Undersea Bubble Transport

"It was absolutely transformative. The profusion of life was so much greater than what I had imagined."
"It was amazing to see all this bioluminescence [within the dark sea] and realize it's a major form of communication."
"It really changes your perspective."
"Regardless of the driver, whether it's rich guys with yachts or scientists with instruments, the fact that the technology is evolving means it's going to be much easier to do this kind of research in the future."
Dr.Bruce H.Robison, marine biologist Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, California

"They keep reaching deeper and deeper."
"People want to see it firsthand. It's all about connecting with the ocean."
Will Kohnen, Marine Technology Society

Looking at a sunken ship's barnacle-covered propeller.

OceanX

Back in 1985 a giant bubble constructed of clear plastic carried Dr. Robison down into the sea, below the level where sunshine penetrates, to give him an unobstructed view of life deep under water at a depth hardly imagined previously, accessible in the past by submarines whose view perspective was through tiny round windows hardly illustrative of a wide panoramic view of what the ocean deep holds to astonish the onlooker. That unique, first-time experience has bloomed into a large-scale adventure in scientific investigation and tourism for thousands of people, decades later.

The submarine's glass hull might need to be made in a similar way to giant telescope lenses (Science Photo Library)

Ocean exploration is steadily reaching new depths and with it adding to the bank of data and answering questions to age-old dilemmas about the world and its oceanic inner depths. What are now referred to as 'bubble' crafts are steadily advancing their technological capabilities. Dives can go as deep as close to 3,000 metres, far below depths where sunlight can penetrate, to reveal sea life promiscuously carrying on hidden from human eyes.

The current crop of plastic globes can carry up to seven people, with larger, deeper-diving bubbles being engineered for the future.

An OceanX submersible being lifted out of the sea.

OceanX

The sunless depths of the ocean are being revealed and new discoveries being logged constantly. A dive off Portugal's Azores Islands in 2016 witnessed a female anglerfish and a mate in a sexual embrace. The resulting video caused marine biologists to celebrate the revelations of the anglerfish behaviours hitherto unseen. Dangling a bioluminescent lure in front of its needlelike teeth has boosted behavioural knowledge for biologists of this secretive, deep-ocean fish.

That same year, scientists attached a satellite tag to a blunt-nose sixgill shark, notable as a giant predator predating the presence of most dinosaurs. The scientists in a bubble that succeeded in tagging the shark anticipate deep tagging to provide accurate tracking of these animals. Advances in electronics and materials sciences have assisted hugely in the manufacture and expanding usefulness of these plastic bubbles aiding scientific discovery.

A jellyfish in Alaskan waters.

OceanX

In Sebastian, Florida, a bubble-sub company is building a plastic bubble two meters wide, with 2,700 kilograms of acrylic. The craft can dive 2,000 meters with three people aboard, with its 16 centimeter-thick walls. It is mostly wealthy people; owners of superyachts pricing out at $100-million and more that are behind the development of bubble ocean craft, which are themselves heftily priced between $2 and $5 million.

Triton Submarines announced in September that a Norwegian billionaire has ordered a bubble able to descend 2,286 metres, at a depth marking the deepest yet dive for such a sphere. The plan is to make use of the three-person sphere for scientific research with its 30 centimeter-thick walls, for his ocean foundation. A Triton vehicle was piloted nearly 22 kilometers down into the Challenger Deep -- the deepest trench on Earth, by a wealthy investor in April. Made of titanium, the craft featured three portholes the size of dinner plates fixed into its superstrong metal carapace.

An undersea luxury resort to be named Poseidon [in Greek legend Poseidon was the god of the seas] has been proposed by Triton, to sit at the base of a lagoon in Fiji next to a coral reef, and featuring 24 guest rooms, their domes made of plastic.