SCUBA News 17
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SCUBA News (ISSN 1476-8011) Issue 17 - September 2001 www.scubatravel.co.uk ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hello, and welcome to issue 17 of SCUBA News (ISSN 1476-8011). This month: - What's new at SCUBA Travel? - Your letters - SCUBA News (ISSN 1476-8011) Video Review: The Blue Planet - Diving news from around the world If you have any diving news, or comments on this newsletter, we'd love to hear from you. Just fill in our Contact the Editor form. __________________________________________________________ What's New at the SCUBA Travel Web Site? ======================================== Diving in the South of France We're pleased to announce the launch of a new section covering wreck diving in the South of France. It describes dives, accommodation, qualifications needed, dive operators, and so on. http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/france/ Diving Around the World We now also have notes on diving in Costa Rica, Kona Hawaii, the Coral Sea and Taba (Egypt). http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/scuba.html Thailand Dive Operators Our Thai dive operators page now includes those offering trips to the Similans. http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/thailand/thailand-dive-centres.html __________________________________________________________ Your Letters ======================================== Hello Two weeks ago I went up to Stoney Cove to supervise a PADI Open Water course as the Dive Master. I got up there a couple of hours early with a buddy diver just in time to see the on-site rescue team rescue a diver. I was later told that the diver had surfaced unconscious and not breathing. Whether the facts are accurate or not, I think those guys deserve a pat on the back!!! Outside of diving circles I only ever hear horror stories of Stoney and other UK dive sites, I think we should give more praise those who are always there to give a helping hand, especially at Stoney, where they are put through their paces on a weekly basis. Adam Ziff London For those not familiar with Stoney Cove, it is a British inland diving site (previously a quarry). It is extremely busy, and a popular site for diver training. __________________________________________________________ SCUBA News (ISSN 1476-8011) Video Review: The Blue Planet ======================================== The Blue Planet series, from the BBC, took 5 years and 7 million pounds to make. And viewing the series this isn't surprising. As every diver knows, for each dive you see thrilling examples of the behaviour of large oceanic animals like sharks, dolphins or manta rays, you can spend many hours in the water being satisfied (or enchanted) with tiny nudibranchs or crabs. The Blue Planet videos exhibit the gamut of sea creatures, from killer whales stalking a grey whale and her calf to the transparent, beautiful and sometimes grotesque oddities of the deep seas. All parts of the oceans are covered. The extraordinary life frantically growing and reproducing at the vents of underwater volcanoes and spreading faults, dependent on sulphur metabolising bacteria. The freezing Arctic and Antarctic, and of course the coral seas, coastal waters and tidal marshes. We highly recommend these videos - you won't fail to be fascinated. + The Blue Planet videos are now available from Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00005M6OU/1286 + Alternatively you can buy the series on DVD: http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000ASALVK/1286 + The is also a companion book to the series, which Amazon are currently offering at a 30% discount: http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0563384980/1286 + If you would like to recommend a diving-related book or video please e-mail news@scubatravel.co.uk ::ADVERT__________________________________________________ : : For the inside information on Amazon, join the Amazon : Associates Mailing List. Lively comment on Amazon, : search engines and web site positioning. Visit : http://www.mcsuk.org/ The Intelligent Arms of the Octopus The octopus's intelligence is apparently not limited to its brain: its arms also think for themselves. According to Israeli researchers, the octopus brain simply tells the arm to move. The arm itself decides how far to extend, at what speed and in what direction. Science magazine, http://www.sciencemag.org/ (For photos of octopus see http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/photo.html) The First World Atlas of Coral Reefs After compiling the first world atlas of coral reefs, scientists say they cover much smaller area than had previously been thought. The findings give new urgency to protect and conserve these beautiful habitats which are under increasing threat from activities such as dynamite fishing, pollution and climate change. Sponsored by the United Nations Environment Programme, the atlas provides a comprehensive assessment of where coral reefs are and what state they are in. It also looks at the potential income from 15 million scuba divers worldwide and includes a database listing 2500 dive centres in 91 countries. United Nations Environment Programme's World Conservation Monitoring Centre http://www.unep-wcmc.org/ You can buy the World Atlas of Coral Reefs from Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/ http://www.windmill.co.uk/mapping.html : ________________________________________________ADVERT:: Bubbling Seas and the Bermuda Triangle Lab tests have proved that bubbles can sink floating objects. The findings add weight to suggestions that methane bubbles escaping from methane reserves in the seabed might have been to blame for vessels disappearing in the Bermuda Triangle and the North Sea. Bruce Denardo at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, tested the theory by filling a large glass beaker with water and feeding air into the bottom at varying speeds. He then dropped in steel balls filled with water and air to see whether they would sink or float. "We were surprised that the theory was confirmed," says Denardo. New Scientist SCUBA Travel Ltd - http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/ * Reprinting welcomed with this footer included. We are happy for you to copy and distribute this newsletter, and even use parts of it on your own website, providing the above copyright notice is included, and a link back to our website is in place. Previous editions of SCUBA News (ISSN 1476-8011) are archived at http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/news.html SUBSCRIBING AND UNSUBSCRIBING Visit http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/news.html and add or remove your e-mail address.
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