Category: Mesophotic Exploration
an 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 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 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 Morethe end of the Age of Aquarius
Being immersed in the ocean science community, many of this foresaw this inevitability, but there’s nothing like the national e-news to confirm things – Aquarius, the world’s last underwater laboratory dedicated for science is closed. The symbolism of this closing event is more discouraging than the close itself. From a business perspective, especially given the…
Read Morenew 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’,…
Read Moreinterview on National Geographic Weekend
Very pleased to share this recent interview from National Geographic Weekend radio, with Host Boy Matson. Boyd and I chatted about recent developments with my portable habitat project. The development efforts are largely complete, thanks to the creativity, hard work, and generosity of Subsalve Inc. here in North Kingstown, RI. The deployment of the system will…
Read MoreSealab | the untold stories that changed humankind’s place on this watery planet
A recent interview in the UT San Diego entitled ‘Underwater Space Race in Scripps Canyon’ discusses Ben Hellwarth’s new book about the 1960’s Sealab project – our country’s ‘innerspace race’ if you will. I’ve written about Sealab before here on ‘a New Life’, as it marked a pivotal time for human exploration of the ocean. This is…
Read Morea new perspective on ‘our’ undersea world for 2012
With the turn of this new year, this is an opportune time to reflect on this year’s past and more importantly – start focusing energies for what lies ahead. The last two years have marked a timely and ambitious push to take my deep exploration work to new depths, and shed light on a new public…
Read Moreand…we’re off! the deep reef awaits
There is no amount of preparation, mental or otherwise, that fully prepares you for an expedition. Big or small objectives, solo or a team – when the stakes are high, the stress is high. While I may not have shown it, my stomach has been in knots for weeks now. Being the leader of the…
Read MoreConquering the Abyss
‘Spooky’ is the word to describe my forays into the deep, and ‘flattered’ would be the word to describe my reaction to this great News Desk piece released by National Geographic. Curiously, I often ponder the realization that it’s been 40 years since Walter Starck used his first ‘Electrolung’ off the deep reefs of Andros.…
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