Manned submersibles for research. These immature but developing tools open another door for examining history and...

The past decade has seen the development of small submersibles as a new and effective tool of geology, acoustics, marine biology, and physical oceanography. As with all tools, it has special capabilities and limitations. The methods of use and the needed engineering improvements are being identified. Scientists, engineers, government, and industry are responding so that advances toward both less-expensive simple vehicles and high-performance complex vehicles are proceeding.