Florida teen researches scuba diving in Antarctica

John Humphreys had never seen snow in person until he ventured to Buffalo, New York, in January to go scuba diving. Just a month later, the 15-year-old Tampa resident and 4-H member was navigating underwater around Antarctic icebergs.

Returning from a nearly three-week trip, John plans to spend most of his summer analyzing iceberg data that he and 15 adult citizen scientists collected under his instruction. His ability to convey what he learned through a research paper and two presentations in August will ultimately determine whether he earns MasterNaut certification, the highest honor in the SCUBAnauts marine science education program.

“The reason he took this trip was to help answer some important questions and to let people know that kids can do it: that if you work hard enough at something, you can achieve your goal, and he did it,” said Nicole Humphreys, John’s mother.

John's rise to potential MasterNaut status began in 2020, when he joined 4-H. Colleagues in the organization introduced him to scuba diving and he became a SCUBA-naut, eventually earning certifications in advanced open water diving, coral rescue and restoration before reaching master classification scuba diver, the highest level of recreational certification.

In October he heard of a research trip to Antarctica planned to coincide with the 150th anniversary of HMS Challenger's 1874 voyage to the area.

“Given that HMS Challenger has made many contributions to the understanding of our oceans, this voyage aimed to commemorate the ship's efforts and contributions and usher in a new era of citizen science,” John said.

Trip organizers approved the Central Florida teenager's request to join them in November. He quickly set about acquiring a dry suit that could insulate his body from the icy water and earned dry suit certification. Subsequent training for Antarctica required 50 dives, including 10 in waters 39 degrees or colder.

Katie Cooper, John's SCUBAnauts instructor, accompanied him on the trip. She described him as “an incredibly determined young man.”

“When he first expressed interest, I had reservations because it’s a very specialized business that requires extensive preparation, even beyond the training and experience he already had,” Cooper said. “But the more we talked about it, we developed a plan, and I knew he would do everything he could to prepare.”

On February 21, their ship, the 91-meter-long Ortelius, left Ushuaia, Argentina. Immersed in 0°C waters, John and his team classified the icebergs they encountered, documenting their shape, color and size. On board, he participated in a live-streamed informational video for primary school students around the world. John and Amy Moran, a marine biologist at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, showed viewers their full gear and described the wildlife they observed during the trip: whales, leopard seals, sea spiders, sea anemones, plankton, limpets, starfish and three species of penguins.

“You’re the youngest person I know who’s ever dived in Antarctica,” Moran told John during the live stream.

It's certainly a great achievement, but it pales in comparison to John's ultimate aspiration: to become an astronaut mission commander specializing in Mars exploration.

“I hope to help others achieve their goals and dream big, because even something that seems as impossible as diving in Antarctica at 15 years old is not if you have the will to do it,” said John . “You just have to know that it’s possible. »

Photo credits Becky Schott of Liquid Productions, Becky Schott of Liquid Productions and John Humphreys