Learning to Read the Reef
Basic Research Diving taught me to turn curiosity into careful observation, supported by 14 scientific dives and 115 hours of study.
I have always wanted to look closer. At the College of the Florida Keys, I completed Basic Research Diving in Fall 2025 with an A. The course gave structure to that curiosity: plan the work, observe carefully, and record what the water is showing you.
AAUS stands for the American Academy of Underwater Sciences, a nonprofit organization that maintains standards of practice for scientific diving and scientific-diving programs. My AAUS Scientific Diver credential connects my training to that standards-based scientific-diving community.
My scientific-diving record documents 14 dives and 115 study hours, with work in navigation, surveys, transects and quadrats, gas-consumption tracking, and dive-safety skills. Each task asks for attention to the team and to the details that can be easy to miss when you are simply passing through.
A reef can be beautiful at first glance. Research diving taught me to stay long enough to notice patterns, gather useful information, and leave the site with a better question than the one I brought down.
