This long-established and widely respected contest celebrates the splendor of the oceans and the challenging art of underwater photography and video.
The organizers call on underwater shooters of all levels, from novice to professional, to compete in what has become the “World Championship” of international underwater imagery events.
Imagine you are riding the waters on your trusty surfboard, savouring the rush of emotions and feeling totally alive, when you glance down into the waters and you spot a shark swimming by.
Does your heart skip a beat and you immediately look for the fastest way to get back to dry land?
Or do you continue what you are doing, feeling more at one with the elements?
Well, if you are like more than 50 percent of surfers, you would simply continue surfing, according to a survey of 391 surfers, conducted by the University of South Australia.
Part of sea turtle conservation involves monitoring when turtle hatchlings emerge from the nest and ensuring that they make it safely to the oceans. This method currently involves much manpower and cost, as we cannot predict the exact day and time of this occurrence.
At the time of the spring tide (new moon and full moon), thousands of puffer fish around the world head for the coastlines to spawn. There, they gather at the water’s edge and vigorously tremble their bodies to spawn.
Scientists have long wondered how the puffer fish were able to synchronise their spawning with the lunar cycle.
A paper published in a recent issue of the Current Biology journal has the answers.
Last September, ecologist David Johnson and his colleagues were at a Virginia salt marsh at low tide. There, they observed some unexpected behaviour by an aquatic predator.
They witnessed blue crabs waiting in shallow, water-filled pits, stalking and ambushing fiddler crabs above land, at low tide.
After capturing their prey, they would carry it back to the pit to consume it, then discard the large claws of the fiddler crab at the edge of the pit.
The Mexican government has announced the successful conclusion of a project involving the placement of 193 cement blocks on the sea floor in strategic locations in the vaquita’s habitat.
Called the Concrete Block Planting project, the objective was to discourage the setting of gillnets within the Zero Tolerance Area, where the remaining vaquita population is localised. Large steel hooks protrude from the top of the blocks, trapping any gillnets they come into contact with.
Launched in 1629, Applet (Apple) was built by the same shipbuilder as the famed 69-metre Vasa, which was carrying 64 cannons when it went down in a strait off the island of Vaxholm, just outside the capital, Stockholm. Vasa was meant to serve as a symbol of Sweden’s military might at the time but capsized after sailing just over 1,000 metres. It was salvaged in 1961 and is on display at the Vasa Museum in Stockholm, one of Sweden’s most popular tourist spots.
There are many ways you can review a dive computer, but wearing it on your arm for one or two dives does not constitute a proper test—at least, not a meaningful one. This review is therefore based on the use of the unit over a six-month period, where around 65 dives were conducted in different locations and water conditions. Lelle Malmström puts the Ratio’s new dive computer iX3M 2 through its paces.
Originally from Japan, artist Mariko Kusumoto, now based in the United States, creates delicate, translucent, ethereal, textile sculptures and wearable art featuring colorful reef coral forms in beautiful compositions, which have been shown in Europe, Asia and the Americas. X-Ray Mag interviewed the artist to learn more about her creative process and perspectives.
Aside from sharks, moray eels are one of the most maligned and misunderstood of all marine animals. Thought by many to be highly dangerous because of their depiction in films and books, morays are not malicious monsters, but important predators of any healthy marine ecosystem. They are generally shy and docile if not harassed. Nigel Marsh shares insights about these animals.
It may be more than four years since the 2018 Thai cave rescue dominated headlines, but the recent movie and miniseries releases have generated highly emotional reactions once again. Are divers being put off cave diving, and why should any diver consider going underground? Yvonne Press takes a closer look, interviewing several divers and technical diving instructors for this report.
Many people suffer from ear problems during and after diving. Technical rebreather diver and underwater photographer Dr Michael Rothschild is an ear, nose and throat specialist in New York City. In this series, he walks us through some of the common causes of dive-related ear problems, and how to treat and prevent them.
