By Heather Creech Sport divers are working with marine science organizations in nearly every region of the world to document the state of our ocean ecosystems. But getting those observations is challenging. In addition to identifying local marine life, volunteer divers need to be able to manage currents and …

By Heather Creech One gorgeous spring weekend in May, the residents of two small islands in British Columbia got together for something more than coffee. Loaded up with cameras, notebooks, and sample bags, adults and school kids on Mayne and Galiano Islands spread out in order to document all …

A new study suggests fish are behaviourally complex and possess a mental capacity that can match or exceed other vertebrates A paper just published in the scientific journal Animal Cognition states that “fish perception and cognitive abilities often match or exceed other vertebrates.” Dr. Culum Brown, a professor in the …

Want to work on a science diving project? Good news. You don’t have to be a scientist. And for you non-divers out there, here’s another good reason to get certified and help Planet Ocean  Text by Evan Kovacs & Chad Smith  The family is out. You alone have dominion …

On one occasion, Evan Kovac’s imaging lab was filming the features of a lake in Yellowstone in 3D for the National Park Service. With extinct hydrothermal features right next to active methane seeps, and an archaeological component as well, the lake has a lot to offer. During the shoot …

In the late fall of 2012, researchers from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the University of Maryland and the University of Hawaii at Manoa joined forces to conduct a month-long integrated study of coral in the Federated States of Micronesia, remote islands in the western Pacific. Three dive teams, each …

  Profile: Angela Richards Donà – University of Hawaii, Manoa Angela was a fashion designer from New York, living and working in Italy in 2000. That year she got her open water certification and took a diving vacation in Egypt, at Sharm El Sheikh on the tip of the …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Text by Phil Nuytten   First, here’s what DIVER columnist Don Walsh had to say about this magnum opus of undersea technology: “Underwater Robotics: Science, Design & Fabrication is most welcome in the world of ocean engineering. It is a well-organized survey of all major aspects of underwater engineering, …