in the Barents Sea before whaling started three hundred years ago. Their smaller relatives - bowhead whales, were common.
The numerous colonies of loons and small ducks nested on fresh-water lakes, geese were few, and fewer were swans.
The abundance of sea birds on the sea shores was striking; the rookeries still counted hundreds of thousands, although their number gradually decreased mainly due to oil spills. Kittiwakes are the most wide spread birds on the Murman coast; the number of cormorants increases in recent years. Other inhabitants of rookeries belong mainly to Auks bird family; guillemots of two species and close to them razorbills that sometimes nest separately or in small colonies. Common are large gulls and ravens that feed on eggs, chicks, and weak birds. Large are the flocks of eiders. There were times when gyrfalcons were numerous in Murman. In sixteenth and seventeenth centuries these birds were regularly provided to the Tsar's court for the falconry. They disappeared completely by now, although in the 1960s there were two or three pairs that nested on rocky ledges near th Voronia River 30 kilometers off the town.
Sea birds are very interesting from the point of view of their role in biological and chemical cycles in the sea. Their taxonomy and distribution are studied rather well, and that cannot be said about their role in a circulation of nutrients in marine environment although in some areas their colonies are enormous.
A young ornithologist of our Institute Alexander Golovkin researched th cology of sea birds. He studied their feed rations determining what share in it was commercial and non-commercial fishes, in what time the nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus specially) return to the seawater with bird's feces, what contributed to the development of tiny plankton algae producing the organic matter - the basis for everything alive at sea. All of that was of great interest, and I took every opportunity to spend several days at the rookeries and sometimes helped Golovkin, but still I was more interested in adventures, not the research value of these studies. Alongside with the study of benthic communities of the Murman coast our task was to research seasonal changes in marine life, so it was necessary to master all year round diving. The first problem to be resolved was how not to get cold before getting into the water. Hands and face had to be isolated from water but in such a way that a diver could put on and off the gear himself and could row in the dinghy or carry all his gear. It was necessary to prevent ice formation within the scuba regulator itself. Combining the detached parts of the oxygen and scuba gear, I made a new helmet; A. Vasiliev invented the suitable joints for the rubber gloves. Now I was not afraid of getting frozen before I reached the water edg
In winter a gale in Murman may last for weeks, but there occurred days when the sea was so calm that it reflected the stars high in the dark sky. I dived in
those short hours when the rays of the far away sun reflected in the sky and the night stepped aside.
The first that struck me in winter was extremely transparent water with a visibility to 40-50 meters. It was dark underwater, but even small animals could be seen in 30 meters depth, although colors were hard to distinguish. The combination of exceptional transparency with dim lightning created a vivid impression. When late February allowed enough light to penetrate the waters, the
underwater
realm became mor
colorful than the gloomy world on the surface.
rather
Seasonal changes in bottom communities of the Barents Sea wer
insignificant and seaweed, pa
rubber dinghy and for weeks prevent
By 1963 the first
undertake more sp participate in an Sea of Japan. The
Insti zoological time that the Zool
samples,
were limi
rticularly the g animals from shallow to deep waters in winter.
reen
th
one in spring,
nlarged dus from
stage of
a
the a
cific research expedition of application of
ogical In
tute O. Kusakin and A. Goli but failed due to lack of
stitu
based Science, direc Docto
Biology
r of Science,
graduates. learned many wate
under water. Ev treatment of eve everything from of p repeatability of many young resea
taxonomists. In
knowledge is still
rchers, second sampling in the very same place would giv to the ones collected the first time.
on the use of SCUBA. (later, tor of the Institution), head of prominent scientists joined the expedition,
Biology,
r was warm and shallow,
wo taxonomis
mathemati
cal subjects,
It wa
the fellow member of
wh
if possible at all,
a result the researchers knew nothing about the quantitative t
results and understood the term "observation erro
their work as bad. In reality the error of
person, but characteristics of heterogeneity of the natural ma determining with what degree of precision the res
thought that it was necessary to search for the ways to
work carried out with such a procedure of sampling and their t
would allow not only to describe the distribution of plants and animals, applying the statistical methods to separate random from regular,
the results to
For science as a whole statistics was well developed and i information can be received from the results of research despi I learned the basics of s
heterogeneity.
those bo
ttom areas f
those though
rea of study,
diving.
rea study was completed,
ted mainly by mass development of several kinds of and migration of some of the sea Later on we learned to sail ina
but very often atrocious weather
and it was time to
tasks. As an the Zoological
xperienced diver I was invited to Institute to the Posiet Bay, diving methods developed rapidly. before first scuba appeared in that country,
the Several years
the researchers of the Zoological
kov tried to us
log
CE O
s headed by Orest
ile the inspirer the marine re
gear
oxygen rebreathers to collect
istics. Skarlato,
was Alexande
It was for the first rganized such a large expedition completely Candidate of
the Russian Academy of Science and
r Golikov, later
search depar engineer, st
I was invited as a diving instructor and underwate things first of all as a researcher. and my students learned quickly to rything collected was classified with great p ry quantitative sample was very laborious and the very beginning in order to compare and es recision seemed unnecessary to botanists and zoologists.
data in domestic hydrobiology then was never doubted that our data could b
Diving condi
tment. Several udents and post-
r photographer, but tions were easy, take samples recision. Complete to repeat
timate the degree
As a rule,
The issue of raised. I, like repeated, 1. that a the same or very close results
zoologists are specialists-
It is very hard Since it is necessary to have access to
taxonomic g to the hyd
in the whole count roup. Against robiology. Coun
xcluded from
wer
rom where samp
ts were no ts principal
°
tatis
les were not
t something new,
bjective was
tics at the chemistry faculty,
ult can be reproduced.
that science a tradition was preserved in accordance with which he opinion of an expert was regarded as final. taxonomy from books, main collections and to be guided by an expert.
to learn
In taxonomy as science the in great degree transferred from teacher to s since it is common when only one specialis rld studies this or that particular
ts have shifted that approach consequences of the suppression of genetics - a "pseudo-science", statistics included
tudent directly, ry or even in the their will the ted as well the when
the curricula. reatment of
As
cr" as something characterizing observation is not an error made by a
terial, I
combine the volume of
reatment that
but
to extrapolate taken.
since mathematical to determine what te their
but
they could not be applied directly to the task to describe the distribution of organisms on the sea floor. While I was not good at theory, I had to
books and monographs to understand the basics of the methods,
fact.
Statistics demands a large number of repeated samples,
have - the more you know about variation,
while a single sampling is
sit with
rather simple in
since the more data you
not the
subject of statistics at all. But complete treatment of even a single sample is very laborious, so it is necessary to search for some other way. As the result of works in the Barents Sea and the Sea of Japan it became clear that in the
majority of cases large animals inhabit the hard bottom,
and their share in
living substance makes up 90-99%. The study of a single sample taken from a square meter of bottom can take several days of laboratory work, but large
animals can be counted under the water, th
results written down, to
another site. Animals in an area of 10, 20, during a dive; quantitative characteristics,
shift to
or 30 square meters can be counted variation degree and precision
intervals of the results obtained could be determined with the use of statistics. Yet, to shift from quantity to other variables, say, biomass, it is necessary to determine the weight and the number of animals of different size. A large amount of field work was done in order to substantiate and to use in practice that method. My friends and colleagues and team divers helped me to put in practice my method to study the distribution of animals on rocky bottoms.
The application of the method was a considerable step forward, since possible not only to provide a subjective description, but determin
of precision of the results, to initiate the s
now it was
the degr
tudy of the statistical links
among the environmental conditions - depth, bottom, temperature and the number Since that was the first time when I
of bottom animals. I was in high spirits,
got my own original results. In general science particularly in physics and chemistry that approach was elementary. But for the Soviet hydrobiology that was partly a return to the past together with the other basics of quantitative
biology hurled back in 1948, partly - a new fo
made at that time abroad.
Working in close cooperation with the researchers for the Zoological
rward step similar to the ones
Institute I
understood, that the taxonomic classification of the majority of animals of the
well-studied Barents Sea presents no real difficulties, bent over the binocular microscope and the
By that time a researcher Sasha Pushkin joined our team.
thick taxonomic books.
joined a young naturalists club, but graduated from the Institute of Culture. He was still keen on zoology and worked as a part-time labo assistant for the Zoological Institute. Sasha was well trained physically and had good skills in sampling. He rapidly learned how to use scuba, go certificate, and our work advanced. He organized regular training in and we kept ourselves in good shape that was absolutely necessary fo
All together - the broadened diving experience, the newness in resea
and had no fear when
In his childhood he
Physical ratory
t his a gymnasium r diving.
rch
approach, the team formed - allowed to put more complex and original tasks than a mere description of animals and plants distribution.
THE SIXTH CONTINENT
The participation in the Zoological Institute's expedition had for me some informal consequences; during the work I made friends, and established contacts with colleagues. A young zoologist and diver Evgeni Gruzov became my friend. In Posiet it occurred to us to initiate research in Antarctic coastal waters. Soviet expeditions to Antarctica became regular after 1956 in relation with the preparation for the International Geophysical Year. They wer xtremely popular at that time, with more than five thousand applications per vacancy being submitted. In the years to follow after the International Geophysical Year the research program was reduced, but the permanent Mirnyi and Molodezhnaia stations on the Antarctic coast kept on working. There were not any traditional methods to study the communities of the shallow waters under the ice cover, and some of the coastal Antarctic areas were absolutely unexplored. As for the organization of the expedition, the matter was simplified by the fact that the Zoological Institute was the head institution in research of biology of the Antarctic, and Professor Anatoli Andriyashev, the then deputy director, was in charge of the work. Andriyashev was well known as a prominent scientist and respected for his magnetic personality.
Antarctic expeditions were organized at first within the Academy of Science, and then transferred to the Institute of Arctic and Antarctic subordinated to the USSR Hydrometeorology Service. One of its objectives was to provide navigation in polar areas. A polar veteran Evgeni Korotkevich headed th xpedition. A leading scientist in polar geography, E. Korotkevich skied alone many kilometers in the little explored islands of Franz Josef Land and Severnaya Zemlya mapping them. Overloaded with management work as he was, he expressed profound interest to all the details of the Antarctic research. But for the concern and assistance of these two persons, their readiness to resume the responsibility for the new and seemingly dangerous undertaking of underwater exploration in the Antarctic coastal waters would have never been conducted in Russia.
Nevertheless, when in late 1963 we applied to A. Andriyashev the obstacles turned out to be too numerous. We were the beginners and they did not treat us seriously. When the International Geophysical Year was completed the research programs were considerably reduced, and it was almost impossible to include some new points to the programs. By summer 1965 after we had published the results of our work carried out with the use of SCUBA, the attitude to our proposals became more favorable. We started to prepare for the work in Antarctic.
In Zelentsy we made a model of a foam rubber dry diving suit with high thermal insulation characteristics. Before that either foam rubber wet suits, or rubberized fabric dry suits were used. Although, as it turned out later, the American scientists who worked in Antarctica simultaneously with us, dived in common wet suits; their use in the extreme polar conditions seemed an act of heroism.
Our new suits were based on a dry suit design but were made out of foam rubber that in combination with several pairs of woolen underwear provided thermal insulation. If a suit got ruptured a diver could regulate the buoyancy by inflating it with his nose through special tubes. The diver’s head was covered with a rubber helmet. That gear turned out to be a success and was used for several years. In the second half of the 1960s I had an opportunity to try a Swedish Poseidon Unisuit, which was considered to be the best gear for a professional diver. I was amazed to find out that it was made using the very same principles wi mployed in designing ours. There were some slight differences like an unreliable pressure-sealing zipper, and a separate little
tank to pump air, but the general likeness was striking. The Swedish Poseidon Unisuit was designed independently and made out of neoprene foam rubber reinforced with a nylon knitted fabric that made it stronger than ours.
Alongside with the improvement of the suits, it was necessary to improve the underwater cameras - the pictures of the unknown underwater world of Antarctic were sure to be of research and cognitive value. Camera boxes produced by the industry were primitive, unreliable and by no means could be used in Antarctic conditions. We had to develop for ourselves flash lamps that are required for shooting in darkness. Together with the divers Sergei Rybakov and Victor Vakhranev I spent long hours in the summer of 1965 testing and modifying our underwater cameras. We did not know whether it was light or dark under the ice cover, and just in case made telephone communication and underwater illumination gear. Fortunately, we almost did not have to use them.
Paper work was not so copious at that time, but the preparation for the work in the Antarctic was not at all simple or easy. Each one of us was busy seven days a week from early morning until late at night. Running ahead of the story I say that thorough preparation justified itself and we had no insurmountable
difficulties or problems.
The Eleventh Antarctic expedition left for its destination place on board the "Ob" diesel-electric ship in November of 1965. The ship was far from being luxurious. The cabins accommodated four, six, eight and twelve people, wer between decks, and had no ventilation, to say nothing of air-conditioning. In the tropics the temperature mounted to 40-45 C, and we spent all our time on deck. The "Ob" was meant for work in polar seas with an egg-shape hull that increased its resistance to ice binding. But due to that same shape she pitched and rolled during a storm, and in the Southern Ocean she had a 45 degree list.
«O6n» y 6eperon AnTapKTHABI.
The Eleventh Antarctic expedition was held ten years after the Soviet research in the Antarctic began. The heroic period in exploration of the Southern continent was over, as well as the requirement for heroism and efforts beyond human endurance from polar explorers, but professionalism and a willingness to live and work in little comfort were still required. The same field money in the amount of twelve rubles per day were paid to every expedition member. Polar researchers earned enough to buy a car upon their coming back and obtained a special license so as not to wait in the general line. Yet, material issues were not of any great importance for the expedition members.
After a half-month voyage we finally reached the Antarctic shores, or rather the edge of thirty-kilometer deep fast shore ice surrounding the continent. While snow trucks, tractors and sledges delivered cargoes to the shore, we dived for the first time near the "Ob". W xamined the underside of the floe ice which was smooth as a mirror and without any obvious traces of plants or animals. Our diving gear worked well, while expedition leaders became convinced that under ice diving was practically possible and was not fraught with mortal danger.
We installed in Mirnyi and started to prepare for diving. We began from a small island where oil storage was constructed and to where trucks went regularly. We cut holes in the two meter thick ice and measured the depth that differed greatly from the ones on the map. After a number of tries we found a site twenty meters deep. Using explosive we made a hole, cleaned it of floes and ice debris, and installed a tent nearby.
As if by a mere chance V. Leonov, our physician, appeared with his bag packed with medicines. Sasha Pushkin was the first to dive and I was his tender. Minutes dragged on, Sasha's breath echoed in the headphones. I could not help asking: "How is it down there?" Through the noise of bubbles came the indistinct answer: "Plenty of everything, can work". At these words my heart leaped. Uncertainty as to whether the results of our expedition would be a success, Since many of the prominent scientists considered the Antarctic research unnecessary and regarded them as waste of money and time, gave place to excitement and presentiment of success. If everything, whatever it might be, was plentiful, we would work. I burnt with desire to s verything with my own eyes. 24 minutes had passed, enough for the first diving in new conditions, but too little for Pushkin who used to stay underwater for a long time. Finally, Sasha's head appeared above the water surface, and he passed me the collecting bag, filled with brainy specimens. Thick ice covered the regulator and hoses, and I helped him to take off the helmet. His words were short and vivid: "Plenty
of everything, sea cucumbers, urchins, heaven, icy feet." I started to unpack the bag. The diversity of forms and colors was striking, particularly in contrast to the featureless, stark desert around; brilliantly colored sea stars,
brazen orange soft corals, sea cucumbers, sea urchins of never-seen-before forms and colors, strange egg-shaped creatures, and forms more fantastic than the ones described in science fiction. The physician forgot everything about his medicines and our health, and could not take his eyes off the creatures emerging from the underwater realm.
Cpeyu neqanoi nycTsinn.
Back on the surface a diver becomes very talkative; we called it an incontinence of speech. This time I caught every word Sasha said. "Very cold, hands and face get cold, teeth ache from the air stream, but one can work. Water is like air, but blue, at first it is dark, and then it's like some fantastic garden - what is not, zonation, large depth is somewhere close". In the tropics we have lost
any habituation to cold. In Antarctic point of minus 1.8 Celsius.
air in a regulator expands, results i
surfaces. In ice-cold water the losse great since its outer layer cools to overcooling becomes a factor of prime
thoroughly considered were such detail the clothes used over the diving suit cooling, since they have the largest
is small, and their blood circulation
Every additional
a the seawater is always at its freezing
cooling, e.g. when the compressed
n ice formation on the scuba equipment's
s of heat from the suit surface are very
a water temperatur Protection from importance, with no trifles here;
ls as the form and location of pockets on
. Hands are particularly sensitive to
contact surface with water, finger diameter is slow. From the theory of heat transfer
it is known that any thickening of he value results additional heat loss
in insulation layer for fingers makes up
companies produce heated insulating diving gloves,
at insulation layer above some definit es. The optimal thickness of heat
only several millimeters. Nowadays some - they were not produced in
1965, but even today there are no gloves absolu
water. Actively the fact that g process is slow and takes time.
heated gloves did not
into a hole and found myself in total eyes gradually adjusted to a sharp ch showed that less than a thousandth fr the thick layer of snow and ice). Sof on the surfac
shed on
At a distance I saw underside of the ice centimeters long spa
and the nearby r kling in a blue
radually the fingers and palms becam Thick woolen gloves of double thin rubber glove put on above continue to be the most reliabl
verything around.
tely fit for working in ice cold spread wide open, and one had to rely on less sensitive to cold. The knitting with a
I descended darkness, and I got below the ice. The ange of illuminance (later measurements
action of the surface light passed through t, dispersed, light-blue light never seen the cliffs steeped to the depth. Gradually I saw that the
ocks are covered with ice crystals several light. At a depth of 15 meters I touched
the bottom - water t lilac-blue. Usually distance and disappear into turbid wa gradually vanished in a even fish at the bottom were as if en reluctantly half a me another world with bubbles from my sc
ranSparence was $s
he contours of objects in water became indistinct a lilac distance.
ter away and stopped still again.
triking; it was like pure air colored
toa while here they remained sharp but Nothing moved in that fantastic world, tranced. When I touched a fish it swam
I was an intruder from ice abov Here, in the
Cer,
uba lifting to th
Davis Sea human eyes for the first time saw the underwater world.
log xen.
That motionless world was not at all dead, and was just the other way round; animal abundance was striking. Deep purple sea urchins resembling the ones in the Barents Sea and brilliant red sea stars were numerous among the ice crystals. I dived to a depth of more than 20 meters. Sea cucumbers very much like the ones in our Northern and Far Eastern seas covered the sea floor in thick carpet. They seemed dormant, their tentacles pulled in. Large, up to a meter in height, pink bushes of soft corals raised from the bottom, with thickets of sponges in the background. The quantity and diversity of small animals reminded me of a museum filled with the exhibits from all the seas and
preserved in bluish liquid. I had to remember about the research tasks of our expedition, to divert myself from the surrounding beauties, and with an expert's eye started to estimate zonation in animal distribution, to single out mass forms and basic groups, to think how to organize the work. Meanwhile, I started to feel cold penetrating the rubber of a diving suit. First, fingers froze, than teeth ached in a stream of cold air from a mouthpiece, then with all my body I felt the ice cold water all around. I collected the most characteristic animals and went to the surface.
Yaaunpie c6opst.
After our first diving we organized a base to conduct the work. A trailer on the sledges was allotted to us, and in it we installed all our equipment to study the samples. In the weeks to follow we dived, collected the samples, counted, weighted, wrote and attached labels, filled tanks, and did many other things. On those days, weeks, months we had nothing but our work and absolutely necessary
rest. The high spirits we all were feeling are hard to describe. We dived mor frequently and deeper, from time to time wrestling with the wind that struck the Mirnyi, took pictures, shot a film, and several times changed the location of a base.
Hamre xosaiicrBo Ha bay.
After two months of hard work, animal and plant distribution off Mirnyi was studied rather well. Sometimes we found animals mentioned in books, and we found ones we could not refer to any type. Later on, when we worked with the collections it turned out that in some groups up to a half of the species wer unknown to science. We collected numerous samples of ice algae and animals inhabiting the underside loose ice layer. A. Andriyashev drew our attention to the new American data according to which not only the water column, but the underside of the floe ice is inhabited by algae. His idea approved later was that in Antarctic conditions these algae might have a determining significance in the productivity of the whole sea. In the end of our work which was completed in four months, Gruzov and I managed to fly to Molodezhnaya station where we held a reconnaissance for future work.
The description of the animal and plant distribution off the Antarctic, and the collections were a success, but there aroused many questions having approximate or no answers and demanding further experimental study. Sea floor communities of
the Antarctic were represented by a great number of species. This difference
from
the analogous communities in the Arctic was obvious. At the same time the
general laws of biological structure of the seas and oceans gave grounds to
xpect greater similarity. The most reasonable explanation for that is in the
ocean
o lau
history.
Tlogroroska K cCbemMKaM.
At the time of the recent - in geological sense - ice period, the Arctic Ocean some point in time was covered with thick permanent ice below which only a
few species of plants and animals could survive, with
the rest becoming extinct.
Later, in geological periods to follow when the ice melted in summer time, new
inhabitants migrated to the Arctic Ocean from the Nor geological time scale the Arctic communities are youn species managed to adapt to the severe polar conditio is surrounded by deep water, and its shelf is shorter Arctic. Glaciers cover nearly all of the Antarctic co in the Arctic, icing occurred, ice cover thickened, b inconsiderably, since the ice broke off at the shelf
th Atlantic and Pacific. In
g, and only some of the
ns. The Antarctic continent and steeper than in the
ntinent. Here, as well as
ut its area increased
millions of years the conditions were rather stable, inhabitants had enough time to adapt to low temperatu
ledge forming icebergs. For and the majority of the
considerable diversity of bottom communities. Still i the diversity of the Antarctic bottom communities. In producer of organic matter is tiny algae - phytoplank Antarctica only during a short period of two months w sea surface breaks. As early as February, enough ligh waters to initiate growth of a brownish layer of alga ice. This algae is a pasture for ravenous grazing by
res, resulting in
t 1s not easy to explain all the seas the basic ton. It is plentiful in hen the ice cover on the t penetrates the frozen
e on the underside of the shrimp like crustaceans
called amphipods. The amphipods attract Arctic cod, small pelagic fish that
haunt the flo dge. The key link in the long polar f cod, and sea birds that feast on small crustaceans. N can feed on ice algae only during the short summer wh
ood chain are ringed seals, evertheless, bottom animals n the ice cover breaks, so
the ways of energy transfer from plankton and ice alg not yet quite clear.
During the four months' work in the Antarctic large c and observations were made that were praised highly a Andriyashev, E. Gruzov and I made presentations on th International Antarctic Biology Congress in Cambridge aroused interest. At the Congress we heard of similar American biologists at McMurdo station on the Ross Se it became clear that our expedition should lay the ba program. It was necessary to study thoroughly what we the bottom communities in some areas of the Antarctic round observations, to set up a biological station in adjustment mechanism of the living marine organisms t wanted to plunge into that work, but at first had to
conducted in the Murman and to write a thesis. E. Gru successfully the next Antarctic expedition during whi
ae to bottom dwellers are
ollections were gathered, fterwards. In 1968 A.
e results obtained at the , England, where they research undertaken by
a coast. At the same time sis for a large research touched upon, to explore , to conduct the all-year- the Antarctic to study the o the severe conditions. I complete the research
zov headed and completed ch some new areas wer
studied, in particular the South Shetland Islands. I defended my thesis and planned to initiate the preparation for the expedition, but instead got into a
=
hospital with septicemia. E. Gruzov prepared the Anta by that time A. Pushkin had joined the Zoological Ins
rctic expedition again and, titute staff, specializing
in sea spiders which are particularly numerous in the Biological Institution had no participation in Antarc
By the time the Antarctic expedition returned I had s in the years to follow I could only dream of getting these three Antarctic expeditions large quantities of
with the results studied for years at the laboratorie Institute. The white spot in the Antarctic coastal wa next step forward - transition to the experimental st
these waters - has never been done in Russian Antarct exten
Antarctic. Murmansk Marine tic activity any more.
tarted to dive again, but to the Antarctic. During material were collected, s of the Zoological ter disappeared, but the
udy of the processes in
ic expeditions. To a large
insti Insti were not conducted in any significant scale.
te in Antarctic biological research. The princ
Gt ch ret G
this was related to the fact that the Zoological Institute was the head
ipal objective of the
ute was theoretical study of animal taxonomy, and experimental studies
To set up a biological station in the Antarctic, to staff it and provide with equipment and materials, to work out the long-term research programs required another institution, where the issues of physiology and biology were of prime importance, but there was no such institution then. After a promising start the Soviet underwater research in the Antarctic stopped.
ct ct
Nevertheless, the results obtained were of great value, and everybody who participated in the work understood that we achieved great results. The published results made us known in scientific community. Polar diving was not regarded anymore as something fraught with danger, and soon a permanent team to study polar ice headed by V. Grishchenko was formed at the Institute of Arctic and Antarctic. They did not study biology at that Institute, but the existence of the team made it possible for the researcher I. Melnikov of the Institute of Oceanography to commence the study of polar ice at the North Pole drift ice stations. While studying the algae on the underside of floe ice and phytoplankton, he obtained exciting results. There were no direct link between our works in the Antarctic and this research, but they would hardly have been possible before our diving off Antarctica.
DEEPER AND LONGER
After diving in Antarctica it became clear that the first step in description of the coastal zone in some sense was fulfilled. The research could and should be expanded to the unexplored areas; it was necessary to consider the details in biology and distribution of some separate species, but in my opinion that was the work for the zoologists and botanists. As for me I strived to study thoroughly the processes determining plant and animal distribution, not restricting myself to a mere assertion of facts provided with statistical analysis of the results.
The late 1960s to the second half of the 1970s was the time of broad underwater research development, when the first underwater habitats appeared: The Precontinent project created in France by Cousteau's team, Sealab and Tektite projects in the USA, Ikhtiandr (Ichthyander), Sadko, and Chernomor projects in this country, Helgoland habitat in Germany, and lots of others. It seemed that man was finally able to penetrate the mysterious realm. Underwater research was included in many national research programs. Cousteau wrote about a new human race - Homo aquaticus, able to live and work under water. I regarded the enthusiasm as premature, mainly because th fficiency of the underwater houses and laboratories was not as high as their cost. Using the habitat an aquanaut can work several hours a day underwater, but the costs for habitat production and maintenance are immense. It is often cheaper and simpler to use three or four divers to do the same work from the surface. Besides, the diving itself makes up a small share in the research, with the greater part of the work being carried out at the laboratories on the surface. Thus, the experiments with the underwater habitats proved the capabilities of the advanced sophisticated technology, but gave no direct scientific results worthy of expenses.
To continue the underwater research it was necessary to increase both the time of stay underwater and the depth of diving. Before when we limited ourselves to sampling and observations that seemed unnecessary. By mid 1960s to early 1970s, our gear was not an amateurish apparatus provided with all sorts of self-made improvements. Nevertheless, with due regard for the task we had ahead of us, it was not the best. ABM-1M scuba gained a reputation of reliability, but it was rather hard to breathe, since a regulator was on a diver's back. The suits produced by the industry were uncomfortable; they lacked the buoyancy regulators, cold insulation was insufficient, and required all sorts of improvements. To swim with the help of fins particularly at large distances was rather tiresome; there was a need for motion systems. On the whole the gear was safe and reliable, but the time a diver could stay in it at a depth of more than 20 meters was not long. Movement and breathing demanded efforts; a diver got tired quickly, and the efficiency of his work reduced.
We were to provide the following: all-year-round diving, if necessary below the ice, and a diver had to stay in 20 meters of water for an hour per dive in order to be able to work at the laboratory as scientist or technician before and after that. While working at a depth of more than 15-20 meters it is necessary to decompress, lingering on the way to the surface. Right at that time there appeared the French and American decompression tables and the first works in automatic computation of decompression schedule for every concrete dive. Their use for relatively short diving allowed a considerable reduction of decompression time.
The processes of saturation and desaturation are such that after a short dive one can ascend to the surface without any stops (safety time). With the increase of time spent at depth, the stops become necessary while coming up and become
longer, so that every minute of stay at a depth demands longer decompression. As the body saturates with gas, the absolute time of stops still increases, while the relative one - per every minute - decreases. At complete saturation of the organism with gas, in a few days spent under pressure the duration of decompression reaches its limit and does not depend any more on the time spent at a depth. According to Cousteau's tables safety time at a depth of 20 meters made up an hour and decreased rapidly to five minutes at a depth of 60 meters. A dive with stops of not more than 15 minutes allowed a stay at a depth of 30 meters for 40 minutes, in 40 meters of water - for 20 minutes, 50 meters - 15 minutes. The standard gear we used at the time did not allow diving in accordance with that table. It should be stressed that we were not going to design a gear for all the divers in general, i.e. for common use. It was meant for a small team of specially selected and trained divers with specific tasks.
In order to improve the working conditions of a diver and raise th fficiency of his work we were to do the following: to design and construct a new scuba, diving suit, towing craft, tools to work underwater, auxiliary equipment, safety and train gear. We planned to make such a scuba that it would not have the mechanical resistance to breathing and if necessary could be regulated so as to fill the lungs of a diver with air. Still, with the increase of depth gas exchange in lungs is hampered due to increase of breathing mixture density and that cannot be overcome by any technical tricks, yet, diving exhaustion should be relieved. The tank’s volume amplified to 24 liters under the pressure of 200 atmospheres ensured a long dive and the necessary decompression. At the same time the volume and weight of cylinders, as well as the change of diver's buoyancy as the air was consumed remained satisfactory for the self-contained gear.
The improved variant of a foam rubber constant volume diving suit we used in the Antarctic had to protect a diver from cold. Later we planned to apply the heated suit based on a new, as I then thought, principle - storage of heat as melting heat. i.e., to melt the ice five times more heat is necessary then to heat water from zero Celsius to boiling point. That heat is released at zero temperatur
and can't warm a diver. There are matters, like some crystalline hydrates that melt at higher temperatures: sodium thiosulphate (photographic fixer) at 48 C, and sodium acetic salt - 61 C. That idea, as it turned out later, had no patent purity - the Americans had already obtained the patents on the use of matters melting at body temperature to heat a diver. They intended to include the materials either into the rubber of a diving suit itself, or in a special vest and to melt them in hot water before diving. Yet, in that case it was impossible to regulate the degr of heating. We planned to make a special reservoir for the hot water that could circulate within the wet diving suit. In the other variant an electrical heater was employed.
A towing craft was to supply a diver with electric power to heat the suit, to illuminate the sight and to operate the tools. This very tug had to help a diver to move, and had to be provided with compartments for the tools, samples, anda system of emergency ascent. The ideas to create a tow scooter or a submersible were very popular at that time. The models applied in, say, Cousteau's team did not satisfy us in full; their operation was too laborious. We needed such a craft that could work all the season without any repair or maintenance, could be recharged easily, and operate for 4-6 hours a day.
Longer-time diving in deep waters increased the danger of bends or caisson (decompression) sickness. The new tables did not provide the absolute security - the risk made up the tens fractions of a percent, but at hundreds and thousands dives it became a considerable value. To treat the possible cases and to train a
diver a stationary recompression chamber was to be installed at the Institute, while movable chamber was necessary in remote expeditions.
Although we meant to make only solitary experimental gear to be used by a small team the task was very complicated. The general enthusiasm displayed to underwater research, great number of divers willing to help, gifted people coming to a new sphere of ocean exploration, - all that inspired hope for success. It seemed that broadening of capabilities of a man under water should lead to the new impressive scientific results.
New permanent employees appeared in our group - Vitali Ryabushko, a graduate of physics faculty at Kharkov University, Vitali Letov, mechanic, and school graduates.
Hauaso crpoutenbcrBa 6a3bl AA Norpyxenuit.
We expanded our cooperation with the divers; not less than ten groups worked with us during the season, some of them arrived even in winter. Our compressor supplied everybody easily with the air. We organized excursions for our Museum, and we advised the beginners on all the questions ranged from diving safety to underwater photography. The most experienced amateur divers were allowed to have training in our compression chamber. In some emergency cases the chamber was used to cure caisson sickness and diving traumas. Amateur divers rendered us g c s h
reat assistance, some of them literally burning with enthusiasm and willingly arried out different technical and design works, and those ones who had no such kills built a shed to store our diving gear and four hundred liter tanks of
igh pressure. A person of our staff maintained a pressure at 160-170
atmospheres, and any diving group leader could take a key for the shed and to fill any number of scuba tanks.
£ : =
Pa6orst c raapocrarom IMMHPO. Caeza nanpaszo: B. H. Kotaenos, B. H. Baxpanes, M. B. Iponn, B. B. Boxozenko. ®oro C. H. Ps6aKkosa.
The same tanks were used to fill the recompression chamber with air; they had transferred to us one of the first in the USSR BRK-2 chamber discarded from a rescue ship. It was very large and cumbersome, but eight persons could be trained in it at a time, and it was used successfully both for training and treatment of decompression sickness. We also had a whaleboat discarded from a seal hunting schooner. It was a heavy, ice sheathed old tub and very reliable, although its speed left much to be desired.
Gradually a team of our permanent assistants who came to Dalnie Zelentsy every year was formed. The money provided by the Institute covered only travel and meal expenses. But the main thing was not the money, it was a general enthusiasm that helped to resolve all the problems however insoluble they seemed to be. Many people participated in the work and I wish I could tell about everybody, although it is absolutely impossible. Yet I can't but mention some of them who influenced our work profoundly.
One of them was Victor Vakhranev, a civilian air fleet engineer. When he arrived at Dalnie Zelentsy for the first time he had no diving license and that was the only case when I risked allowing a person to dive who did not pass all the necessary formalities but medical examination. In all my long practice I knew no other case when a person learned how to scuba dive during his first diving season. Vakhranev could disappear underwater for an hour anda half and reappear at the very same site from where he dived. He could dive alone and seemed to have naturally what others obtained by years of hard training. His air consumption under water was twice as low as the ordinary diver. Unfortunately, not always did I understand that Vakhranev was an exception and to expect from the others the same things as he accomplished meant only to increase our problems.
His technical skills were not less noteworthy than his diving capabilities. Vakhranev could operate all the tool machines, was good at electric- and radio- technique. Vakhranev alone could design an operating model of any mechanism from underwater blimp to a towing craft, and with minimum assistance to carry out the work usually done by hordes of designers. But for Vakhranev many of our technical developments would have never been tested, although in our group there were many other engineers. Unfortunately our work together ended in several years, when Victor had to cease diving due to a grave illness. He recovered later but by then the time of amateur divers was gone.
Not least striking personally was Victor Iogansen, a mechanic, expert in precise mechanical and optical tools. He liked to dive, and one could always rely on him, although he never got beyond the level of a middle-class diver and never strived for that. Expeditions and diving for him were some kind of a safety valve from the dull routine of everyday life. It is hard to convey in words the natural charm of his personality. To say that he had many friends and golden hands would say nothing. He had finished the physical culture school only, but from nature was technically gifted, and developed his talent by years of work with precise mechanics, electronics and optics. If he understood the basic principles of the structure he could resolve any problem not worse than Vakhranev but in a very specific and different way. I met Victor as early as 1957 in a diving school. He was the oldest among us and we remained close friends till he died from a heart attack in 1981 at the age of 51. He influenced me profoundly, and I was glad he praised highly the work we did.
Although we advanced not as rapidly as we wished, the first improved scuba regulator of "0" type of which I was very proud appeared as early as 1968. It was called "zero" since it was assumed to attain a zero resistance to
respiration. A regulator combined with a mouthpiece in its outward appearance
differed little from the common gear,
alignment of two principles
vacuum sensitive membrane and an actuato When a diver started to inhale minimum effort was
levels.
but its operation was based on the
each one known before. It operated as follows: a r valve were connected by the reversal required; as the
,
breathing intensified the l
been harder than in an ordinary scuba. But as soon as the a venturi tube located in the mouthpiece sucked in the air blocking
some force, the effect of the reciproca the mor determine the optimal sizes scuba regulator. It is not
tubes where different vibra develop, optimize, allowed not only but if necessary
reduction
OGorpeBaemEIi KocTIOM.
fficient was the work of an amplifier.
and try out the gear in different conditions.
vels reciprocated so that the respiration would have
air stream reached
ted levels ratio. The more powerful the inhalation, It presents no difficulties to of membranes, valves, levels, springs for a common the same with the unusual structures with venturi tion processes appear easily. It took some time to The regulator
to zero of the mechanical resistance to respiration,
one could inflate the lungs with air.
In practice it turned out more convenient and habitual to preserve some resistance to breathing. The diving club of a larg nterprise made from our drawings twenty regulators of which we received ten. The operation revealed some defects; as in all the regulators saliva and moisture froze at low temperatures inside the mouthpiece, so in the Antarctic and below ice cover the regulator was unreliable. Besides, during long term storage, the regulator spring got deformed and required adjustment every 3-4 months. If that were a model of a standard diving gear the defect would have been very serious, but it was of no real Significance for a small group of trained divers. We used this regulator for more than 15 years.
After the "0" there appeared ADD scuba of long range operation. The idea itself has been patented several years before by the Italians and had simple ideas at its basis. When aman breathes, the first portion of the exhaled air does not participate in gas exchange - air from trachea, nasopharynx, and bronchia is the same in its composition as the air breathed in; it makes up from a quarter to one third of total volume. This part of air can be separated and re-used, diving time increases due to that. The Italian design had bellows and was non- functional. The ADD was purely pneumatic and in its outward appearance resembled the common apparatus. It was easy to breathe in ADD and while testing it, Vakhranev swam with two tanks for more than an hour and a half in 20-26 meters depth. Nevertheless, the gear gained no wide popularity among divers as well as its Italian predecessor.
Soon was constructed the diver’s tug or scooter on which we placed great hopes. It was designed and assembled by a physician A. Vasiliev with a group of divers at a large enterprise with almost limitless technical capacities. It differed considerably from the already existing designs and could not only tug a diver but supply with electric power all the group working under the water during the day. A two-hundred-kilo craft had a front water penetrable compartment. Here there were sealed wire connectors, different tools, boxes for the samples, a powerful headlight to light the way and the working place. A heated suit or tools could be joined up to the connectors. Different emergency means were to b placed here as well: an emergency buoy, a rubber dinghy, signal flares and torch lights. Then came other watertight compartments. A long cylinder contained powerful rechargeable batteries with capacities enough to tug a diver at a speed of two knots (3.6 kilometers an hour) for four hours, to light the way or the place of work, to heat the suit and supply tools with power. A motor, starting and control devices - a pressure gauge, compass, voltmeter, ampere meter, and indicating neon-filled lamps were at a conic motor compartment. The scooter was provided with two handles and operating levers.
The very first tests revealed many defects; the size and form of the screw blades did not correspond to the frequency of its rotation, while the speed mad up only a half of the rated one. A new screw was designed by hydrodynamics expert A. Lodkin, and speed almost reached the theoretical one. The operational development of the craft took time and efforts and but for Vakhranev would have never been completed. It was impossible to resolve some of the technical problems in the same way as they are usually resolved in shipbuilding; new and original decisions had to be found. For instance, it was necessary to seal a screw shaft. Usually a stuffing box seal leaks water that is removed by a drainage system. It was practically impossible to deploy such a system in our craft, where the least wetness in compartments would damage th quipment. The tow craft was filled with compressed air and provided a spring compensator through which the lubricating grease was removed outside while the water never got inside. Even more complicated was the problem of battery explosion since they release hydrogen during storage and particularly at charging. Hydrogen
penetrates almost through all the materials and is extremely explosive, while it
is impossible to avoid sparking in a complex circuit diagram abounding in relays and switches.
6—6310 = j —
After several months of improvement we put the scooter into the water to check it diving. Its maintenance and operation was rather simple and presented no problems; we got a possibility to dive outside the Zelenetskaya Bight even when the sea was rough. Diving began with preparation. That was a ritual every detail of which was counted and carried out as thoroughly as the preparation of a plane and a pilot for a flight. Technician brings the machine to readiness, while a diver puts on his suit and gear. Then the diver himself makes a visual check, reading the indicators and examining the running order of the systems: internal pressure - 2.5 atm, voltage - 26 volts, compass points to the north. The diver switches the measuring instrument to the strength of current and checks the low speed current - 15 amperes, full speed current - 33 amperes; indicator lamps flash, compensator is filled with grease, emergency buoy is in its compartment. Everything is all right; the tender helps the diver with his helmet, releases
the brake of the winch, and a trolley with the scooter machine goes to the water.
A two-hundred-kilo craft is weightless in the water; it takes no effort to push it, but it lingers to move. One more visual inspection - no air bubbles, no leakage, a low speed test, the pilot lamp flashes, and the scooter machine
starts going. The diver takes the handles, with bow pointed to the open sea. Forward! The engine buzz, the sea floor starts running backwards: algae covered rocks, Lithothamnion with numerous sea urchins on it, everything seen more than once remains behind. Here is Probnyi Cape. Far above the wind roars; the sea is rough, but everything is calm in the water 15-20 meters deep. Here is the working place; I turn off the engine and take out the tools. The scooter added us some serious problems, particularly when we tried to apply it to concrete tasks.
The scooter tug has almost neutral buoyancy and left to itself drifts under water with the slightest current. It resembles a dirigible that goes up or down depending on its mass. Suffice it to take a scraper out of a compartment and turn away to find the craft not where it should be - slowly it ascends to the surface. I can't call it a pleasant feeling, although you know that the craft will not be carried too far away.
The sites where we used the scooter were well explored; nevertheless ther appeared problems with orientation. Once I decided to shorten my way back and swam at a longer distance off the shore than usual. I failed to notice the nearest Probnyi Cape, crossed the strait and came to the shore of the opposite Nemetski Island. Knowing that the shore should be at my left I turned automatically and again headed for the open sea. Only when the rocky cliffs reappeared and the depth started to increase did I realize that I am in a strait connecting the bay with the open sea and removed off from the camp. In case of such surprises we always had some air reserves in scuba tanks, but that time air was hardly enough to come back to the camp.
In a technical sense the tug was a success. We used it a lot diving four times a day, taking the pleasure in working with it and gaining experience, but it failed to justify our hopes as a working tool. The hardest problem of all was orientation under the water at the unknown site, and in a broader sense - provision of the diver's safety. The idea of a compact inertial navigation system does not seem fantastic nowadays; although it would be a little too expensive, while at that time it was regarded as absurd. Rescue facilities were insufficient to guarantee a diver's safety in case the engine stalled, particularly in rough weather. Accident prevention instructions were worked out, but the failure of the scooter was regarded as an extreme situation related to a grave risk. I never dared to provide the appropriate training. We failed to develop a simple and efficient safety system, and a diver was left all to himself under the water. Later on when we started to dive in turbid and deep waters where it was very difficult to orientate, we had to refuse using a scooter and dive from the surface.
One day we had an opportunity to test th fficiency of our safety measures. In late February when polar night had just came to its end, I swam under the water with the scooter tug and nearly reached the place of destination near Nemetski Island in 30 meters depth. Suddenly the ampere meter read off scale; a protective relay cut off the current, and the engine stalled. When the thermal relay cooled down I tried to restart th ngine; the screw made several slow revolutions and stopped. In 30 meters of water, at a distance of a mile from the camp I had to decide what to do. In the first place it was necessary to estimate the situation. Pushing the craft I lifted to a depth of 10 meters to reduce my air consumption. The weak current carried me away from the bight, while precipitous cliffs gave no opportunity to come ashore. I knew that approximately 500 meters towards the Institute there was a large beach, but to get there I would have to swim against the current. It was easier to swim with the current,
although I went away from the camp. I had enough air in tanks to stay in shallow waters for a long time.
Pushing the scooter I swam slowly, and in 20 minutes reached the sloping shore. Now I had to fasten the craft so it would not drift into the sea. I pulled the red handle; th mergency buoy went to the surface, but that was not enough. I took off my ten-kilo weight belt, attached it to the tug and jostled it in some rocks. Here the craft was safe from at least the usual tidal streams. It was hard to swim without the belt, and I was drawn to the surface and could stay near bottom only when holding the rocks. I had to come up although that was dangerous since I could not regulate the speed of the lift; the expanded air could rupture my lungs. I exhaled, left the craft's handles and in an instant was on the surface. I swam to the island, took off my scuba and hid it in the rocks. I crossed the island and swam across the strait and came back to our camp. My friends were worried by my long absence. Next day we reached the plac in a rubber boat and tugged the scooter. The reason of failure was a break ina rubber washer on a transmission from a reduction gear to the screw.
In 1970-1973 not in summer only but in winter and spring a group of well-trained divers from Leningrad, Kharkov, and Donetsk gathered with us. We dived in water
20 - 50 meters deep, and even more, within reach of our scuba gear. The duration of stay under water was restricted only by the necessary decompression time.
Very often people ask how deep one can scuba dive and for how long stay under water. There are no blunt answers to those questions. A diver can come to the surface without any decompression stops from a depth of less than twelve meters staying under water no matter for how long, enough to carry out any works. In our group Sasha Pushkin established a diving record staying under water for 2 hours 40 minutes, while usual diving time ranged from 45 minutes to an hour and a half.
At a depth of 18-20 meters the time of non-decompression dive reduces to an hour. In some emergency cases when a diver is unable to decompress under water he will have to be delivered to a recompression chamber. Depending on whether he has symptoms of caisson sickness, either preventive or curative recompression will be necessary. In the best of cases a diver will be dismissed from diving for a day; in the worst - he might suffer from some grave after-effects.
In 30 meters of water a diver can work without decompression for half an hour; a short decompression period increases the working time by 10 minutes only. At this depth nitrogen accumulates in the blood stream and has a narcotic effect on the brain. An experienced diver is still able to carry out the work, although the possibility of an error increases considerably. In case of some failure of the gear emergency ascent is possible from any depth, but it becomes an ordeal beginning from 30 meters. Between thirty and forty meters of water lies the boundary where scuba divers can venture safely.
The objective tests showed that in 45 meters of water all the examinees had some mental disorder corresponding to the beginning stages of deep-water narcosis. A diver can stay that deep without decompression stops during ascent only for 10 minutes, while in 20 minutes after a dive starts the decompression time will consume 23 minutes. Longer stay that deep is undesirable, since it demands a long decompression time, and is dangerous since in case of emergency ascent serious manifestation of bends (caisson sickness) may appear before a diver is placed in a chamber. Only some of the divers can carry out hard physical work, while sampling, photography, and observation do not demand great efforts. The depth of 70-75 meters is considered to be marginal for scuba divers. As early as
1959 the depth record for scuba was set - 157 meters, but to dive that deep means to run a mortal danger.
Hossie akBpanaHrn uw mpH6o- pbl — Ha jBa-TpH aca pa- 6oTE nOA BOROK.
In the late 1960s - early 1970s in the specialized literature on hyperbaric physiology one could find the estimates of possibilities to use the compressed air in works under pressure, in caissons or under water. At the same time th physiological mechanisms manifest themselves differently depending on the type of gear, water temperature, character of work carried out, training of a diver and even his attitude to a deed. We were to master in practice diving in polar waters in SCUBA to medium depths.
To dive deeper and for longer time they use nowadays gas mixtures where nitrogen is completely or partially replaced by helium. Helium is lighter than nitrogen, the density of the mixtures is lower and they less hamper gas exchange in lungs, narcotic effect of helium manifests itself at a larger depth. Nevertheless, helium has some properties that hinder its use: high heat conductivity that
results in rapid heat losses, time increases mor helium is expensive,
gas mixtures is rather laborious,
We also developed the heated suit.
To check up th
high speed diffusion due to which decompression rapidly than when the compressed air is used. Besides, technical and medical management of diving with the use of that is why they are used in heavily appropriated projects like the exploration of oil and gas shelf fields. scientific exploration good old air is still
In
the only real choice.
idea we mad
an operating
model out of a used suit - glued to the back a thick foam rubber knapsack and
provided the suit with pipes and a hand-p rubber bottles filled with sodium acetate
placed in a knapsack before diving.
absorbs heat discharged at its solidifica
ump to ci
tate We
Sodium ace tion.
and failed to notice that there was a hole in Everything went well until the melted down salt floated along my bac suit I burnt my back to blisters. Yet tha Later on we started to use accesso
test the suit.
one varian electrical whole the tests wer than an hour, but the practical use of complicated; prepa when on su heated suits we with hot water and supplied th sleeves. Large quanti serviceable. In space of heat-transfer medium, new generation improved. More are sufficient shallow waters
the gear.
re is
CES
to jus that a
Having got our gear improved and recomp tegy for diving in more
technical tasks to b of the works as concerns their scientific value.
devise the stra the diving and
successful,
The
of diving suits. No doub
re common diving p
ry metal tan t the tank was filled with heat-accumula heater supplied with power from a towing craft was installed. On the the suit allowed the advantages turned out to be design of the heated suit is mo ration for a dive takes too much rface a diver is very aw ted in diving, used. The water is heated on rough a hose pipe into a wet suit ty of heat is wasted, but suits thermoregulation me
kward.
I put on k. While t did not ks a
one of them.
rculate the hot water. Three
and melted up in boiling water were
melts at 61 Celsius and
found the bottles in a flotsam It was I who had to
a scuba tank; under its load
tenders poured water in the prevent us from the test.
ttached to the scuba tank.
ting salt, in another - an
In
the
the
ts,
relativ
In general very different while in practice only one of
from where it lea
ter for more
t to justify re
time and tenders assistance, kinds of
them heated diving bell ks through the design is simple and
to stay under wa too insignifican
surface or ina
thods are based on a closed cycle the idea worth of considering in the development diving gear of any type can be complicated is the question whether the advantages of the tify its use in thos
ofa
gear tions in
ractice.
than 30 me
resolved w
chamber, special recompression divers have sligh later on more spa
tests revealed th tables of Cousteau team. We assumed that if some of the sensitive t symptoms of bends they will be c ring regime will
be
borrowed from the instance in bridge building, the number of wor recompression the wo
To reduc
simula
practice of caisson works. the duration of kers is larger than in diving. time for the whole shift of wor rk the most susceptible to caisson sickness.
the decompression stops while principally new for the domestic diving ting the behavior of body tissues
computing necessary stops on ascent.
that worked well only after their check
found
Under shift In
practice -
ression chamber installed we star te had to estimate th Every diver had training ina changes in thei
introduced for
kers i
ascending we designed inst
ly easy working condi
ted to rs of water. Alongside with xpediency
r mental activity. We used
ured by recompression, and them. That approach was
the work in caissons, for under pressure is longer and order not to increase the
t is customary to debar from
In fact, thos
under the pressur
and calibration. that after several months of operation the properties of po through which gas diffused simulating the saturation of tissues g
ruments decompression indicators and automatically were the operating models Unfortunately soon we rous poles radually
changed, since we did not have some particular sorts of rubber and plastic - absolutely watertight and discharging no volatile impurities influencing the instrument's properties. The diving safety directly depends on the serviceability of the decompression indicator, so a defective instrument is of no value. In a year we had to return to the tables.
Experimental gear was well designed, but constructed amateurishly; unexpected defects revealed in it. As years passed by it became easy to understand that all the hardships and difficulties were inevitable like in every new undertaking. Yet, at first everything went well. Students and divers came and left; we trained and diving to a depth of 30 meters for 40 minutes was a common thing.
One day we dived at a depth of 35-40 meters. Vakhranev, as usual stayed under water longer than anybody. When he came out of water the pointer of his decompression indicator read off scale, but Vakhranev paid no attention to this; the same thing happened to him before without any consequences. That day an old friend of ours Volodia Guliaev arrived and we had a small celebration party. Vakhranev shared the room with me. Early in the morning he woke me up - his leg was paralyzed.
The case was very serious. If under caisson sickness there are only bends, an itch, muscles and joints ache, these symptoms usually slowly disappear even without treatment, but paralysis and numbness require recompression otherwise one can become an invalid. The matter was complicated by the fact that the day before we started to alter the recompression chamber inflation tubes; the system to feed the compressed air was unsoldered, and the last tank of acetylene had finished. The calculations showed that even if we put in the chamber all our scuba tanks the air stock will not be sufficient for treatment. Oleg Skalatski tried to solder the necessary details in the fireroom furnace but failed.
We put Vakhranev in a hot bath and started to prepare for recompression in water. Recompression under small pressure with the use of pure oxygen was widely used by the American divers. For an hour a diver inhales oxygen under the pressure corresponding to a depth of 18 meters. To avoid oxygen poisoning he inhales air for five minutes. Then during an hour and a half the pressure is released to the surface pressure. According to the data available the treatment is efficient in 98 per cent of cases.
While Vakhranev was in a bath we assembled an apparatus that allowed changing from scuba air to oxygen delivered from a boat through the hose. A bath brought him only slight relief, so in a boat we went to the strait, anchored and put down the rope with an anchor. Vakhranev put on his gear and together with the tender descended to a depth of 18 meters. 40 minutes later I relieved th tender. 47 minutes passed, with the most dangerous part of recompression coming to its end, when suddenly I saw that Vakhranev released the rope and slowly ascended to the surface, his hand and legs convulsed. We pulled him in the boat, took off the helmet; in a few minutes he regained his consciousness. That was a typical case of the acute oxygen poisoning; it was out of the question to continue recompression. The paralysis eased, but only slightly.
Our facilities were exhausted. Vakhranev had to be urgently delivered to Murmansk, to a recompression chamber. Fortunately the weather was favorable; in an hour a helicopter took us to Murmansk airfield where an ambulance was waiting for us. Maximum recompression regime - 3 days' stay in a chamber with maximal pressure corresponding to a depth of 100 meters was necessary to cure the paralysis that left no traces but small numbness that passed gradually. Safety measures were strengthened, th nthusiasm for deep diving dampened, but the
implementation of the program was going on with great precautions up to 1972. Then during the training in a chamber at a maximum depth of 85 meters one of our group of five contracted caisson sickness. After 12 hours more spent in a chamber he came out safe and sound, but it became clear that the French tables are not perfectly safe at maximal depths and durations. Approximately at the
same time there were two cases of bends in a group of visiting divers. At that time we had no physician and it was I who had to cure the disease. The recovery was rapid, but caisson sickness became a serious obstacle to exploration of middle depths.
Many of the divers trusted that air supply in a common scuba tank was insufficient to get the bends. In reality the matter is much more complicated Since air consumption increases with depth differently with different people, but always slower than the pressure and air density rise. The accidents with two divers and Vakhranev occurred because with them low air consumption combined with high susceptibility to caisson sickness. I sent an article on that theme to the Sportsmen-Podvodnik magazine for divers. Taking strict precaution measures we kept on diving.
We gradually increased the depth of training dives in the chamber to 75-85 meters; all the divers passed special tests that revealed sharp deviations in behavior. For instance, at a depth of 85 meters two divers fought over a pillow. While running a correction test - to underline or to cross out the prescribed syllables from the text typed on a special blank, - some changed from a blank to the book placed under without noticing it. It is known that mental deviations reveal themselves more sharply in real diving conditions; that is why it was necessary to select people for deep-water diving very carefully. Only those who were well trained and experienced and passed all the tests successfully started to prepare for deep-water diving. In 50 meters of water I had some symptoms of deep-water narcosis - my lips got numb, field of vision narrowed, but on the whole I controlled the situation, and my fitness to work was satisfactory. The effect of narcosis gradually subsided - the body gradually adjusts to the deep- water conditions. Neither I, nor Vakhranev, nor the other five divers experienced any unpleasant feelings in 60 meters of water. Now we were to dive 70 meters deep.
We anchored off one of the capes, and the technician and his assistant were in a boat with us. We put on the diving gear, and I went first. To increase the diving speed and time under water I descended rapidly pulling myself on the anchor’s rope. The light dimmed gradually, and the pointer of a depth-meter
gauge read the scale - 30, 40, 50 meters. I lingered and looked around. The eyes had not yet adjusted to darkness; to the depth went the running-off line, above Vakhranev descended. Neither bottom nor the surface were seen, I descended mor slowly.
Suddenly something changed - my head seemed broken in pieces. Not a single thought was left, not a sense of who I was or where I was, not a feeling of danger or will. That might be the feeling of a mentally diseased person, whose consciousness is not any more an integral whole. Finally there appeared a thought that if I ascended I would be safe. I started to pull up and suddenly came to my senses. My depth gauge showed 65 meters. Then Vakhranev came, passing me and disappearing into the darkness at the bottom. I realized that if I came to the surface I would be safe, but leaving Vakhranev without assistance is subject to danger. Nevertheless, the very thought about the depth horrified me unspeakably, since nothing could be compared to the fear of losing one's mind as I just experienced. Very slowly I went down again and as the eyes adjusted to the darkness I distinguished the anchor at the bottom. Vakhranev was nowhere to
be seen, but I simply could not make myself come to the bottom and search for him. For some time I hung, holding onto the line, then coming up to the surface.
The outcome of the dive depended on Vakhranev alone. Air bubbles danced on the surface witnessing that he breathes. Having carried out the program in full he came back from the depth of 75 meters. He was rather gloomy and said only that it would be better not to dive so deep. Up to now I do not know what he felt that deep. It was obvious that we approached the limit behind which the coming back to the surface is governed by the rule of chance.
I never dived deeper than 60 meters and seldom descended to more than 45 meters of water. In the long run the same diving limits were adopted as safe for scuba divers. Maurice Fargues in Cousteau's team was lost at a depth of 120 meters; maximum depth of scuba diving gradually reduced to 42 meters to increase later to 60 meters again. One can't affirm firmly that one can't dive deeper, but it is impossible to foresee the outcome of such a dive, as well as how a diver, even the most experienced one would behave. Nowadays the divers associations do not recommend to dive deeper than 40-45 meters, although diving to 60 meters is not forbidden. While carrying out our programs - rather venturesome as they were, we, nevertheless, lost not a single man. We knew from practice and sensed intuitively how to do our best while under water. Although the gear we developed was far from being perfect the fact that in 15-20 years it was improved only in some details testifies on its rather high quality. Nevertheless, in years to follow diving was not the basic means of our research.
MORE SCIENCE
The other side of our activity, less romantic and spectacular, but probably more important was the development of the technical means of underwater scientific research. The first steps aimed at the study of shallow bottom communities have already been made. I was particularly interested in interaction between the bottom algae and animals. That is only a small part of a large link connecting the plants producing organic matter due to the energy of direct sunlight and the animals that feed on them.
The greatest authority in marine hydrobiology Academician Lev Zenkevich expressed his opinion that animals feeding on algae are not as numerous in the sea as herbivores on land, - the plants perish, convert to detritus and mainly in such a way are consumed by the bottom dwellers. There are no animals comparable to the ruminants in the sea - manatees and dugongs are very rare,
whil their relatives, the sea cows were exterminated as early as the eighteenth century. When mass penetration to the underwater realm started the divers found sea urchins abundant on rocky bottoms of all the seas in temperate zone - near
the Barents Sea shores, all over the North Atlantic, in the Pacific, in many other places. The sea urchins have been known long before and were consumed in the countries of South Europe, but their mass distribution on large areas was seldom mentioned in literature. In 1958 the English biologist G. R. Forster was the first to notice that sea urchins while creeping along the bottom left a strip cleared from algae - phenomenon often observed in aquaria but never attracting anybody's attention. In the English Channel off Plymouth where Forster made his observations the sea floor is sandy with occasional rocks and sea urchins were not numerous, but near Murman their number reached 200 per square meter. For ten years our team studied both the distribution of sea urchins and their biology, very closely related to the algae.
Sea urchins belong to the Echinodermata, a particular type of invertebrate found only in the sea. There are som ight hundred types of regular sea urchins (there exist also asymmetrical or irregular sea urchins) in the world ocean. The body of almost all the urchins is covered with round or oval shell provided with numerous needles and sprouts. Unlike all the other animals the Echinodermata control their needles and sprouts not by separate muscles but a special system based on hydraulic principle: a muscle pumps water filling the body cavity and in its composition close to seawater. Needles and sprouts serve for movement and carry out many other functions. In the under body there is a mouth surrounded by five teeth; the sea urchin uses them to rub the algae off the rocks. The crawling sea urchin clears the sea floor from everything alive leaving only inedible calcareous algae with hard skeleton behind. Although urchins can eat anything, even the rotten fish, they feed on all kinds of algae mainly - from unicellular algae almost indistinguishable on the boulders to enormous oar weed. Sea urchins can live in aquarium for a long time eating potato, carrots, and even spaghetti. Nevertheless, their digestiv nzymes, whole body structure and its biochemistry are closely related to the sustenance on algae, and so far nobody managed to get sea urchins spawned in aquarium not fed by marine algae.
Since the urchin leaves behind it a clear strip of bottom it presents no difficulties to make a mathematical model of benthic surface clearance. It is more complicated to fill that model with concrete substance; one should know the quantity of urchins at different depth, the relation between the urchins of different age groups, speed of their motion when they feed and simply move from one place to another, to determine their age, the speed of their growth and many other variables. To obtain the initial data two students of the Leningrad University V. Pogrebov and V. Tarasov and I had to conduct field and
expe
weighed them,
the data obtained wer
determined their age,
count that in shallow wate the whole sea floor every few days.
clea
gen
nevertheless, models; very frequent when adult numerous, Lithothamnion cavities.
the factors
red sea floor is immediately appearing in a few days;
that a important role in the sea urchins distribution. urchins devour their own fry - where juniors are found only
Less ligh
yet sea urchins feas urchins, and more ab
t on small o undant and diverse is the epifauna.
Only calcareous algae are abundant here.
rimental works for a number of years. We counted and collected the urchins, labeled them and traced thei ralized in models and formulas, rs where sea urchins are so numerous that
r movements. All and we managed to they clear
The
colonized by bacteria and microscopic algae,
Fo
in shelters among kelp t penetrates deep wat
other organisms are not numerous. turned out to be much more complicated then all ou re hard or impossible to coun
The reality,
r schemes and and to measure play instance, it is
adult urchins are
rhizoids and
s, algae grew slowly,
ganisms. Deeper in th
water
is related to plankton at th
the fact that larvae of moment settled
the bot
those inverteb tom cleared off
rate tha
by
under the most particularly a
shift the natu development of and their rela interaction b
tions to n th
favorable conditions sea urchins never t the wave breaking areas. while the storms tear them off
th
In algae we sea anima
CW
were published in the Annals of the Mu
journal
They can't £
popula d wh
less sea
large extent that
t are abundant in urchins. But even te the whole bottom,
To a
the
e bot
ls and plants.
tom to deep waters. ral balance to the increased growth of algae s the urchins. this country the study of sea urchins' re of interest mainly from the point of view of The results of our obse rmansk Marine Biology Institute
published in a small number of copies and hardly known abroad.
n the sea is rough, us, frequent storms uppressing the mass biology
Th
rvations -a
The data urchins
should be taken into consideration in algae cultivation,
usually never cause any serious troubles in the White Sea and the Far
seas.
Things are different in Canada, thousand tons a year and wher
inhabiting the Barents Sea is abundant. ucts like alginates,
industrial prod
th
sam
although sea
Eastern
where seaweed production makes up hundred species of sea urchin as the one
In Canada they produce from kelp some mannitols and some others.
The role of sea
urchins as rivals of humans attracted the attention of the Canadian scientists; they contributed much to the understanding of the interaction of the animals and
algae. When in
harvested. They Kelps were not
fight the sea urchins.
employed but only on small change under the influence
feed on the kelps lef reproducing population was sea urchins.
proper Consi One
nothing to do with human plague)
their mass ex
urchins resulting in (innocuous for men)
starts acting when wa
was extracted in the body at low temperatures fo
areas. In of new fac star
areas wher
the late 1960s - early 1970s the study began it turned out that sea urchins spawned in enormous quantities at th
kelps wer
ly; derable means wer
tinction. from the sea urchins’
develop, infections some sea u the following outburs sea urchins,
ter temperatur get into water and spread rchins survive, t of algae makes conditions for the mass distribution of
and the cycle repeats from the beginning. For long years one of the working premises of ecology was the assumption on population stability,
the infection. the diseas
t and microscopic algae on the sea floor. the bottom was bare, allotted to develop ways to of them - spreading of quicklime on the bottom was the 1980s the natural balance started to tors unknown before. Black plague ted to spread among the population of sea Some pathogenic microorganism tissues. r no matter how long causing no disease, rises to 15-18 Celsius when microbes But even in the worst of subsides,
and its only
(that has
It is preserved and
finding no carriers;
but the
above case is an example of variation process in which the populations of
neither sea urchins,
nor algae are in balance.
Another trend in our activity with the inviting prospects for development was
the study of the whole is determine th conservation were voiced in ancient times, last century the precise concept of energy of general concepts and ways of measuremen known by that time in motion, The notion of energy penetrated science wi passion was so high that Julius Robert von
formulate the notion was locked up for seve
law of conservation of energy, or the firs
energy balance by the sea animals and their communities. in constant search for the universal measures and indicators to direction and rate of different processes.
heat exchange,
supplemented with the statistical and probabilistic premises,
Science on
The ideas of energy but only in the second half of the was established It united in a system t all the numerous forces already chemical and electrical processes. th great difficulties and the heat of Mayer who was among the first to
ral years in a lunatic asylum. The law of thermodynamics had to be so-called the tion of
second law; in nature there are heat absorption processes like dissolu many substances. Thermodynamic concepts -
quantitative determination of the possibility of any processes,
almost nothing about their rate, their intermediate products,
ways. This is a foundation of modern science,
structure.
the twentieth century the biological
the foundation of any science - allow but they say
or the concrete but far from being its whole
sciences
s early as the second quarter of tudying natural processes felt a pressing
oon PB
rominent scientists in this count (Vinberg) and Eugene Odum applied systems. Alongside the well-known and long biomass, they suggested measuremen systems. on both land and sea communities,
not something new, description that was a giant step forward.
sense.
nite and make compatible and comparable eno ry and the the energy
thermodynamics with their precise functions to describ biological systems obey the laws of physics and chemist In a great number of cases not all th
need in generalizing concepts able to rmous descriptive materials. The USA professors Georgi G. Winberg concept to complex ecological
studied indicators of quantity and
t of energy flux in all possible biological
Eugene Odum and his followers carried out a great number of researches including sciences including biochemistry and physiology that quan but in ecology that before that usually restricted itself to
the coral reef. For many biological titative approach was Unlike physics, chemistry and
the processes, large ry but only in general thermodynamic energy is
accessibl
used in life processes create the advantages
view of thermodynamics.
. Biochemical limitations and natural for the processes far from being op
On the other hand it is frequent wh
selection very often
timum from the point of
unable to use the proc burns and there are no
sses quite possible thermodynamicall any fundamental reasons against pure
basis of lif Neverth that chemical process.
less, unknown are animals or microor Only a man learned to utilize it bur
heat. Although life pr these laws is not enou Significance of the g
Ocess
n the organisms are y, for example, coal carbon being the ganisms able to use ning coal and getting
s obey chemical and physical laws the knowledge of
nomena. Yet, th
gh to neral
understand and explain life ph nergy principle is hard to be
overestimated, since
it can be applied to diverse biological phenomena and processes as a common
measure.
In a great number of cases
(not always) final ener
gy processes within
the living systems are closely related to oxidation of carbon and hydrogen
substances with oxygen water. For years physi water animals, but it
that the removal of an energy exchang Under
, that is with respiration. At sea ox ologists studied the ways to measure
was unclear how the matter is right a imals to aquariums communicates their water measurements seemed more reliab
ygen is dissolved in respiration of the t sea. It could be respiration, i.e.
le, although an
animal or some bottom There are many ways to to take water samples
vessel construction, a
area had to be placed under some limi measure respiration rate, but we wer
ting cap or vessel.
from the vessel right under water, me s well as numerous auxiliary equipmen
to develop methods thods of resampling, t. All the works were
performed simultaneously with the improvement of diving gear, primitive as it was but quite usable and reliable. Running ahead of my story I say that the results of 10-15 years of experiments proved that carefully collected and transferred to the aquaria, sea animals and whole bottom communities practically do not change their metabolic rates. Any measurements conducted in the laboratory are less laborious and more reliable than the ones made under water. Diving methods are rough and fraught with errors much more grave then th changes that may appear during the transfer of animals to the laboratory.
Those works were related to the problem of general character connecting the hydrobiology and physiology of marine animals - the problem of relation between metabolic rate and temperature. It can be assumed that the body temperature of fish and invertebrates is equal to water temperature. The latter ranges from -2 C in the Arctic Seas and Antarctic to 40 C in some tropical seas, like shallow waters of the Red Sea. Any chemical reaction, including respiration has its precise mathematical formula to measure the rate of reaction at any temperature. In reality respiration represents not a single chemical reaction, but a complex system of biochemical reactions, each of them accelerated by a specific catalyst - enzyme. Can the thermodynamic approach be applied to metabolism and respiration of the whole organism? The largest experts expressed divergent views on the problem. Danish physiologist August Krogh, a Nobel prizewinner, carried out a set of precise measurements on carp (crucians). He suggested using a curve that upon the results of changes in respiration at one temperatur allowed to predict those values for other temperatures without resorting to experiments. That curve named after its creator was used in thousands of works as well as for practical needs. Science always makes a giant step forward whenever a new theory appears allowing to foretell and calculate the results without any experimental tests. The Krogh curve itself was not a theory but rather a way to generalize th xperimental data; that is why the question on the limits of its application was left open.
In the 1950s the prominent Danish hydrobiologist Gunnar Thorson approached those uestions from another angle. He noticed that many of the communities and rganisms are found across a vast area from the Arctic to tropics. These ommunities are represented by different but similar and taxonomically close rganisms. Small bivalve Macoma mollusks prevail in the Arctic bottom ommunities. Other but very similar species of the Macoma family are found off urope; the general features of the community, quantitative values, and
ccessory species have little difference with their Arctic relatives. In ubtropical waters Macomas are represented by the warm-water species; in the ropics - the tropical ones. Examples of this kind are numerous: sea urchins are found elsewhere from the Arctic to Antarctic. Gunnar Thorson assumed (he did not conduct experiments) that the rate of metabolism at water temperature at which all these similar species live is approximately the same. In Krogh's view metabolism rate is strictly determined by water temperature. The respiration rate of cold-blood organisms changes 2-3 times with changes of temperature by 10. If Krogh is right the respiration rate of a sea urchin in the Arabian Sea is fifteen - thirty times higher than the Antarctic sea urchin, while according to Thorson it is approximately the same. In those places where temperatur fluctuates during a year, the respiration rate changes. Temperature adaptation mechanism is rather complicated and is an object of thorough study. As we intended to conduct some of the measurements under water the results obtained would have to contribute to the understanding of the adaptation mechanisms. We designed and made special vessels provided with rubber covers and syringes to take water samples to determine oxygen content in water. At the same time we had to resolve numerous associated problems ranged from water agitation in vessels to software design to determine the final metabolic values on the results of
tHnoeawAQA0OaQA Owe
measurements. We could instal took samples every two or thr respiration rates and the siz round the clock and included
Both the preparation and the
effort was involved in data p continuously, but were absolu month, because laboratory rou
1 on the sea floor up to thirty vessels; a diver
ee hours depending on water temperature, animals’
e of the vessel. Th xperiments were conducted hundreds of laboratory measurements and analyses. work itself turned out to be very laborious; much rocessing and calculations. We could dive
tely unable to perform more than on xperiment per tine took all our time. Underwater experiments
particularly in winter demand mental strain on each one of
Sasha Pushkin who during a si put an animal in each, and ta him more than two hours. Each dive; we were to dive twice o night using the underwater to
d great efforts and put emotional, physical and us. In winter only permanent staff worked. It was ngle dive could install under water 20-30 vessels, ke samples in ten meters of water; all that took subsequent sampling demanded a forty five minute r three times a day, dive in the daytime and at rch lights.
We conducted th xperiments experienced a dismal failure. February when the sun barely
regularly for a year and a half until finally we A regular experiment was to be performed in raises above the horizon; the water is bone-
chilling and the sea is seldom calm. By that time Sasha Pushkin had left to work
for the Zoological Institute, the work. On that day the wea that, unfortunately, is very
and the five divers left could barely manage all ther was beautiful; the sea - as smooth as a mirror often a precursor of a storm in the Barents Sea.
Yet I hoped for the best and decided to put in the experiment since we had
already lost a fortnight due rather comfortable house prov
to the rough sea. By that time we had constructed a ided with a heater and electricity on Probnyi Cape
from where we dived. A headlight installed on the pole illuminated the diving
site at night and showed the diver where to