Oceans of Opportunity

Category: Mesophotic Exploration

Portable Inflatable Habitats | some context from 2024

In June–July 1964, Ed Link – businessman, inventor, philanthropist – conducted his second Man-in-the-Sea experiment in the Berry Islands (a chain in the Bahamas) with Robert Sténuit and Jon Lindbergh, one of the sons of Charles Lindbergh. Sténuit and Lindbergh stayed in Link’s SPID habitat (Submersible, Portable, Inflatable Dwelling) for 49 hours underwater at a depth of 432 feet (132 m), breathing…

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New Paper – A Little Fish with a Big Name, in NMEA

2016 was a big year for new publications, as we we’ve taken some time over the last couple of years to write-up the significant body of work that has been evolving. I’m pleased to share another paper, courtesy our collaboration with Anne Krauss from Cobbles Elementary School in Penfield, NY: Paper-NMEACurrent_Derilissus2016 Anne’s students at Cobbles…

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and…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…

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Another New Paper: variable depth capability for portable inflatable habitats

Recently published in cooperation with colleagues at NYU and URI: Piispanen, RA., Lombardi, MR., and Burleson, W. (2016). Variable Depth Capability for Portable Inflatable Habitats. 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 Underwater…

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rub a dub dub, my ride in the sub

Among the ambitious field agenda for this expedition to continue fluorescence exploration in the Solomon Islands is carrying out the work across the full spectrum of depths – from shallow flats and mangroves, to coral reefs, through the mesophotic zone, to scratching the surface of the aphotic realm, where light fades to black. Complicating this…

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new species of fish discovered ‘in Bahama Deep’

A critical component of our work in exploration is the process of discovery. Visiting a unique environment for the first time exposes limitless opportunities for driving science, and purest discovery lies at its roots. The Bahamas has provided our living test bed for experimenting with novel scientific diving techniques within the mesophotic, or ‘middle light’,…

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a sneak peak from the early Holocene

To sum up what may very well be the most interesting 10,000 years in history in just one word – the Holocene. This also happens to be the period of time we are currently living in, and one where water has literally sculpted our planet. The start of the Holocene, some 10 to 12,000 years…

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Atlantis: the lost city, or a city lost?

Just a week ago, my travels took me through the Atlantis Resort located in Nassau, Bahamas. Those who know me well, know that this type of environment is the absolute last place on Earth where I would likely venture on my own, but with the alternative being a very long day sitting at the airport,…

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