Author: oceanopportunity
saved by the snail’s pace
Well, a fresh new project kicked off yesterday, and is proving to be a much needed refresher in underwater welding. While I’ve had a few small welding projects here and there over the last several months, this project is putting it all to the test. In the water at 0730, then burning rod after rod…
Read Moreon and in an aquatic state
Late yesterday afternoon, the phone rang and the ‘hello’ was forgone. I was met only with a ‘you’re leaving at midnight’… This wasn’t the first time, and certainly won’t be the last, as this life aquatic as an underwater vagabond has a way of keeping the flow (excuse the pun) of work in a multitude of…
Read Morecomposure, aptitude, & situational awareness
A recent series of very routine working dives reminded me of what has come to be my ‘trinity’ in diving – composure, aptitude, and situational awareness. While I infrequently dive recreationally, from time to time I do find myself in the water with new divers. More than general discomfort, anxiety, or nervousness, what jumps out…
Read Moreone small step…
This week marked our loss of the first man on the moon, Neil Armstrong. It goes without saying that a fitting tribute is due. James Clash offers a fitting tribute here on Bloomberg. While I never had an opportunity to meet Armstrong, his influences on manned exploration more broadly, and my own work, runs deep.…
Read Morean in between era using in between technology
I recently returned from the field, working in a remote stretch of the Exumas, Bahamas – where I consider my home away from home. The objective? Deploy an experimental undersea habitat that, if successful, would provide for unsurpassed wet diving access to the lower limits of mesophotic coral ecosystems. As it happens, the deployment went off…
Read Moreshedding some light on a ‘lost continent’
The age old question that is at the fundamental drive of almost every scientific and intellectual pursuit – our origins. Within that lies the puzzling question as to where our civilization began, and further, were there civilizations in the deeper past that have long since vanished? Atlantis. Deeply intriguing, and theory after theory remain just…
Read Morecontrolling the invasion | some lionfish news for you
The invasive lionfish – a huge threat to tropical Atlantic and Caribbean reefs. I was in the Bahamas back in 2005 when one of the first two juveniles was captured in the country. Today, they are everywhere, putting predatory pressures on small herbivorous reef fishes that keep the algae under control on coral reefs. In…
Read Morelife on Mars? does it matter?
NASA’s ‘Curiosity’ is slated to land on the Red Planet on August 6th. From the perspective of an explorer/innovator, this is indeed fascinating, and a true demonstrative step towards a future capacity to send a manned ship or probe. From a public pragmatist perspective, the question of justifying funds for this mission during our current…
Read MoreA Last Dive for Glowing Animals – NYTimes.com
From our friends and colleagues at the American Museum of Natural History and the City University of New York, posted in the New York Times: On the 15-kilometer boat ride out to the Western Province reef, the members of the research expedition sit tight, focusing on the night dive ahead — our last dive in…
Read MoreCousteau, a green pioneer
A recent CNN piece described Cousteau as so much more than a pioneering diver and explorer – but a creative genius and green pioneer – and that he was. I’ve studied Cousteau’s works and career as his model for exploration was obviously immensely successful and one to be considered carefully when taking steps in the…
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