INNERSPACE SCIENCE
EXPEDITIONS
If you have an idea for a submersible-enabled endeavor that furthers science, education, or marine conservation, please don't hesitate to reach out.
Expeditions are strictly non-commercial, with no chartering fees or paying passengers. Expedition participants simply pay for their own expenses or split costs with others if mutually agreed. Our submersibles can be towed by a SUV and launched from regular boat ramps, we absolutely minimize the required support infrastructure.
BEAVER ISLAND, MICHIGAN
Summer 2023
Beaver Island is about 30 miles offshore in Lake Michigan. Shackleton and R300 spent five days conducting science dives for Central Michigan University, which maintains a biological research station on the island. The subs searched for lake trout spawning grounds and collected data along transects. We dove on a submerged island covered in the stumps of 4,000 year old trees.
FLATHEAD LAKE, MONTANA
Summer 2019
Flathead Lake is a large natural lake in northwest Montana. In August 2019, Nekton Gamma and R300 made numerous dives collecting samples, video, still images, and sensor data for scientists at the University of Montana's Flathead Lake Bio Station (FLBS.) The scientific objectives were to better understand the substrate and biota in the littoral zone of Flathead Lake, to learn more about the distribution and habits of Mysis shrimp, and to identify specific sites of interest for future study.
A night dive with both submersibles was conducted in Yellow Bay to study temporal vertical migration of Mysis shrimp. Other dive sites included Painted Rock, Woods Bay and Bird Island.
Here is a great radio interview with Tom Bansak, Assistant Director of FLBS.
LAKE TAHOE
Summer 2018
The submersibles R300 and Nekton Gamma provided access to UC Davis graduate students from the Tahoe Environmental Research Center (TERC). The California Tahoe Conservancy provided space for a base of operations on land. UC Davis and the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency provided vessels for surface support of the submersibles. Research dives were done in Emerald Bay to study the abundance of Mysis shrimp, and at underwater mounts at the southern end of the lake to observe the impact of topographic features on the underwater habitat.