In dark depths rarely visited by scuba divers, subs explore hectares of sponge many storeys high that form British Columbia’s ancient Sea of Glass By Sabine Jessen and Alexandra Barron The Aquarius submersible plummets through the depths, the light fades and darkness surrounds the small white vessel. Through the …

10 Women, 1 Sea Goddess, 100 Days, 3,000 Kilometres. One World Record. Text by Susan R. Eaton To read about the Sedna expedition, click here.  Susan R. Eaton, founder and leader of the 2014-2016 Sedna Epic Expedition, is a Calgary-based geologist, geophysicist, conservationist and journalist. Eight years ago, she suffered a SCUBA diving trauma that landed her in …

First magnetometer survey of Hamilton and Scourge may reveal new debris field artefacts of the Lake Ontario heritage wrecks Text and Photos by Joseph Frey   Sailing out of Ontario’s historic Port Dalhousie on a glorious late June morning I imagine the treed shoreline of western Lake Ontario looks …

More than a decade ago a group of technical divers made a series of ‘unofficial’ deep dives on the heritage wrecks of Hamilton and Scourge in Lake Ontario. This is their story Text by Scott Stitt   It feels like we’ve been dropping forever. Descending through 150 feet (46m), …

As government funding for exploration dries up, private ventures are beginning to lead the way. But we can’t all get grants from National Geographic, or ask for handouts from Paul Allen. Kickstarter.com is a ‘crowd funding’ website and a fast growing addition to the internet, labelled by Time magazine …

The Niagara Divers’ Association will present its 19th annual Shipwrecks Symposium Saturday, April 6, 2013 and DIVER Magazine will be there! A popular event for Ontario and New York State area divers, the event is staged in Welland, Ontario. This one-day symposium on shipwrecks features multimedia presentations and internationally …

Photo: Kids Sea Camp   Text by Garth Eichel 1. Provide regular reminders Kids are hesitant to ask questions in front of their peers, especially if they’re already certified and feel like they’re supposed to know it all. In dive briefings, go over basic skills like hand signals, gear …

Photo by David Benz / Kids Sea Camp   The following are a range of dive programs available for children of all ages and abilities. Skin Diver/Junior Skin Diver (NAUI) — this certification class is for kids eight years old and older, teaching the process of snorkelling and breath-hold …

Dr. Phil Nuytten, President of Nuytco Research Ltd and Publisher of this magazine, received the prestigious William Beebe Award from the world renowned Explorers’ Club in New York on March 23rd, 2012. This very distinguished award is given to those who have made exceptional life-long contributions to underwater exploration. …

This Exosuit is production model 001 and the first in a series of three designs from Nuytco Research of North Vancouver, B.C. From the first ergonomic mock-ups and tests to its unveiling last month, the Exosuit has been in development for a decade. It’s the latest generation atmospheric diving …

With James Cameron’s record breaking solo dive to the Mariana Trench now faded into media obscurity, it is now up to the Chinese to further push interest in ocean exploration and technology. China’s Jiaolong, has arrived at the Mariana Trench for a series of six dives. The Xiang Yang …

When robots take over the world where will you be? Until now the water has always been a safe bet. Few robots venture forth into the seas, after all you never saw the Terminator in Speedos. Researchers at the Tokyo Institute of Technology have developed ‘Swumanoid’, a robot that …

Lake Minnewanka has a rich history. There are recorded archaeological sites showing pre-contact occupations that cover an entire 10,000 year period. Artifacts have been found from the early, middle and late pre-contact periods. The Minnewanka site is one of a series of such early sites in the lower Bow …

The latest deployment of NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) has begun with the international crew of aquanauts entering the habitat, Aquarius, yesterday for a twelve day mission. Aquarius, the world’s only undersea laboratory, is located in about 63 feet (20 metres) of water, three and a half miles …

  Most divers won’t descend below 130 feet (40m) though diving deeper is very appealing to many of us, myself included. It opens up new territory: deeper wrecks, caves, walls, blue holes, and for others it’s a way to conduct research or make a living. But for some it’s …

DIVER magazine scours the internet so you don’t have to. Simply browse our selection of todays top stories and click for further reading… Researchers from the University of British Columbia have been using Google Earth to investigate fish enclosures of the Mediterranean. Read Article. Source: New Scientist Could mobile …

By Jean-Michel Cousteau The biological clock of the Pacific Northwest is set to the rhythm of the ebb and flow of five different species of Pacific salmon: Chinook, Chum, Coho, Sockeye and Pink. Preparing to spawn, adult salmon travel upstream from the open ocean along coastal rivers and streams. …

By Jean-Michel Cousteau Beginnings are always a time for renewal and optimism and the debut of 2010 is a good time to consider what we are faced with that concerns the ocean and the environment. The meetings on climate change in Copenhagen must now result in global policy change, …

By Jean-Michel Cousteau I have traveled most of my life and have seen changes in the sea that no one, not even my brilliant father, could have predicted.  Jacques Cousteau, however, did point the direction on many things—the danger of nuclear waste, overfishing, habitat destruction, even the high cost …

By Phil Nuytten In the summer of 1986, Jacques Yves Cousteau was in Vancouver, BC, accompanied by his son and producer, Jean-Michel. They were in the city to take part in Expo ’86, an international exposition that was attended by hundreds of thousands of visitors from all parts of …

By Jean-Michel Cousteau Imagine you have just returned from a life-changing dive trip to an absolutely magnificent island chain surrounded by the most beautiful reefs you have ever seen. Immersion in this candy store of luscious treats has given you a deep connection to the miraculous wonder of life …

Ablaze with what appears the reflection of a dazzling fireworks display, the eyes of a Red Irish Lord (Hemilepidotus hemilepidotus) add to the brilliant colouration of this striking species of sculpin. Its typically vivid coat can vary from hues of orange through red to magenta and into striking pinks …

Two hundred billion gallons of foaming seawater swirl through Sechelt Rapids on each turn of the tide in this constricted, islet-strewn passage on Canada’s Pacific coast. In the aerial view to the northwest, looking from Sechelt Inlet toward Jervis Inlet, a 13.5 knot ebb roars through the shallow gap. …

In the late 1970s I worked on a dive boat called the Oceaner.  Owners Gary Mallendar and Larry Mangotich, manufacture exposure suits under the Oceaner name and distribute dive gear such as the TUSA line, across Canada. Their vessel has been retired for their private use.  On several occasions …

By Jean-Michel Cousteau It will take years, maybe even decades, before we know the full impact of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, but we will begin to get a sense of just how far-reaching its effects are as the first round of wintering migratory birds makes their way through …

By Jean-Michel Cousteau It’s often called ‘The Law of Unintended Consequences’. The simple explanation for this law is when we do something we believe is good or helpful but there is a counter, unexpected reaction that is not always so good. That is exactly the case with human sunscreens …

By Jean-Michel Cousteau It is widely accepted scientific knowledge that climate change has drastically accelerated rates of ice melt all over the planet, contributing to sea level rise.  This is only part of the story, however. Like the visible part of an iceberg, it represents only a small part of …

A mid winter opportunity to dive Browning Pass in B.C.’s Queen Charlotte Strait delivered up cold February winds and rain… but when they abated and the sun came out we were treated to some of the best visibility I’d ever enjoyed in these remarkably fertile waters at the top of …

Genny Simard, interpreter at the Fundy Discovery Aquarium in St. Andrews, New Brunswick, holds Big Dee-Dee, a 22-pound (10kg) lobster (Homarus americanus) caught three years ago in the adjacent waters of the Bay of Fundy. A part of the Huntsman Marine Science Centre, the public aquarium is Canada’s newest …

DIVER magazine scours the internet so you don’t have to. Simply browse our selection of todays top stories and click for further reading… Beneath The Waves Film Festival 2012 is now open for submissions. If you have a marine/ocean orientated film (not necessarily underwater), under ten minutes long then …

Mix bottlenose dolphins, a reef in Eilat, Morad, a severely traumatized teenage boy, Assad, his Middle Eastern father who drops his ‘male ego’ to save his son, and Dr. Ilan Kutz, a psychiatrist open to alternative therapies, and what do you get? Dolphin Boy, an amazingly poignant, yet thought-provoking …

Dave Williams was just a kid when he made a farsighted commitment that eventually saw him blast off for the international space station. And his boyhood dive training and years of experience in the sport backstop his record setting spacewalks. Text by Dave Williams   My helmet lights reflect …

Jarrod Jablonski talks with Michael Menduno   Credit Where Credit Is Due In my interview with explorer Jarrod Jablonski in DIVER Vol. 37 Number 1, I incorrectly stated that Jablonski and his team from Global Underwater Explorers were the first to video the USS Atlanta in 430 feet (130m) …

First on deck since the arctic claimed her 150 years ago, Parks Canada underwater archaeologists find HMS Investigator laden with artifacts in the shallows of Mercy Bay, beneath a diminishing polar ice pack. Text by Peter Golding Sam McGee from Tennessee ‘was always cold, but the land of gold …

Recently the diving industry lost Dr. R.W. ‘Bill’ Hamilton (1930-2011), whose intellect, compassion and love of life, will not soon be forgotten. Text by Joel Silverstein   Rarely in life do we encounter someone who was as impressive yet unassuming, humble, and gracious as R.W. ‘Bill’ Hamilton, Ph.D. On …

Found! They think. Swedish tech divers believe they’ve discovered the wreck of the legendary and elusive Mars, flagship of their country’s navy, almost five centuries ago. Archaeologically, the find would be of global importance. Text by Richard Lundgren – Photography by Ingemar Lundgren   The Year of Our Lord, …