scuba tagged posts

In between the sunlit shallows and the dark, deep ocean lies an inky realm where few people have ever been. Stretching from about 30 to 150 metres, the mesophotic zone (meaning “middle light”) is an awkward depth. It lies just beyond the reach of regular scuba divers and it’s usually what aquanauts inside multimillion-dollar submersibles merely glimpse as they plunge deeper.

However, a new generation of scientists is pushing the limits of diving to discover the secrets of this ecological zone. “There’s so much to see, and everything seems new,” says Erika Gress from James Cook University in Queensland, Australia. “It’s like a different world.”

To access the mesophotic zone, divers use equipment called rebreathers, which don’t exhale bubbles...

Diving and snorkeling contribute to coral reef damage according to research by the Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB).

The study, conducted at Panggang Island in the Thousand Islands regency between April and June 2013, found that diving and snorkeling in the area had destroyed 7.57 percent and 8.2 percent of coral reefs per year, respectively due to divers or snorkelers who kicked, stepped on, touched or took the coral.

WWF Indonesia marine and fisheries campaign coordinator Dwi Aryo Tjiptohandono said that the main cause of damage to the reefs was the amateur divers’ inability to float and irresponsible divers who took coral for souvenirs.

According to a recent report by kompas.com, vandalized coral reefs were also found in Raja Ampat in West Papua...

Meet Charlotte Burns – the youngest scuba diving junior master in the world aged just twelve. The schoolgirl, from Biggin Hill, Kent, has been diving since she was legally allowed to at the age of 10 and has already completed more than 70 dives. Coming from a family of divers, Charlotte was always likely to be a natural underwater, but even they are surprised at her development.

In just 16 months she has gone from trying her first dive, to enduring fierce storms in Cyprus and freezing temperatures of -4C in Scotland. She recently went back to Larnaca, Cyprus, where she completed examinations to become a fully-qualified instructor.

Charlotte, who has undertaken helicopter underwater escape training and ice climbing, also had to take further tests to show her scuba diving knowledge and sk...