Category: the Life Aquatic | an Evolution
all clammed up
While most of the world was busy getting ‘Trumped’ Tuesday night (election night), there I was, all clammed up on the galley bench of a clam dredge fishing vessel trying to get a few hours sleep while en route to Nantucket Shoals off of Massachusetts. The mission – recover a clam dredge that had been…
Read Moreand…One More New Paper: standards of practice for Atmospheric Diving for science
Recently published: Lombardi, MR. (2016) Proposed Standards of Practice and Recommendations for Inclusion of Atmospheric Diving System (ADS) End-User Training and Operations within the Scientific Community. In Lobel, LK., & Lombardi, MR. (editors) (2016) Diving for Science 2016: Proceedings of the AAUS 35th Scientific Symposium, September 20-14, 2016, Narragansett, RI. Dauphin Island, AL: American Academy of…
Read MoreNew Paper: hookah diving system for aquaculture science & husbandry
Recently published in cooperation with our colleagues in Hong Kong: Wartenberg, R. Lombardi, MR, and Chan, LL. (2016) Triple-Redundant Hookah Diving System for Remote Inshore Aquaculture Husbandry and Science is Cost Effective, Efficient, and Safe. In Lobel, LK., & Lombardi, MR. (editors) (2016) Diving for Science 2016: Proceedings of the AAUS 35th Scientific Symposium, September 20-14,…
Read Morebarnacles for breakfast
This morning I chugged down half a coffee and then slipped beneath the layer of floating cigarette butts, seaweed, and miscellaneous plastic garbage to settle in to my home for the next 90 minutes – scrubbing the hull of a sailboat that had sat stationary in a dirty marina for more than a year. Nothing…
Read MoreSalvage of the Irish Piper
The last few weeks have marked the return to getting out there on the water and diving in to the life aquatic in full force. I must say, after a couple of years sitting behind a desk in a management capacity, the return to the field has come with some bumps and bruises – part…
Read MoreConfined Spaces and Atmospheric Management 101
Confined space entry is among the most hazardous occupational activities in the industrial sector. The issues that must be addressed are clear ingress/egress of the space, collapse, and of course atmospheric management. The latter is what makes the activity very similar to diving, and in fact, advanced techniques for extended range confined space penetrations are…
Read MoreOceanOne Robot | an Avatar for the Life Aquatic
The recent news of Stanford University’s OceanOne Robot’s successful salvage/recovery of artifacts from Louis XiV’s flagship came as quite the news to me. Admittedly, I know very little about the robot, however it does warrant some thought and discussion as we consider the value of humans versus robotics within the field of ocean exploration. On…
Read MoreThe not so novel concept of a Caribbean Marine Research Center
Interesting read, good in principle, but gives re-birth to lessons that the US government has not yet addressed: the proposal to turn the Guantanamo Bay facilities into a research center. In reflecting on my own career path recently, it dawned on me that I’ve been a part of the ebb and flow of all too…
Read MoreIsaac Asimov, and life under the sea
This recent Blog post couldn’t have summed up our conundrum any better: link. The piece kicks off with a quote by Isaac Asimov, stating: “Population pressure will force increasing penetration of desert and polar areas. Most surprising and, in some ways, heartening, 2014 will see a good beginning made in the colonization of the continental…
Read MoreNew Paper | A Paradigm Shift for Human Exploration
Very pleased to share a newly published paper in the Marine Technology Society Journal (Vol. 50, Issue 1), entitles, “A Paradigm Shift for Human Exploration of the Sea: Standards of Practice, Training, and Program Development for Atmospheric Diving”. download .pdf This is a timely and essential white paper reflecting on the recent efforts to bring together partners…
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