U.S. to Move Ocean-Floor Lab From Storm-Ravaged St. Croix
Damage from Hurricane Hugo is forcing federal researchers to move Aquarius, the world’s most sophisticated underwater research station, from the sea floor off St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, the government said Monday.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said that, although the lab itself was not affected by the storm, its surface support buoy was demolished and its on-shore research station was badly damaged.
Nearly seven months after the hurricane struck in September, 1989, there still is no regular telephone service to the station, oceanic agency spokesman Dane Konop said. Another problem has been a lack of access to emergency medical help, he said.
No research is being done in Aquarius, which has a laboratory and quarters that can accommodate teams of six scientists living and working on the sea floor for several days at a time. The 81-ton station will be floated to the surface and towed to another location this summer, officials said.
The new research site, which has not yet been chosen, will be in the Caribbean near the Florida Keys or the Bahama Islands.
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