>> THAT'S ONE SMALL STEP
FOR MAN,
ONE GIANT LEAP FOR MANKIND.
(music)
>> I AM DR. QUENTON DOKKEN,
MANAGING PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
ON THE FLOWER GARDENS BANKS
MONITORING PROJECT.
(splash)
THE ABILITY TO TAKE A
SELF CONTAINED AIR SOURCE
AND DROP DOWN INTO
AN ENVIRONMENT WHERE HUMANS
WERE NEVER MEANT TO BE,
IT'S AN INCREDIBLE SENSATION.
I MAY HAVE BEEN A STRANGE KID,
I DON'T REALLY KNOW,
BUT I'VE KNOWN SINCE THE TIME
I WAS SIX YEARS OLD THAT
I WANTED TO BE A SCIENTIST.
I HAD NO IDEA WHAT TYPE OF
A SCIENTIST,
BUT I WANTED TO BE A SCIENTIST.
AND THEN LLOYD BRIDGES IN
SEA HUNT CAME ALONG AND
I THOUGHT, BOY, THIS IS GREAT.
THIS GUY IS HAVING ALL
THESE GREAT ADVENTURES
RESCUING THESE
DAMSELS IN DISTRESS,
AND, AHH, AND THAT'S FOR ME.
>> MY NAME IS CARL BEAVER AND
I AM A MARINE BIOLOGIST WITH
THE CENTER FOR COASTAL STUDIES
AT TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY.
(splash)
MOST PEOPLE TAKE A VACATION
TO GO TO THE BEACH
AND PLAY IN THE WATER
AND EXPLORE AND HAVE ADVENTURES.
I DO IT ALL THE TIME,
IT'S MY LIVING.
THERE'S ALWAYS SOMETHING
NEW TO SEE,
IT'S ALWAYS BEAUTIFUL, COLORFUL,
AH THERE'S EXCITEMENT, DRAMA.
AND YOU KNOW, YOU JUST HAVE
TO LEARN HOW TO LOOK FOR IT.
IT'S THERE.
I LEFT A JOB,
WITH BONUSES I WAS MAKING
CLOSE TO 60 GRAND A YEAR.
I LEFT THAT,
CAME BACK TO SCHOOL,
TOOK A T.A. POSITION OVER HERE
WHERE THERE'S ONLY TWO OF US,
TEACHING ELEVEN CLASSES,
$600 A MONTH.
I WENT FROM $60,000 A YEAR
TO $600 A MONTH.
NOW YOU HAVE TO BE A FANATIC
TO DO THAT.
AND YOU KNOW WHAT,
I DON'T REGRET IT A BIT.
GREATEST THING I EVER DID.
I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT
TEXANS REALIZE THAT THIS
NATIONAL TREASURE IS SITTING
IN TEXAS' BACKYARD.
THE FLOWER GARDENS ARE LOCATED
110 MILES EAST SOUTHEAST
OF GALVESTON.
THE FLOWER GARDEN BANKS ARE
JUST MOUNDS THAT WERE PUSHED
TOWARDS THE SURFACE FROM
THE BOTTOM DEPTH OF ABOUT
400 FEET BY SALT DOMES.
THESE TWO MOUNDS HAVE LIVING
CORAL GROWING ON TOP OF THEM
BECAUSE THEY DO STICK UP CLOSE
TO THE SURFACE.
>> THE FLOWER GARDEN BANKS
ARE ONE OF THE MOST UNIQUE,
DIVERSE, AND HEALTHY CORAL REEF
ECOSYSTEMS, HABITATS
ON NORTH AMERICA.
IT'S THE NORTHERN MOST
CORAL REEF ON THE CONTINENTAL
SHELF OF NORTH AMERICA.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT MAKES
THIS REEF SYSTEM UNIQUE IS THAT
IT IS SURROUNDED BY THE MOST
ACTIVE OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS
PRODUCTION AREA IN THE WORLD.
IT'S AMAZING, IT'S,
JUST COMPLETELY SURROUNDED,
AND YET RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE
OF ALL OF THIS WE HAVE
THIS CORAL REEF HABITAT.
AND SO WHAT WE DO IS GO OUT ON
ANNUAL CRUISES,
TO INSURE THAT THERE ARE
NO CHANGES, NO NEGATIVE CHANGES
OCCURRING IN THE REEF SYSTEM
ITSELF.
SHOULD WE SEE A NEGATIVE CHANGE
OCCURRING, WELL IT'S OUR JOB TO
TRY TO FIGURE OUT WHY WE'RE
SEEING A NEGATIVE OCCURRENCE,
AND HOW DO WE REVERSE
THAT TREND.
WE'RE LOOKING AT A WHOLE LOT
OF DIFFERENT ISSUES
OR CHARACTERISTICS OF THE
WATER BODY OUT HERE,
THE WATER COLUMN AS WELL AS
THE FLORA AND FAUNA ITSELF,
FROM WHICH WE CAN PRESENT
A BIG COMPREHENSIVE PICTURE
OF WHAT THE FLOWER GARDEN BANKS
LOOK LIKE.
MOST OF IT'S DONE
PHOTOGRAPHICALLY AND WE TAKE
THIS DATA BACK INTO THE LAB
AND THROUGH OUR ANALYSIS
OF THESE PHOTOGRAPHS,
WE CAN PROVIDE SOME LONG TERM
INDICATORS OF THE HEALTH,
GROWTH AND SUSTAINABILITY
OF THE CORAL REEFS.
>> THIS SYSTEM IS DESIGNED TO
TAKE REPEATABLE PHOTOGRAPHS OF
A PARTICULAR AREA ON THE OCEAN
FLOOR ON A REEF SO THAT WE CAN
COMPARE THOSE AREAS YEAR AFTER
YEAR AFTER YEAR.
THE CAMERA SYSTEM IS SET UP
SO THAT WE CAN PRODUCE AN
IDENTICAL PHOTOGRAPH EVERY YEAR
BY ORIENTING THE CAMERA IN
THE SAME DIRECTION FROM
THE SAME SPOT RECORDING
THE SAME AREA OF THE REEF.
THE GOOD THING ABOUT PHOTOGRAPHY
IS THAT IT IS NONINVASIVE,
IT DOESN'T DESTROY THE REEF.
IT ALLOWS US TO LOOK AT IT,
COMPARE IT, AND HOPEFULLY
PROTECT IT WITHOUT HARMING IT.
THIS IS A SHOT OF THE COMMUNITY
TAKEN IN 1998.
WE HAVE THE LARGE POST HERE
THAT WE HAD ON THE FRAMER.
THIS PARTICULAR COMMUNITY,
COLONY HERE IS OF INTEREST
TO ME BECAUSE IT'S RELATIVELY
HEALTHY, PRETTY LARGE,
UNIFORM COLOR,
MAYBE A LITTLE BIT OF DAMAGE
HERE,
AND PERHAPS A LITTLE BIT HERE.
NOW WE LOOK AT THE SAME
PHOTOGRAPH THE FOLLOWING YEAR,
AGAIN,
HERE'S THE POST FROM THE CAMERA
THAT WE USED,
BUT IT'S GOT A GOOD BIT MORE
DAMAGE.
POSSIBLY DISEASE,
POSSIBLY DAMAGE FROM FISH OR
ANCHORING.
BUT THESE ARE THE AREAS THAT WE
ARE LOOKING FOR,
WE WANT TO KNOW HOW MUCH
OF THIS IS GOING ON.
NOW THAT WE HAVE BOTH BEFORE
AND AFTER BORDERS ON ONE SHEET
OF PAPER WE CAN SEE THE ORIGINAL
COLONY AND WE CAN SEE AREAS
THAT ARE DAMAGED.
AFTER THAT IT IS QUITE A SIMPLE
MATTER TO DETERMINE THE PERCENT
OF THAT COMMUNITY THAT IS
DECREASED OVER THE YEAR.
WE HAVE GOOD COMPARABLE DATA FOR
THE LAST EIGHT YEARS, AND IT'S
IMPORTANT FOR US TO CONTINUE
MONITORING THESE REEF SYSTEMS
AND MAKE SURE THAT THE ACTIVITY
THAT IS GOING ON IN THE OIL
AND GAS INDUSTRY AND TERRESTRIAL
HERE ON LAND, DOESN'T REACH OUT
AND TOUCH OUR REEFS IN A WAY
THAT WE DON'T WANT THEM TO.
>> ORGANIZED MONITORING OF
THE FLOWER GARDEN BANKS HAS
BEEN GOING ON SINCE 1989,
AND TO DATE,
ALL OF OUR FINDINGS HAVE BEEN
POSITIVE.
WE HAVE NOT UNCOVERED OR
OBSERVED ANYTHING THAT WOULD
SUGGEST THAT THE DEMISE OF
THE FLOWER GARDENS ARE IMMINENT.
THEY, BY ALL THE MEASURES
THAT WE TAKE,
THEY APPEAR TO BE A HEALTHY,
GROWING, FLOURISHING HABITAT.
THESE CORALS TAKE HUNDREDS OF
YEARS TO GROW.
THEY WORK ON GEOLOGICAL TIME
SCALES,
AND TO LOOK AT TRENDS TO SEE
TRENDS YOU'VE GOT TO HAVE A
LONG TERM DATABASE.
WE ACTUALLY KNOW MORE ABOUT
THE MOON AND THE SURFACE OF
THE MOON THAN WE DO THE DEPTHS
OF THE OCEANS.
THE BEAUTY OF THE FLOWER
GARDENS,
IT IS SOMETHING JUST AS A
FOREST OR A MOUNTAIN WILL SPEAK
TO THE SPIRIT OF A PERSON,
SO WILL A CORAL REEF.
YOU CANNOT OBSERVE ANY OF IT
WITHOUT BEGINNING TO APPRECIATE
THE BLESSING OF YOUR LIFE
AND ABILITY TO BE HERE.