Dolphin strandings in Mass
WELLFLEET, Mass (AP) — There’s no good spot on Cape Cod for dolphins to continue this winter’s massive and unexplained beachings, but a group of 11 has chosen one of the worst. The remote inlet down Wellfleet’s Herring River is a place where the tides recede fast and far, and that’s left the animals mired in a grayish-brown mud one local calls “Wellfleet mayonnaise.” Walking is the only way to reach the animals, but it’s not easy. Rescuers crunch through cord grass and seashells before hitting a grabby muck that releases a footstep only after a sucking pop. One volunteer hits a thigh-deep “hole” and tumbles forward. The mud covers his face like messy war paint the rest of the morning. Rescuers make a quick assessment once they reach the animals. One dolphin is … Read entire article »
Filed under: Dolphin, Featured, ocean, Open Water, Reference, Report
The ultimate amphibious trucks
Gibbs Humdinga II, Phibian trucks can pivot their wheels to achieve high speeds on water By Bryan Laviolette | The Detroit Bureau After more than a decade of false starts, Gibbs Technologies launched a High Speed Amphibian that it says will change the way rescue crews respond in disaster situations. With the dramatic backdrop of the Pentagon on one side and the Washington Monument just across the Potomac River, Gibbs gave a demonstration of Phibian, a 30-foot amphitruck, which will be road legal and capable of more than 80 mph on the highway and 30 mph in water. Like Gibbs’ other amphibians, the Phibian can transition between land and water in as little as 5 seconds. Like the rest of its products, the Phibian uses proprietary technology that allows it to seamlessly transition between … Read entire article »
S.B. Filmmaker Mike DeGruy Killed in Helicopter Crash
Mike DeGruy, the internationally respected and unanimously liked documentarian of underwater nature films who called Santa Barbara home, died today in a helicopter crash in Australia just before 4 p.m. local time. He had just turned 60 years old at the end of December, and leaves behind his wife and two children. In charge of curating the “Reel Nature” sidebar of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival for the past decade, DeGruy was missing his first film fest in nine years, according to his Twitter page (twitter.com/mvdegruy). He was in Australia to work on his next project, and was slated to continue working sometime next week in Papau New Guinea. The crash, which also killed a pilot from Melbourne, occurred near the town of Nowra on the New South Wales coast, according … Read entire article »
Filed under: Diver, Events, Open Water, Photography, Reefs, Reference, Report
Can you identify what these pictures are?
Ozone is Earth’s natural sunscreen, shielding life from excessive amounts of ultraviolet radiation. But Earth’s ozone layer has been damaged by well-intentioned chemicals—chlorofluorocarbons, used for refrigerants and aerosol spray-cans—that have the unintended consequence of destroying ozone molecules. In the late 1980s, governments around the world woke up to the destruction of the ozone layer and negotiated the Montreal Protocol, an international treaty to phase out ozone-depleting chemicals. The treaty included a requirement that scientists regularly assess and report on the health of the ozone layer, particularly the annual Antarctic ozone hole. In January 2011, the Ozone Secretariat of the United Nations Environment Programme released its latest report and noted that the Protocol has “protected the stratospheric ozone layer from much higher levels of depletion…[and] provided substantial co-benefits by reducing climate change.” This … Read entire article »
High School Student May Have Found Potential Cure For Cancer
I found this so amazing, I had to post it. source … Read entire article »
Diver Rescues Killer Whale
A scuba diver in New Zealand diver has rescued an orca, commonly known as a killer whale, he found trapped in a fisherman’s rope. New Zealand media report the whale had become entangled in a rope attached to a crayfish trap off the coast of Coromandel Peninsula. Diver Rhys Cochrane said the whale did not seem to mind when he swam down to cut the rope and said it swam away quickly once it was freed. He said several other whales had watched from a distance. New Zealand orca expert Ingrid Visser watched the video Cochrane had taken of the experience. She said whales are smart enough to know when you are trying to help them. Visser said she could see bite marks on the whale, indicating other whales had tried to free it. Visser … Read entire article »
Filed under: Diver, Events, Featured, Killer Whale, ocean, Open Water, Reference, Report, Rescue, Video, Whales
Our Living Ocean
Did you know these facts about our oceans? How important is our oceans to you? Please share the knowledge that our oceans are under our care. It is up to you and you to stand up for what is yours and yours. That we, the citizen of this planet are all responsible for the stewardship of this one and only planet that supports our life. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Featured, ocean, Open Water, Reefs, Reference, Report
Proposed bill pushes more state scuba diving
A state representative from Northwest Michigan has proposed a bill that would allow for the creation of more scuba diving opportunities around the state. Rep. Greg MacMaster, R-Kewadin, said he hopes to give lakeshore tourism a boost by making it easier to intentionally sink decommissioned ships or other structures for scuba divers to explore. Currently, Michigan’s law states that vessels can be intentionally sunk only within underwater preserves, MacMaster said. His proposed bill would create a permitting process where an interested party would apply for a permit from the state Department of Environmental Quality. Any ship or other vehicle that would be sunk would need to be cleaned in accordance to federal environmental standards for decomissioned vessels used as artificial reefs, according to the proposed bill. MacMaster said it also would need … Read entire article »
Filed under: Artificial Reefs, Events, Reefs, Reference, Report
A Real-Life Treasure Hunt: Local Divers to Recover $3 Billion From Sunken World War II Ship off the Cape
by Lisa DeCanio In 1942, a British ship called the Port Nicholson, was traveling across the Atlantic from the Soviet Union to the United States. During its journey, the Port Nicholson sank at an unknown location after it was torpedoed by a German U-Boat. The clincher? The Port Nicholson was carrying $53 million in platinum when it sank. Today, that platinum is worth an estimated $3 billion, and a Boston-based crew plans on recovering the lost treasure, reports CBS Boston. The treasure-hunting crew of the Sea Hunter has spent the past three years locating the ship and planning the dive. The Port Nicholson lies about 50 miles off the coast of Provincetown, MA, 700 feet below sea level. The waters where the ship lies are incredibly choppy, so the dive will have to … Read entire article »
Filed under: Artificial Reefs, Boats, Reefs, Reference, Report, Wrecks
$10,000 reward in sea lion killings
By msnbc.com staff A group best known for fighting off whalers has joined federal investigators looking into the recent killings of sea lions near Seattle, offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whoever is responsible. Another sea lion was found dead over the weekend, adding to seven others found in recent weeks with bullet wounds. A harbor seal was also found dead. Federal officials planned to examine the latest sea lion on Tuesday to determine if it, too, had been shot. ——————————————————————————– The latest sea lion found was on the Nisqually River, south of Seattle, as were six of the other sea lions. “This is a violation of U.S. federal law and the person or persons responsible for these shootings must be apprehended and brought to justice,” Paul Watson, founder … Read entire article »
Filed under: Conservation, Featured, Reference, SeaLions
Name the Great White
Saturday January 28, 2012 – Thursday March 1, 2012 Description: Four Great Whites are on their way to Florida. One of the four Great Whites has been named NARCOSIS. The three remaining Great Whites need a name. Register your suggestion for a name and if the name you submitted is the first of that name submitted and selected, you will win one of many prizes being given away by Divetalking. When the names of the sharks have a name, they will reside at one of many springs around the state of Florida. It will be you and your friends task to find them to win more prizes from Divetalking. Once the sharks are placed, a post to their location as to which spring they decided to take up residency will be made. Good Luck! Register (Closed) … Read entire article »
Filed under: Contest, Events, Promotions, Reference, Sharks
Stare at her for 30 seconds
Click on the picture below. Stare at the dots on her nose for 30 second. Then stare at a blank white screen, like a browser screen. You may be amazed at what you will see… … Read entire article »
Filed under: 3D, Promotions, Reference