A scientist has emerged from an underwater capsule after spending almost two weeks generating his own oxygen and electricity.
For the past 12 days, marine biologist Lloyd Godson's home has been a steel box at the bottom of a lake near Albury, on the NSW-Victoria border.
Mr Godson said his experience camping in Antarctica in 2003 had helped him prepare for the difficulties of underwater living.
At noon the scientist, dubbed the Aquanaut, emerged from a two-metre high yellow biosub capsule, in a place called The Pit near a former quarry.
"It's nice to feel the sunshine on the face and the breeze here," Mr Godson said soon after coming out of the biosub, which had been three metres below the surface.
"It starts to play on your mind a bit after 12 days obviously. You start to get a bit of cabin fever, but you know I handled it surprisingly well.
"I thought it was going to drive me a bit more nuts than it did."
Funded by the Australian Geographical Society, the project was an experiment in self-sufficiency and sustainability under water.
Mr Godson, 29, was able to test a product that uses algae to absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen for breathing.
He also used a pedal-powered generator to circulate the algae and generate electricity to recharge his laptop.
During his time under water he was monitored by psychologist Nancy Rader of New York's Ithaca College.
Schoolchildren were able to view his twice-daily webcasts, while locals kept him sane by asking questions over a video intercom system.
"It's the first time this has been done so it's paving the way for future experiments in this area ... like plant-based life-support systems for underwater or space applications, or whatever it may be," he said.
"We got some good data down there so it will be interesting now when we analyse all that and the right people will see it and we'll work on making improvements for the next one."
NASA scientist Dennis Chamberland has invited Mr Godson to be part of an underwater habitat project in 2009.
Front page
RSS Feed