X-Ray Mag

June 2018

The Evolution of Dive Planning

Words
Mark Powell
Images
Mark Powell
Download the full article as pdf ⬇︎

For many recreational divers, dive planning has become a lost art, but technical divers still place a large emphasis on the value of dive planning. Despite this, the methods of dive planning have changed to take advantage of changes in technology and equipment. In this article, we will look at how dive planning for technical divers has evolved and how we can best make use of modern technology while still maintaining safety.

Lemon sharks doing ... erh... something. A cobia is joining the merry-go-round
Lemon sharks doing ... erh... something. A cobia is joining the merry-go-round

What do sharks do all day?

5 years ago By Catherine GS Lim

What do sharks do when we’re not looking?

To answer this question, Murdoch University fish biologist Lauran Brewster attached accelerometers to the fins of 24 lemon sharks in the Bimini Islands, Bahamas to find out.

Similar to our wearable Fitbits, the accelerometer collects data about the sharks’ movements, which are then analysed using a statistical approach called machine learning. “Very basically, machine learning is a model that learns patterns in data and can be used to identify similar patterns in new data and make predictions from it,” said Brewster.

Underwater photographer Alex Mustard to receive an MBE

5 years ago By Rosemary E Lunn

The Queen’s Birthday Honours List recognises a wide range of extraordinary people across the United Kingdom. The awardees are acknowledged for their distinguished work and achievements in a specific field, in this instance "the Arts, Music and Dance".

Alex Mustard will receive his MBE or Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire medal in the next few months.

It's an incredible happy shock and I am delighted

It has therefore been fascinating watching Mustard's career flourish. He has won a number of awards including the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year.

In 2003 he received the Visions In the Sea Award for Outstanding Contributions to Underwater Photography. Ten years later, in 2013, Alex was named the GDT European Wildlife Photographer of the Year for his image Night Moves. The only time an underwater photograph has won this prestigious award. In 2016 he was given the ADEX 2016 Award for Extraordinary Contribution to Underwater Photography.

Lex Warner, John Chatterton, Richie Kohler, Rosemary E Lunn, Roz Lunn, stage cylinder, Scapa Flow, Scotland, XRay Mag, X-Ray Magazine, scuba diving news, CCR fatality
File Image: John Chatterton and Richie Kohler of the Deep Sea Detectives gearing up to dive in Scapa Flow, Scotland. Rosemary Lunn is assiting Richie Kohler to clip a stage cylinder to his left hand side | Image Credit: Simon Mills

The Lex Warner case continues a sad trend

5 years ago By Main minion

On 14 August 2012 Lex Warner was about to conduct a technical dive off the Scottish coast. He was diving a rebreather and bailout stages and whilst he was crossing the deck of the dive boat, he stumbled, fell forwards and landed heavily on the deck. He went down on his knees, then onto his hands, before rolling onto his side and finally onto his back. Having been helped back to his feet by the boat’s crew, Lex Warner was reported to have expressed frustration and annoyance at himself for falling.

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Madagascar emerges as hotspot for endangered whale sharks

5 years ago By Annie Won

A new study published in the journal Endangered Species Research has revealed that juvenile whale sharks swim to Madagascar, a newly-identified hotspot for these huge fish, to feed. Eighty-five individual sharks were identified in a single season using photographs of their distinctive spot patterns.

An isolated ‘island continent’, famed for animals and plants that exist nowhere else in the world, Madagascar’s nutrient-rich waters are also home to an incredible array of marine life attracting increasing numbers of tourists.

Philippines NAUI Dream Destination

5 years ago By Matthew Meier

Scandi Divers is making a very special offer available for those attending Scuba Show and the International Conference on Underwater Education (ICUE) in Long Beach, California, on June 23 & 24, 2018. Two 7-night Scandi Dive Resort vacations will be given away during the shows — one as a door prize at the Friday night Nelson’s Dinner celebrating the 60th Anniversary of Sea Hunt and another as a silent auction item at the NAUI Worldwide booth (503) and the ICUE seminar room (Seaside 7) throughout the weekend.