SCUBA News 146, July 2012

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SCUBA News (ISSN 1476-8011)
Issue 146 - 30 July 2012
http://www.scubatravel.co.uk
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SCUBA News in published by SCUBA Travel.

Contents:
- What's new at SCUBA Travel?
- Glossary of SCUBA Diving Terms and Ocean Terminology
- Diving News from Around the World

What's New at SCUBA Travel?

Diving Malta and Gozo

With clear waters and rocky scenary the Maltese islands are very good for diving. Indeed, two of her dive sites have been voted amongst the top three dives in Europe: namely the Blue Hole in Gozo and Cirkewwa in Malta. We've added a new page on the diving in Malta and Gozo. Discover the best dive sites and centres.
http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/europe/malta-dive-in.html

Thistlegorm Wreck Photo Gallery

You've voted the Thistlegorm one of the top ten dives in the world. It's an amazing wreck, sunk in 1941 and still holding tanks, trucks, motorbikes, rifles and other war supplies.
http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/photothistlegorm.html

Diving Raja Ampat

Raja Ampat, in Irian Jaya (West Papua) Indonesia is a group of islands in the heart of the coral triangle. You've been sending us more comments on the diving fabulous diving there.
http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/indonesia/indodive.html

For regular announcements of what's new at the SCUBA Travel site see our Twitter feed, our Facebook page or the SCUBA Travel Google+ page.

Glossary of SCUBA Diving Terms

We've updated our dictionary of SCUBA diving, ocean and marine life terms. An eclectic collection from ABLJ to Zooxanthellae. Here are just a few of the terms included. For the full list see http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/glossary.html

A Flag

Indicates "Diver Down" in the International maritime signal flags . Raised in boats when divers are below the water. Used in Europe, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa and other Commonwealth countries.

Barotrauma

Injury to the middle ear caused by a rapid change in pressure. May result when ears aren't cleared on a descent.

Benthic

Bottom dwelling: living on the floor of the sea or lake.

Bioherm

A solid ediface built by sea creatures, for example a coral reef.

By-catch

Living creatures which are caught unintentionally by fishing gear. Bycatch includes those fish captured by fishers (both commercial and recreational) that are undersized, prohibited, inedible or unsaleable. It also includes dolphins and turtles.

Chart Datum (CD)

The level of the lowest tide there has ever been at a particular place. All depths on a chart and heights of tide refer to it.

CMAS

Confédération Mondiale des Activites Subaquatiques (World Underwater Federation of Underwater Activities). Diving agency established 1959.

Crepuscular

Appearing or active at twilight.

Decompression Sickness (DCS)

Also known as the bends. Caused by too rapid an ascent resulting in nitrogen bubbles which may expand and injure tissue or block blood vessels. More at Decompression sickness research archive.

Emarginate Tail

Shaped as in the diagram to the right.

Nematocysts

Stinging cells such as those possessed by sea anemones.

Pelagic zone

The open sea.

RIB

Rigid-hull inflatable boat.

SPOT Tags

Smart position and temperature tags. Record, for example, temperature and depth, and send logged data to satellites at regular intervals. Used on animals who spend time at the surface, like dolphins and turtles.

Thermocline

Abrupt temperature gradient between the warm upper layer of water and denser cold water below.

Zooxanthellae

Microscopic algae that live in the tissue of reef-building corals. Pronounced zoo-zan-thelly.

Further Reading
Glossary of SCUBA Diving Terms and Ocean Terminology

Diving News From Around the World

You can display this news, in real-time, on your web site. Just grab our news feed from http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/scuba.xml. For more details see http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/newsfeed.html. You can also read it on our Twitter page at http://twitter.com/#!/SCUBANews

2012 shipwreck photography competition

Australasian Institute for Maritime Archaeology is holding its second shipwreck photography competition. Photographers from all over the world are invited to send in their best photos of any shipwrecks or other underwater cultural heritage above or below Australian or New Zealand waters. The competition is being run to December 2012, with judging occurring each month. Any entries received after the 1st of the month will automatically go into the following month's competition. Images must have been taken in 2012

Diver rescued from disused Dorothea Quarry in Wales

A diver has been airlifted to a decompression chamber after surfacing from a 300ft (91m) deep pool at a disused quarry in Snowdonia.

Lying cuttlefish tells rival males he's a girl

Who says males can't multitask? Cuttlefish can dupe rival males into thinking they're girls, even while actively courting a female.

Changing Weather Threatens Survival of Baby Leatherback Turtles

Critically endangered leatherback turtles face serious threat from climate change in addition to existing egg poaching and fishing dangers.

Over 30% of Species Threatened with Extinction

IUCN have updated their Red List of Threatened Species. The list shows that of the 63,837 species assessed, an alarming 19,817 are threatened with extinction: that's over 30%! Marine-wise, the figures are 36% of skates and ray, 33% of reef building corals and 18% of groupers under threat.

Study points to causes of dolphin deaths in Gulf of Mexico

The largest oil spill on open water to date and other environmental factors led to the historically high number of dolphin deaths in the Gulf of Mexico, concludes a two-year scientific study.

85 Percent of Reefs in the Coral Triangle Are Threatened, New Report Finds

A new report finds that more than 85 percent of reefs in the Coral Triangle are directly threatened by local human activities, substantially more than the global average of 60 percent.

Fifty tonnes of marine debris collected from the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands

NOAA scientists have collected nearly 50 tonnes of marine debris, which threatens monk seals, sea turtles and other marine life in the coral reef ecosystem, in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.

Coral reef emergency: 2,600 scientists call for worldwide rescue

Coral reefs worldwide are being destroyed by changes in ocean temperature and chemistry faster than at any time since the last reef crisis 55 million years ago, thousands of marine scientists warned in a joint statement.

NOAA improves global coral bleaching prediction

NOAA has announced a major advance in the ability to predict mass coral bleaching - providing the probability of bleaching up to four months into the future - with a newly developed global seasonal outlook system.

China Says No More Shark Fin Soup at State Banquets

China will prohibit official banquets from serving shark fin soup, an expensive and popular delicacy blamed for a sharp decline in global shark populations. The ban, reported by Xinhua, the state-run news agency, could take as many as three years to take effect, and it remains unclear how widely it will be adhered to across a sprawling nation where orders issued by Beijing are often shrugged off by officials in faraway regions and provinces.

Pollutants Could Pose Health Risks for Five Turtle Species

Researchers have measured for the first time concentrations of 13 perfluoroalkyl compounds (PFCs) in five different endangered species of turtle. The levels of the compounds seen in all five species approach the amounts known to cause adverse health effects in animals. The five sea turtle species studied were the green, hawksbill, leatherback, loggerhead and Kemp's ridley. FCs are man-made compounds that have many uses including stain-resistant coatings, fire-fighting foams and emulsifiers in plastics manufacturing.

South Korea unveils 'scientific' whaling proposal

South Korea is proposing to hunt whales under regulations permitting scientific research whaling, echoing the programmes of its neighbour, Japan.

Seabed sonar measures marine energy effect on wildlife

Scientists are measuring the effect on wildlife of devices that harness tide and wave energy using sonar technology that has, for the first time, been successfully deployed on the seabed.

Vast high seas area in the North-East Atlantic now protected

The 15 coastal states around the North-East Atlantic and the European Union agreed this week to establish the Charlie-Gibbs North High Seas Marine Protected Area on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between Iceland and the Azores, at a size of 180,000 square km.

Eco-friendly paint prevents spread of alien marine species

New environmentally friendly bottom paints have been developed in Sweden to prevent biofouling on ships' hulls. Such fouling can lead to higher fuel consumption and the spread of alien species that do not belong in the local marine environment.

Viruses Linked to Algae That Control Coral Health

Scientists have discovered two viruses that appear to infect the single-celled microalgae that reside in corals and are important for coral growth and health, and they say the viruses could play a role in the serious decline of coral ecosystems around the world.

Scientists confirm existence of vitamin 'deserts' in the ocean

Scientists have identified long-hypothesised vitamin B deficient zones in the ocean. B vitamins are organic compounds dissolved in the ocean and are important for living cells to function. Zones poor in B vitamins may inhibit the growth and proliferation of phytoplankton, which are tiny microorganisms at the base of the food chain in the ocean.

Scientists Discover New Trigger for Immense North Atlantic Plankton Bloom

Phenomenon of spring and summer is jump-started by swirling currents of seawater. The newly discovered mechanism helps explain the timing of the spring and summer bloom, known to mariners and fishers for centuries and clearly visible in satellite images.

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