We are going Reef Raving.

Reef Raving, more formally know as Fluorescence Diving, is a relative newer, underground form of sea exploration. Utilizing the power of blue light flashlights (the only light available at the deeper depths) and special barrier filters for your mask or camera, fluoro diving relies on the ability of organisms to emit longer wavelengths of light after begin illuminated with shorter wavelengths. This might seem similar to the well known concept of bioluminescence where organisms emit light frequencies on their own. However, biofluorescence is more akin to shining a bright light on a glow in the dark toy or an ocean critter with green fluorescent proteins (GFP), exciting certain wavelengths of light from the organism visible back to the viewer.

Evolutionarily, scientists are stumped as to why this phenomenon occurs, as not all organisms display biofluorescence. Some hypothesize it as a potential form of communication, but more work is needed to understand these underwater glow sticks. However, what scientists do know is that fluorescence technology is a great tool in studying the influence of rising ocean temperatures and acidification on coral colonies. Not only does it allow us to see microscopic coral larvae, polyps, and altogether new species invisible under white light, we can now better assess overall coral health using the power of emission.

So next time you delve underwater, don’t forget to grab your blue light and your special sunnies, so you too can pump it up and join in on the dance party.

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Now some of you may be more familiar with those “other” laws pertinent to diving coined by your friends and mine, Henry, Boyle, Charlie, and Dalton. Important? Undoubtably. But when it comes to having a good time, Martini has got your back.

Take some of these examples for instance:

All epic dance moves and aquatic musical melodies aside, nitrogen narcosis is quite real. This phenomenon occurs because breathing nitrogen (and certain other gases for that matter) at high partial pressures can have a narcotic effect. Now the deeper you go, the greater the partial pressure of the gas (Dalton’s law sneaks in). Thus, with depth, diver’s have a higher likelihood of narcosis.

So why exactly is it so lovingly referred to as Martini’s Law?

Well, if we were to compare a diver under the influence of narcosis and your buddy at the bar “suffering” from one to a couple of martini’s, we would get virtually similar results. Just like Mr. Martini, narcosis can impair your ability to make good decisions, use your motor skills to not trip over that girl at the sand bar or compute that your gauges (and or friends) are really telling you you’ve reached your limit. It is estimated that starting anywhere from 60 to 100 feet (depending on the susceptibility  of the diver) it can be the equivalent to drinking one martini. And as I said before, with the increase in partial pressures at depth, the deeper you go, the more you drink, and the farther down the rabbit hole you fall.

Remember kids: Friends don’t let friends dive narced. As funny as Martini’s Law might seem when you are the onlooker, similar to drinking, narcosis can also induced negative effects. From a panicked emotional state to not realizing the direction you think is up, is actually down. Unfortunately, not all expressions of narcosis are epic dance parties. Luckily, if the symptoms are caught soon enough and without extreme impairment to the diver, narcosis is easily remedied by moving to a shallower depth.

So with that, we experience Martini’s Law for realsies. (Side note: Originally, I searched for a drink made with Liquid Nitrogen, but it appeared that was actually quite dangerous. So don’t do it.)

Thus, Batender’s Choice for this malady of gases:

The Rapture of the Deep

(aka Cranberry Bubbles Cosmo)

Ingredients:

– 380 g (13.4 oz) cranberry juice

– 1.5 g egg white powder (or 1 g Versawhip)

– 1 g Xanthan Gum (buy Xanthan Gum)

Preparation: 

1-Using immersion blender mix cranberry juice and egg white powder.

2- Add the Xanthan gum and mix again with immersion blender until completely dissolved.

3- Connect a clean PVC hose to a fish tank air pump and insert the other end in the mix.

4- Turn the pump on and let bubbles collect for a few minutes.

Assemble and Serve:

1-Make your favorite Cosmopolitan cocktail.

2-With a slotted spoon collect some cranberry bubbles and place on top.

References

“The Encyclopedia of Recreational Diving” A PADI publication. Editor: Drew Richardson

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There is an ancient nautical proverb commonly passed down from generation to generation amongst members of the diving community. I do believe it goes a little something like this…

“There are those that pee in their wetsuits and there are those that lie about it.”

(I would actually even add a third category to this little diddy for people, like myself, who shamelessly enjoy peeing in their wetsuits. Don’t judge me.)

All embarrassing tendencies aside however, what is it about descending into the briny blue that consistently has one wishing they had hit the head before leaving the poop deck?

The fact of the bladder is this…that urge to visit the salty water-loo, a phenomenon known as immersion diuresis, stems from two rather inconvenient challenges that come with visiting the underwater world. Pressure and temperature.

Challenge #1: Under Pressure (Doo doo doo do do doo do)

Normally, your body is accustomed to atmospheric pressure at approximately 14.7 pounds per square inch (@sea level). However when you are diving, hydrostatic or water pressure is significantly greater, increases drastically with depth, and comes at you from all angles….yes she said it.

Even if you don’t scuba dive, if you have ever dove to the bottom of a decently sized pool you have most likely felt the effects of this pressure. That nagging need to “pop” or equalize your ears before reaching deeper depths comes from the pressure difference between your inner ear and the water pressing on your eardrum.

So what’s a body got to do to deal with the weight of the watery world on it’s shoulders?

Not only does this increased compression influence the air spaces in your body (i.e. your lungs, your ears, your sinuses, etc.), but it also interacts with your cardio vascular system. The hydrostatic pressure on your body reduces circulation in your extremities and since you have a relatively finite volume of blood at any one point in time, the greater part of your blood starts to collect in your core. This process is somewhat akin to that of those squishy toys with the eyes that pop out when you squeeze them. Except when water tries to squish you, all your inner juices simply go to the important part of your body. (Though it would be cool if your eyes popped out too…more cool for me, not so much for you.) Pressure, however, isn’t the only thing that causes this circulatory displacement.

Challenge #2: Ice Ice Baby (Doo doo doo do do doo do …oh the irony)

This past week, diving off the coast of San Diego, I hit a record personal low.

Bottom temperature: 50 °F

Just to put into perspective how I felt about this…(Warning: NSWF)

Beyond the explicatives that ensue from jumping into frigid water, numbing of the arms and legs is also a common occurrence. This loss of feeling is a result of your body trying to keep all your important bits and pieces warm by shunting blood from your outer limbs to your core in a process known as vasoconstriction.

1+2=Pee?

So what does all of this have to do with your underwater potty dance?! Well, whether by pressure or by temperature, both of these situations leave you rather full around the mid-region. All of the blood that has been

translocated to your core is essentially psyching your body into thinking it has too much fluid. Normally, bodies don’t like anything out of the ordinary so they have regulatory mechanisms in place to compensate.

In this instance, the mechanism is known as the Henry-Gauer reflex after the two scientists who first described it. When the body’s blood volume is shifted into the core this puts pressure in these regions and in the atrium of the heart. Here, receptors are triggered by the resultant stretching of pressured areas.  A signal is then transmitted from the heart to the hypothalamus saying, “Warning…tank is full. Stop vasopressin production!” Vasopressin is a nifty little antidiuretic hormone (ADH) whose primary job is to retain water in the body. Once production of the hormone has come to a stand still…cue flood gates and warm golden happiness.

So next time when nature calls and you’re underwater…just own it…everyone does it.

With all your seals broken and minds blown, I leave you with this. In true DSN fashion, the shanty that inspired my inquiry into this subject. Much appreciation to the pee filled safety stops of Katie Sievers and Sarah Wheeler that lead to this lyrical composition.

 A Pee Shanty

Drink a bottle. Fill your bladder. 

Down the ladder and you’re ready to pee.

Plenty to pee. Plenty to pee.

Your personal heater under the sea.

References

Divers Alert Network. Immersion Diuresis (Urge to Urinate). http://diversalternetwork.org/medical/faq/Immersion_Diuresis_Urge_to_Urinate

Graveline, D.E. and M.M. Jackson. (1962) Diuresis associated with prolonged water immersion. J Appl Physiol 17: 519-524.

Knight, D.R. and S.M. Horvath. (1985) Urinary responses to cold temperature during water immersion. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 248: R560-R566.

Pendergast, D.R. and C.E.G. Lundgren. (2009) The underwater environment: Cardiopulmonary, thermal, and energetic demands. J Appl Physiol 106: 276-283.

The post A Pee Shanty first appeared on Deep Sea News.

Instead, I figured I’d highlight something more soothing–Modern Art in China. In particular, the work of one particular female artist, Yu Lanyin, who currently has a traveling exhibition of 49 contemporary ink paintings focusing on the underwater marine world. She’s been scuba diving for 27 years (!) and uses art as a passionate plea for marine conservation. Here’s a tantalizing sample of her exhibition, “Journey to the Deep and Within”:

Unfortunately, there’s not much more information available about her exhibit online (at least not in English, even though the event in Beijing was co-sponsored by the American Embassy)–very frustrating given the marine conservation message Lanyin is trying to promote! The show has also just closed in Shanghai so I won’t be able to visit and report back. There does appear to be an exhibit book that can satisfy your intrigue, but fingers crossed the works will make their way Stateside.

So in honor of Friday, take a little time out and explore some ocean-themed art!

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No word if or when these will go into production.  Probably held in consumer testing to check how much other divers will laugh at you.

Intent on bringing the experience of flight to the underwater realm, French designer Guillaume Binard partnered with Aqua Lung to create Oceanwings, a wetsuit inspired by skydiving wingsuits. Free-diver Pierre Frolla demonstrates the wetsuit in this video by Jerôme Espla.

via Oceanwings, A Wingsuit for Flying Underwater.

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Randy Jordan, owner of Emerald Charters in Jupiter, Florida, discovered quite a treasure on a recent dive.

“We get down to the bottom and I see some fish that are swimming over to the right and I followed them,” said Jordan.  “They swam right up to this airplane. It was the most amazing thing.”  Right in front of them, Jordan said, were the remains of an aircraft.  “When you backed up, you said ‘that’s an airplane,’ ” he said…Jordan sent his images to the Warbird Information Exchange , an online source for historical aviation information.  Experts there told Jordan that the submerged aircraft could be a Curtiss Helldiver SBC2.  Some of those airplanes flew in the early 1940s during World War II.

Now that you watched the video once. Watch it again, but this time take notice of tremendous numbers of lionfish.  Note lionfish are native to the waters of the Indo-Pacific.  Over the last two decades they have invaded the eastern U.S. Coast and the Caribbean. I have personally witnessed them on dives from North Carolina to Belize.  The when, where, and how of this lionfish invasion remains somewhat of a mystery. Lore based on second knowledge has it placed to the Florida coast when in 1992 Hurricane Andrew destroyed an aquarium.  Later that year, six lionfish were potentially accidentally released in Biscayne Bay. But NOAA ecologist James Morris found documentation of them off the Florida coast in 1985, most likely dumped by an owner who had lost interest. Earlier this year, I edited a paper for the Journal of Biogeography by Ricardo and colleagues examining the genetics of invasive lionfish.  Their paper adds another piece to the overall puzzle suggesting that DNA evidence ties the expansion of lionfish throughout the Caribbean to a single invasion event as opposed to multiple introductions.

The video above is extremely alarming for the density for lionfish at a single location.  Hat tip to Aeolius for a link to the video and article.  Put your total counts of lionfish in the video below.

The post Scuba Diver Discovers Airplane and Haven for Lionfish first appeared on Deep Sea News.

Dr. M  & I: “SQUEEEEEE!!!!!!!”*

So what does it feel like to dive in the world’s biggest tank? EPIC. The animals on exhibit inside Ocean Voyager are habituated to divers, so they don’t avoid you at all. In the first five minutes of the dive, three snaggly-toothed sand tiger sharks came right at us, shifting at the last moment to swim over our heads. A giant grouper tried to snuggle with Dr. M, and a guitarfish nibbled lightly on my fins. I have never been so close to so many laid-back fish.
The gentle giants for which the exhibit is named – whale sharks and manta rays – frolicked mostly over our heads. In order to avoid becoming giant-fish-roadkill, the divers stay in the lower third of the tank, but we had plenty of time to admire the manta ray backflipping in our bubbles and the whale sharks gliding above. In the below video, we are the first two divers – Dr. M is the bald one.

I loved the fish-eye view of the people, too. The look of total astonishment and joy when a kid realized that a diver was waving JUST TO THEM was fantastic. Unfortunately Dr. M and I lack all dignity appropriate to our station.

My one suggestion? There was almost no science content given to the divers before our plunge. Wouldn’t it be nice to know that groupers are territorial (and often very overfished & endangered) or that manta rays have warm blood in their brains or that the aquarium’s whale sharks were rescued from the seafood trade? A few factoids can go a long way. I’d also like to see a more explicit conservation message – during the dive I kept thinking that we really must ensure that exhibit dives like this are a fun extra, and not the only way to see the living ocean.

Dr. M and I came up giggling with nerdy glee. Fortunately Al was there to capture the moment:

Special thanks goes to our gracious host the Georgia Aquarium, the Coral Reef Alliance for lodging, and AirTran for covering travel.

———————————

*That sound should in no way be interpreted to resemble any noise made by a dolphin. Deep Sea News bloggers make only dignified science-type sounds, not poncy “oh! look how psychic my rainbows are!” sounds.

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The real treat was diving with a vintage early 1960’s Aqualung.  If you are unfamiliar, Aqualung was tied to Jacques Cousteau.  Actually it is a little more difficult than that.

in 1950, Rene Bussoz, owner of ‘Rene-Sports’ in Los Angeles, California,  became the exclusive U.S. distributor of the now famous “Aqua-Lung” diving regulator patented in 1945 by Jacques Yves Cousteau and Emile Gagnan (with all international patent rights assigned to the ‘Aire Liquide’ company, in France). Bussoz formed a new company called ” U.S. Divers Corporation” to administer the exclusive U.S.license – which had six year term.  The 1950 ‘Aqua-Lung’ regulator sold by U.S. Divers Corp. was the latest development of the original, French ‘CG45’ model of the Cousteau-Gagnan regulator and was assembled in Canada from French and Canadian-made parts. The regulator was a handsome unit, combining a satin chrome bottom case with a bright chrome top case, and sporting a black and chrome tag with the name “AQUA LUNG” prominently displayed.

The original Aqualungs were much different than today’s scuba equipment.  First, the regulator (the part you breath through) is double hosed. One hose delivers air from the tank to diver and the other moves your exhalation to a vent behind your head.  Modern regulators are single hosed, i.e. just bring air to the diver, and the exhalation is vented right from the regulator. Second, there is only one stage, i.e. the part that lowers the pressure of the highly compressed air in the tank so that you can breathe it. Modern systems have first, occurring at the tank, and second stages, at the regulator. Third and most interesting for the diver is you dive without a buoyancy compensation device (BCD).  The BCD is an inflatable vest attached to the airtank that can be in/defalted to adjust buoyancy.  With the old Aqualungs you took extra care to weight properly and buoyancy is controlled by breathing and controlling the air volume in the lungs.

I spent some considerably time trying to master the last one. Although to some extent, myself included, experienced divers with modern equipment still adjust depth by controlling lung air volume.  Usually this is just 10 feet or so.  I found mastering this over a range of 30 feet a bit difficult.  However, I found the minimal equipment, i.e. the lack of BC, and the venting of exhalation behind my head to feel freer underwater and more focused on the moment.

Feels like I will spending time in the very near future at Vintage Doublehose searching out my vintage rig..

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