Tag: scuba
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The Dead Sea isn’t so dead
Life as we know it doesn’t exactly thrive in the Dead Sea. No fish have evolved to put up with the notoriously salty waters. But weird new forms of microbial life have been discovered inhabiting a network of massive craters at the bottom of the Dead Sea. A diverse mixture of sun-worshipping and sulphide-munching bacteria have…
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Aussie author speaks out for marine reserves
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBoSV2W29Do&feature=youtu.be[/youtube] Tim Winton wrote one of my all-time favourite books Blue Back, a beautiful ‘contemporary fable’ about a boy who grows up in Western Australia, spending most of his time diving and swimming in the ocean. He makes friends with an enormous fish and decides to become a marine biologist so he can learn what…
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From art to artificial reefs
Jason de Caires Taylor displays his artwork in a rather unconventional gallery. I’ve been haunted by his underwater sculptures (in a good way) since I saw pictures of them in the Guardian a while back. And I recently grabbed the chance to interview him for the Naked Oceans podcast. Jason told me all about how…
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Post oil: Can rigs become reefs?
As ocean oil rigs run dry, the nemesis of many environmentalists may produce a silver lining. Defunct oil rigs are popular dive spots in the Gulf of Mexico and other areas (such as the Celebes Sea) because of the rich communities of reef life and fishes these structures attract on otherwise sandy bottoms. They are…
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The Silent World
A few months ago I happened to pick up a copy of Jacques Cousteau’s classic first book, The Silent World, less from a burning desire to read it than for the mysterious and evocative cover photo, and out of a sense of comradely solidarity with this pioneer submariner. It gathered dust on my bedside table…