SCUBA News 120

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SCUBA News (ISSN 1476-8011)
Issue 120 - April 2010
http://www.scubatravel.co.uk
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Welcome to SCUBA News. I hope you enjoy it, but should you wish to remove yourself from our mailing list please go to http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/news.html

SCUBA News is published by SCUBA Travel Ltd, the independent guide to diving around the world.

Contents:
- What's new at SCUBA Travel?
- Letters
- Ocean Facts: Making Waves
- Diving News from Around the World

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What's New at SCUBA Travel?
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Diving Mauritius

"Brilliant...Saw Jenkins rays, eagle rays, huge trevally...Overall plenty of fish, big and small." Just one of the new comments on the diving around Mauritius, in the Indian Ocean.
Diving Sardinia, Italy

The second largest island in the Mediterranean, Sardinia is surrounded by marine caves and cliffs shearing into the sea. More on her dive sites and dive operators is at
http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/italy/sardinia-diving.html
http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/italy/sarddive.html

Diving Tunisia

Learn more about the diving around Tunisia at:
http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/africa.html#Tunisia

More...

For regular announcements of what's new at the SCUBA Travel site see the Diving Board at
http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/viewforum.php?f=2

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Letters
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From the Diving Board

People often ask about the difference between Sipadan and Mabul, when it comes to the diving. Here are two videos really paint the picture of how the two locations differ. They have been put together by Scubazoo who have been filming the area for years...Although Sipadan is the place with the bigger reputation, macro enthusiasts often come to Mabul and are more interested in staying there, while others really want to maximise their time in Sipadan.
I would be interested to hear which destination means more to people.

From: On the Spot

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Ocean Facts: Making Waves
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Waves: As far as divers are concerned, the smaller the better. Waves are created by wind. A breeze blowing over water creates ripples. The wind pushing at the back of the ripple causes eddies to form at the front, reinforcing the wave shape. The energy of the wind is transferred to, and stored in, the waves.

A deep water wave travels by virtue of a circular motion of water near the surface. The speed of the circular wave motion decreases with depth. This is why a diver at, say, 30 m can be unaware of the development of a rough sea above following a change in the weather.

The height of waves is determined by the fetch, or distance, over which the wind is blowing. Being the largest ocean the Pacific has the biggest fetch and so usually the highest waves.

When waves approach shallow water the energy of the wave is concentrated into the available depth making the height of the wave increase and the speed decrease, both of which increase the steepness of the waves. This increase in wave height is known as the ground swell.

Further Reading:
The British Sub-Aqua Diving Manual
The Blue Planet

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Diving News From Around the World
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Hamlet fish sheds light on evolution

SCUBA divers recording the distribution of reef fish have helped make an evolution discovery.

Precious red corals remain unprotected

A proposal to regulate trade in precious red and pink corals, widely used in jewellery, was defeated again at the CITES meeting.

Underwater Resort for the Philippines?

An underwater hotel room with a panoramic view of tropical fish swimming over large coral reefs is planned off the island of Palawan. When completed, the proposed underwater habitat will be the biggest in the world.

Mediterranean Species Threatened

A new report has raised an alert on the "largely unprotected" state of Mediterranean marine ecosystems. It points out the predicament of the swordfish (Xiphias gladius) and grouper (Epinephelus marginatus) in particular, and the lack of regulation for these animals in danger of extinction.

World's deepest undersea volcanic vents discovered

A scientific expedition has discovered the world's deepest undersea volcanic vents, known as "black smokers", 3.1 miles (5000 metres) deep in the Cayman Trough in the Caribbean. The team are posting daily updates on their expedition website, including photos and videos from their research ship.

Robot gliders swim the undersea world

Submersibles have been launched that power themselves from sunlight and waves, and can navigate at sea for months at a time, gathering data.

Cuttlefish seen laying eggs on seahorse

In a curious case of mistaken identity, Biologists diving in the seas off Spain witnessed a European cuttlefish laying its eggs on a passing seahorse, which then swam away, eggs in tow.

Rankings cut guesswork in sustainable fish farming

A league table of sustainable fishmeal sources will help fish farms be eco-friendly, but questions remain over the environmental impact of aquaculture. It takes around 6 tonnes of wild fish to reduce to 1 tonne of fishmeal, and then anything from 1.5 to 3 tonnes of meal to produce 1 tonne of farmed salmon. Producing fishmeal and fish oil for fish farming is in itself a waste of tasty fish that could be eaten directly.

Deep-sea volcanoes play key climate role

A vast network of under-sea volcanoes pumping out nutrient-rich water in the Southern Ocean plays a key role in soaking up large amounts of carbon dioxide, acting as a brake on climate change, scientists say.

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PUBLISHER: SCUBA Travel, 5 Loxford Court, Hulme, Manchester, M15 6AF, UK
EDITOR: Jill Studholme