Most of the humanity ’s habitable environments consist late enough beneath the ocean that life variant have adapt to enceinte pressure . Pisces can hurt their own equivalent of the bends if bring to the surface too quickly . Consequently , it has been impossible to study these creatures in the lab . A pressurized bedroom scream SubCAS ( Submersible for Ascending Specimens ) is change that , however , permit us to entrance species alive where we have never deal before .
“ A speedy ascent can rupture a Pisces ’s swimming bladder , ” saidDr Luiz Rochaof the California Academy of Sciences in astatement . Of course , people have treatedthe bendsfor decades using hyperbaric chambers , but something desirable for fish is new . InFrontiers in Marine ScienceRocha describes how SubCAS incorporates a collecting jar inside a larger chamber . Both are made of transparent charge plate so plunger can keep follow on their charges as they ascend .
Divers usingclosed - circuit rebreathingequipment can reach out depths beyond traditional SCUBA equipment . There they capture Pisces the Fishes at profundity of up to 150 meters ( 500 foot ) , bed as mesophotic profundity , or more colloquially the Twilight Zone because so piffling light penetrates . SubCAS operators stop twice on the way up – once to blow an air bubble into the lid of the chamber , and a 2nd time to hand the gizmo to a support squad to convey to shore . “ The breeze house of cards is critical , ” say co - writer Matt Wandell of Monterey Bay Aquarium . “ As it expands during ascent and helps keep the pressure level inside the chamber . ”
“ Using an adjustable press control valve , we ensure that the pressure inside the chamber is similar to the depth where the fishes were collected , ” Rocha say . “ Over the course of two to three day , we bring them to the surrounding airfoil pressure in a highly controlled manner . ”
Lead authorDr Bart Shepherdtold IFLScience SubCAS has been used on inquiry expeditions since 2014 on Witwatersrand across the tropic Pacific . Of 174 fish brought to the surface , 155 pull through . Most were successfully flown to the Steinhart Aquarium for inclusion inan exhibitionof mesophotic coinage .
In recent years we havediscovered the existenceof biologically deep coral Witwatersrand at depths below 60 meter ( 200 foot ) . These reef shape during the last Ice Age and survived the oceans ' rise . They may stand a good chance of resisting human impacts than shallower equivalent , and could potentiallyserve as seedbanksto restore others if we arrest our ocean degradation . However , for this to pass we will need to understand them better , which is where SubCAS come in .
Shepherd note hyperbaric chambers were used for fish collections on at least two occasions previously but “ these designs were too large and ill-chosen ” for individual divers to carry .
