A few weeks ago, we told you about Beth and Shaun Tierney's book called Diving The World. According to the book's publisher, Footprint Travel Guides, Diving The World "takes the underwater adventurer on a magical tour of many of the world's top dives. Over 200 prime sites have been carefully selected, reviewed and photographed..." Come on, I thought; how could one book accurately and adequately describe so many dive sites? Surely, I felt, the Tierneys must've dashed off a quick paragraph describing the country; slapped down a sentence or two about each dive site; tossed in a few photos; and then moved on to the next destination. I wanted to see for myself. Consequently, I recently got my hands on a copy, and all I can say is:
In response to a lawsuit filed by environmental groups, a US federal judge has issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting the US Navy from using a type of sonar allegedlyharmful to whales and othermarinemammals. The environmental group demanded a ban on sonar use during the RIMPAC-2006 military drills, currently underway off Hawaii. While this is (probably) good news for Hawaii's marine mammals -- including the sea lions and dolphins participating in the drills -- the human participants are probably irked with the ruling.
If you're a novice underwater photographer looking for a mid-range underwater camera, check out this short round-up of 5 popular models. Mentioning both pros and cons associated with the cameras, the list includes:
After you've made your purchase decision, give the 10 Commandments for Underwater Photgraphers a good once-over. Though a tad dated, the bulk of the material is still relevant.
At this year's RIMPAC war games -- a military-themed role-playing game in which the multinational coalition "Blue" forces try to enforce United Nations' sanctions to prevent country "Orange" from overtaking country "Green" -- the US Navy is expected to have a secret weapon up its sleeve. Along with the subs, ships and planes participating in the large-scale military exercise taking place this month, a team of 6 bottle-nosed dolphins and 4 California sea lions will be taking part, as well. The dolphins will be used to seek out mines, while the sea lions will help recover them. For the curious, note that the dolphins will NOT be armed.
Both the sea lions and the dolphins live in the Navy's Marine Mammal complex in San Diego, home to 75 dolphins and 30 sea lions. The selected sea lions will be transported to Hawaii in specialized cages, while the dolphins will be carried in 10-foot-long fiberglass boxes filled with enough water to enable them to float.
Of course, opponents of the Marine Mammal Program say the military should not train animals for use in warfare, but the Navy claims its technology can't match the natural skills of the dolphins and sea lions.
One of the most obvious reasons divers dive: to see stuff we've never seen before!
Bonny Lo added this photo -- confusingly titled "house keeper 像管家婆跑出來張望的螳螂蝦 嘿嘿" -- to Divester's pool of photos on Flickr. I think the picture is striking from the standpoint of color, unusual-ness, and its freaking eyes; however, I wish I knew more about the animal. Right now, all I know is that the picture is in a set of photos called "Anilao May 2006." Nevertheless, it's still an awesome shot!
Oh, what a leading headline... What I'm really talking about is female fish. Seriously!
The Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies recently examined the damselfish on the Great Barrier Reef. They concluded that the number of females interacting with breeding females had a direct effect on the size of the fry. In other words, too many "extra" females causes pregnant fish to have smaller babies. According to chief researcher Mark McCormick, "We found that the more females present, the higher the levels of aggression between them - and the higher the levels of the stress hormone, cortisol, in their ovaries."
Recently, researchers discovered that salps -- about the size of human thumbs and considered very low on the food chain -- may be more important to the fate of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide in the ocean than previously thought. Swarming in swarms of billions, salps are believed to be responsible for transporting tons of carbon each day from the ocean's surface to the deep sea and keep it from re-entering the atmosphere.
The transparent, barrel-shaped jellyfish-like creatures swim by drawing in water, passing the water over a mucus membrane that vacuums it clean of all material -- including microscopic carbon-containing plants -- and then forcefully ejecting the water. Later, their sinking fecal pellets transport carbon to deep water. Who knows? Maybe in a few years salp-farming will be a convenient answer to an inconvenient truth.
Pierre Constant has been visiting the Galapagos Islands since the early 1980s. He wrote a natural history guide to the Islands in 1983, and he published a marine life guide in 1992. Recently, he even became a permanent resident of IsabelaIsland.
Considered an expert on the Galapagos, Constant's second edition of Marine Life of the Galapagos: Divers' Guide to the Fish, Whales, Dolphins and Marine Invertebrates will soon be released. Well, if you consider February of 2008 "soon." If you can't wait that long to get a field guide to the Islands, you can always pick up a copy of the book's first edition. Geared specifically to divers, the first edition contains over 300 pages featuring over 280 photos and 20 maps. Almost certainly, the second edition will contain more info, more maps, and more photos.
Finally, for a quick overview of the area, check out the fabulous Eric Cheng's photo gallery of his 2003 trip to Isabela. Talk about "walls of fish"!
Often, the best place to see marine animals is inside an aquarium. As divers, though, we usually feel the need to swim among the marine life we see, as opposed to just peering at it through glass. If you're one of those divers, here are some of the aquaria in the US that offer the chance for you to become a volunteer diver:
The Seattle Aquarium offers divers the chance to dive in both the Pacific Coral Reef exhibit and the Underwater Dome. Divers' duties include feeding fish and cleaning algae off windows. Divers must provide the Aquarium with proof of certification, dive logs documenting at least 12 cold water dives within the past year, and a doctor's statement of fitness. For details about what's involved in volunteering at the Seattle Aquarium, check out Optical Ocean. Jack claims that, although it's quite a time commitment, volunteering there is "a lot of fun."
Atlanta's Georgia Aquarium offers chances to dive with the whale sharks there! In this Aquarium -- as with many others -- diving volunteers must undergo background and medical checks; log dozens of hours (even months!) in other, non-diving volunteer positions; be proficient swimmers; and (of course) be certified divers. In Georgia, there are only 55 people who meet these stringent requirements. However, getting to dive with whale sharks or beluga whales makes the time investment worthwhile.
Camden, New Jersey's Adventure Aquarium uses volunteer divers in the aquarium's 760,000 gallon Ocean Tank. Divers perform in dive shows; assist in exhibit maintenance and cleaning; and prepare the food and feed the animals in the exhibit. Divers must commit to 16 hours of volunteer time per month. If you don't want to dive in Camden, the Aquarium also offers people the chance to participate in other, behind-the-scenes feeding activities, as well.
The Shedd Aquarium uses qualified divers who have logged at least 30 hours of open-water dive time (including at least 5 hours of cold-water diving) to assist the Marine Mammals staff with early-morning cleaning dives. Positions are available 7 days a week between 7:30 and 9:30 a.m. The minimum commitment is 6 months for weekday volunteers and 1 year for weekend volunteers.
The Oregon Coast Aquarium seeks qualified divers to help clean its tanks and feed its animals. A (PDF) application that discusses the requirements and job opportunities is available online.
Of course, these are just some of the opportunities for divers in aquaria throughout the world. In excahnge for your hard work, most aquaria offer discounted (or free) passes to the aquarium, as well as other incentives.
Have you ever volunteered at an aquarium? How did you like it?
The San Diego Oceans Foundation developed the Dive-A-Thon so divers could dive AND raise money for a cause. Running the entire month of August, divers in the '-Thon are required to log their dives in an online logbook. Points are then assigned to divers based on the number of minutes they remain submerged AND the amount of dollars they raise. Finally, prizes are distributed based on the divers who earn the most points. Dive-A-Thon organizers also provide incentives to divers who don't max out the points but who meet personal fundraising goals.
In order to participate, a diver must register (registration costs you $25, but you get a t-shirt for your troubles), develop a personal webpage, send the page to friends and family, and encourage them to sponsor you. You don't have to be a San Diego resident to participate, but all proceeds from the event will help support programs -- like Ships 2 Reefs, Fisheries Enchancement, Marine Science Education, and pollution prevention programs -- in Southern California.
If you're interested, the website lists the prizes available; provides tips on how to increase your fundraising dollars; and has a place for you to make a donation without doing anything at all. Sounds like a fun way to spend an August!
We've been told that aerobic exercise prior to diving can help reduce your chances of DCS, although this advice is not universal. Nevertheless, however, almost all divers are discouraged from engaging in exercise after diving. This is because some studies suggest that exercising after diving can facilitate bubble formation and contribute to decompression sickness.
Recently, though, researchers working with 7 male military divers tried to determine whether a short period of strenuous post-dive exercise promotes bubble formation. After diving to 100 feet for 30 minutes, the divers engaged in "short, strenuous incremental upright cycle ergometry, up to 85% of maximal oxygen uptake, for about 10 minutes" -- which sounds suspiciously like exercycling to me. The result? No cases of DCS or intra-pulmonary shunt were observed during or following the post-dive exercise. In other words, the results suggest that post-dive exercise after a single dive reduces post-dive bubble formation in well-trained military divers. The researchers caution, however, that additional findings are needed for normal sports divers.
Andy over at Scuba Geek wonders if these results are applicable only for "relatively short and shallow dives," and not for longer, deeper exposures. I'm curious if these results are applicable only for a single dive made by healthy divers. But I'm not a DCS expert. Are you? What do you think?
This weekend, I had to say goodbye to an old friend. My Dacor reg -- which has served me for the past 18 years -- finally gave up the ghost. According to my LDS, replacement parts are no longer available for it, and it seemed...well...time to move on. So I purchased a new reg: an Oceanic Alpha 8. I haven't gotten to test it yet -- I'm going diving this weekend, however! -- and I'm anxious to see how it performs.
For the past 18 years, I've carefully coiled my reg inside my BC and carefully placed my BC inside my dive bag. However, sometimes I notice other divers carrying their regs inside dedicated reg bags. Do you carry your precious air-supplying piece of equipment in its own protective carrying case, or do you do what I do? Are dedicated reg bags just more crap for divers to buy, or do you think they're a way to treat gear with a little respect?
For the curious, here are a few regulator bags that look to be highly adequate:
Deep See makes a nylon & heavy-duty-PVC-coated bag with a U-shaped zipper that allows it to open completely.
Akona makes a wide variety of dive gear bags, including the AKB-604 Regulator Bag, which comes with a padded handle, a shoulder strap, and a console/computer protective sleeve to provide additional protection for your expensive gauges.
Beaver makes a padded, zippered bag designed to protect a complete regulator, octopus and console combination. With adjustable shoulder strap and velcro closing, the front pocket also has room for other essentials.
Armor Products makes a variety of reg bags, including the Deluxe Bag that boasts foam padding; 1 main and 2 outer compartments; interior gear holding straps; a carrying handle and shoulder strap; and a drain hole.
Stahlsac's Roatan Regulator Bag offers extra large capacity for carrying 2 regulators. Featuring 1 inch of foam protection and a padded bottom, the ballistic cloth bag sports an inner mesh pocket; a padded divider; an outside pocket for accessories; and a padded shoulder strap.
Generally speaking, diving isn't a very sexy sport. Let's face it: we pull ourselves into skin-tight wetsuits that don't flatter us. We wear goofy-looking equipment that makes us wobble around the boat. And when we're finished diving, we get a weird ring around our faces, and we usually have snot dripping from our noses. We're not a sexy bunch. But that doesn't mean the places we visit can't be sexy.
In fact, the world is filled with sexy, dive-friendly islands, and if you doubt me, check out this list of the world's 10 sexiest islands. The list's makers claim that, to be "sexy," the islands had to be "neither overdeveloped nor underdeveloped"; had to maintain the right level of indulgence; had to be neither too easy (not too hard) to reach; and had to have unusual natural or cultural features. Briefly, the islands are:
Anguilla
Corsica
Hvar
Formentera
Lhaviyani Atoll
Molokai
Paradise Island
St. Barthelemy
Santorini
Sardinia
Be sure to check out the slideshow of the islands. It includes tips on where to stay and how to get there.
Last month, Clyde "Bucky" Dennis landed a 1280 pound hammerhead off Florida's west coast. Not only does this hammerhead appear to be the largest hammerhead ever recorded, it was carrying 55 shark pups. In fact, scientists at Mote Marine Laboratory announced that the litter was the largest ever found inside a hammerhead; previously, experts believed hammerheads gave birth to only 20 to 40 pups at a time. Of the 55 pups, 52 were nearly full-term, while 3 were undeveloped. In addition to the pups, researchers discovered an entire southern stingray and the rear half of a 5-foot-long tarpon inside the belly of the shark.
While Mote officials rejoiced over the value the specimen will contribute to furthering knowledge of the species, they also expressed sadness that the shark carried so many unborn pups that were near birth.
To complement their wetsuits, Swedish dive gear maker Waterproof now makes dive mittens (but we can call them gloves if you like). The three-fingered Crux gloves are coated in Toughtex and offer a reinforced palm. They also feature a glide skin interior and a long zipper to make getting them on and off a breeze. With a smooth-skin wrist seal, the gloves -- available as the 5mm glove and the 7mm dry glove -- come in fashionable black. If you don't like the three-fingered "claw"-look, Waterproof also make more traditional-looking gloves with 5 fingers.
A few weeks ago, we told you about Beth and Shaun Tierney's book called Diving The World. According to the book's publisher, Footprint Travel Guides, Diving The World "takes the underwater adventurer on a magical tour of many of the world's top dives. Over 200 prime sites have been carefully selected, reviewed and photographed..." Come on, I thought; how could one book accurately and adequately describe so many dive sites? Surely, I felt, the Tierneys must've dashed off a quick paragraph describing the country; slapped down a sentence or two about each dive site; tossed in a few photos; and then moved on to the next destination. I wanted to see for myself. Consequently, I recently got my hands on a copy, and all I can say is:
In response to a lawsuit filed by environmental groups, a US federal judge has issued a 
If you're a novice underwater photographer looking for a 
At this year's 
Oh, what a leading headline... What I'm really talking about is female fish. Seriously!
Recently, researchers discovered that 
Often, the best place to see marine animals is inside an aquarium. As divers, though, we usually feel the need to swim among the marine life we see, as opposed to just peering at it through glass. If you're one of those divers, here are some of the aquaria in the US that offer the chance for you to become a volunteer diver:
The 
We've been told that aerobic 
This weekend, I had to say goodbye to an old friend. My Dacor reg -- which has served me for the past 18 years -- finally gave up the ghost. According to my LDS, replacement parts are no longer available for it, and it seemed...well...time to move on. So I purchased a new reg: an 
Generally speaking, diving isn't a very sexy sport. Let's face it: we pull ourselves into skin-tight wetsuits that don't flatter us. We wear goofy-looking equipment that makes us wobble around the boat. And when we're finished diving, we get a weird ring around our faces, and we usually have snot dripping from our noses. We're not a sexy bunch. But that doesn't mean the places we visit can't be sexy.
Last month, 
To complement their 
