IS RESHAPING THE FUTURE OF OCEAN SCIENCE
The Medina Aquarius Program is a global beacon for marine conservation, exploration and discovery, featuring the FIU Aquarius Reef Base, the world’s only underwater research laboratory. FIU Aquarius Reef Base allows marine scientists to leave the terrestrial world behind and live among their research subjects for days, even weeks at a time. Situated within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, Aquarius provides invaluable access to one of the most biologically diverse and economically valuable ecosystems on earth. It sits on the most extensive living coral barrier reef system in contiguous U.S. waters — third-largest in the world. Incorporating artificial intelligence, marine renewable energy and wireless data transmission, this next-generation habitat is expanding opportunities for ocean science, technology development, and workforce training.
For decades, the FIU Aquarius Reef Base, operated by the Medina Aquarius Program, has been a temporary home for aquanauts who spend days or even weeks living and working underwater. FIU and technology start-up Tekmara have teamed up to transform Aquarius and the future of underwater habitats. Aquarius will host Tekmara’s sensor technology, combining advanced artificial intelligence, integrated data solutions and marine robotics for intelligent, real-time environmental monitoring.
LEGACY OF IMPACT
• Establishment of the world’s deepest coral nursery, searching for solutions to the catastrophic loss of corals worldwide
• Investigating the role seagrasses play in protecting reefs and mitigating ocean acidification
• Investigating sharks’ impacts on coral reefs to inform reef and shark protection
• Expanding research on how large predators structure coral reef ecosystems
• FIU selected as lead research partner for Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary
• Virtual tours and live chats with aquanauts for more than 1 million schoolchildren
• Training astronauts including two crew of Artemis II and navy personnel
• Development and testing of marine technologies
FUTURE AQUARIUS 2.0
FIU’s planning for Aquarius 2.0 is designed to expand the scope and scale of human activity in the oceans. Fundraising is underway for this next-generation habitat that will have a modular design to accommodate scientific study, proprietary research, advanced training and community engagement.