VALDOSTA STATE MAGAZINE 19 “You splash into the water, and you can’t see the bottom, but you know it’s down there — so you descend.” Dr. Timothy Henkel, associate professor in the Department of Biology at AV, recalls his first dive into the blue-green waters of the Atlantic Ocean on the 2017 National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Nancy Foster Research Expedition. Sixty feet beneath the NOAA ship Nancy Foster hides an active habitat home to loggerhead sea turtles, nurse sharks, and invertebrates that can live their entire lives permanently attached to the seafloor. This designated area of the Atlantic is known as Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary — or Gray’s Reef. It is one of 15 nationally protected marine territories in the United States, covering 22 square miles of live-bottom reefs and marine life. Underwater research from devoted scientists like Henkel is critical to the overall mission at Gray’s Reef, a hidden wonder of rocky carbonate-cemented sea floor and more than 200 fish species located only 19 miles offshore of Sapelo Island, Georgia. “Gray’s Reef is such an interesting place,” said Henkel. “On the surface, you’re 20 miles away from the shore, so there’s no land in sight. Depending on the weather the water can be kind of rocky, murky, and gray. On a good day, visibility is about 20 feet. So, we’re not talking about diving out in the Caribbean where you can see for on and on.” Gray’s Reef was established to protect an area of the Atlantic where temperate and tropical waters meet in the middle. It has been the only protected natural reef area on the continental shelf off the Georgia coast since 1981. Protecting and utilizing a resource that affects a wealth of marine life involves a combined effort between government agencies, full-time sanctuary staff, and marine experts from around the nation — especially Georgia. Since this ecosystem is underwater, it requires investigation Photos: Dr. Timothy Henkel