Undersea Agriculture: The Forgotten Quest to Live and Work on the Ocean Floor
In the 1950s and 1960s, while NASA was making headlines for its moon landing missions, a lesser-known group of pioneers was working to explore the ocean floor. Led by Captain George Bond, the US Navy’s “Man-In-The-Sea” program aimed to establish human settlements on the ocean floor. This audacious endeavor was met with skepticism by many, including the Navy itself, but Bond was undeterred.
Bond’s vision was shaped by his work in the 1950s, exploring the potential of undersea habitats for scientific research and experimental farming. He was convinced that the ocean held untold riches and opportunities, from mining to agriculture, but to tap into these resources, humans needed to be able to live and work on the ocean floor.
Bond’s team developed a concept called saturation diving, which involved breathing a special gas mixture to prevent the bends. This allowed divers to stay underwater for extended periods without the need for frequent surface breaks. The theory was that if divers were gradually acclimated to the pressure and gas mixture, they could spend days or even weeks underwater without experiencing the effects of decompression sickness.
The first two Sealab habitats, built in 1964 and 1965, were successful, with aquanauts spending up to 45 days underwater. The program’s success led to increased funding and support, with the Navy planning to build a larger, more advanced habitat, Sealab III, in 1969.
Tragedy struck on February 15, 1969, when Sealab III was deployed at a depth of 610 feet. The habitat began to leak, and a team of aquanauts was sent to fix the problem. Berry Cannon, one of the aquanauts, died in the incident, and the program was ultimately canceled.
Despite the setback, Bond’s legacy continued to inspire others, and his work in saturation diving paved the way for modern undersea research and exploration. Today, scientists use adapted versions of his original design to study the ocean floor, and the concept of living and working underwater remains an important area of research and exploration.
