For instructor Brenda Konar of Fairbanks, being in icy water is nothing new. In fact, Konar, who is originally from California, prefers diving in cold water.

“I’ve been in the Beaufort Sea and the Antarctic and it’s beautiful. The visibility is just incredible,” she said. “It’s by far the best diving I’ve ever done. The water is so clear and the organisms so unique. You just don’t find these things elsewhere.”

Recalling dives in the Antarctic, Konar said, “You see gigantic sea spiders. You see huge sponges you can sit inside of. You get gigantic worms that are a couple of feet long and form these massive worm piles.”

Certification with AAUS opens the door to an underwater world of possibilities for scientists and divers. Incorporated as a nonprofit in 1977, AAUS consists of members engaged in scientific diving activities. Its programs allow research dive teams to operate under an exemption from OSHA commercial diving regulations. Members are protected from possible fines and civil suits by a confirmed commitment to the organization’s requirements and adherence to a set of standards recognized within the scientific diving community.

The first time Hamilton took the course was in 2000, shortly after she arrived in Alaska from Kentucky.

“When I came up here, it was the first time I’d spent any appreciable time on the ocean,” Hamilton said. Her first job was kayaking in the Ketchikan area. “I was so enamoured with everything that I just had to know more about it and decided to go to Fairbanks and check out grad school opportunities.”

While at UAF, Hamilton’s path crossed Konar’s, who had just begun working at the university.

“I talked to her about grad school and my interests and she asked if I was a SCUBA diver. I said no, but I could be,” Hamilton said.

Konar encouraged Hamilton to enroll in the university’s scientific diving class.

“That first year there were 13 students and everybody made it through and got certified. If you get the cerficiation, you can dive for any governmental agencies,” Hamilton said, adding that certifications are depth-specific. “At first, you start out with a 30-foot designation after doing 12 dives at around 30 feet. Then, if you want to jump to the next level, 60-feet, you do another 12 dives approaching 60 feet. After that you can get the 100-foot certification. I’ve gone to 100.”

Depending on experience after that point, divers can add to their certifications.

Students in this UAF program, which includes beginning and advanced scientific diving classes, have come from all over the world.

“A lot of them are undergrads. One is from Aregentina. I’ve had a number from Japan, one from Russia and had someone from France,” Konar said. “There’s a mix of diving skills and a mix of scientific background.”

For seven of her students, last week’s dive in Kasitsna Bay was their first ocean dive. Two to three dives of 20- to 45-minute duration each is typical for each student. One day is set aside for rescue drills. Equipment is provided through a Fairbanks dive shop. The lab at Kasitsna Bay offers a dive compressor, a dive locker to help protect gear from the elements, hot showers to warm students after a dive and sleeping facilities which are appreciated at the end of an exhausting day.

“It’s a pretty intensive class and people sleep very well,” Konar said.

As a student in the advanced class, Hamilton is required to complete a project. Hers will focus on clams, which complements the work she does at KBRR.

In spite of last week’s bitter temperatures, Hamilton reported the class went well.

“Everybody was in great spirits and had a heck of a week, but it was hideously cold and windy and really nudged it up a notch in terms of cold water diving,” she said.

To Konar’s way of thinking, diving in Alaska is a feather in the students’ caps.

“I tell my divers that if you can make it through my class, you can go anywhere. You can send divers trained in Alaska to Florida and they’ll be OK,” she said. “I had a student last year that did 300 dives at the lab. When you leave Alaska with credentials like that, that’s pretty good.”

McKibben Jackinsky can be reached at mckibben.jackinsky@homernews.com.