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The pygmy blue whale is the smallest subspecies of the blue whale (shown here).
The pygmy blue whale is the smallest subspecies of the blue whale (shown here).

Pygmy blue whales

A new population of pygmy blue whales has been discovered in the Indian Ocean, thanks to underwater nuclear bomb detectors that recorded their whale songs.

The research team, led by the University of New South Wales (UNSW), had been studying data from the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) which monitors international nuclear bomb testing, when an unusually strong signal caught their attention.

Richard Moon, M.D., Named 2021 DAN/Rolex Diver of the Year

Dr. Moon is a professor of anesthesiology at Duke University and the medical director of the Duke Center for Hyperbaric Medicine and Environmental Physiology. He is also a former medical director of DAN.

Throughout his 40-year career in dive medicine and research, Dr. Moon has sought to gain a better understanding of cardiorespiratory function on the human body when subjected to environmental conditions such as being deep underwater or at high altitude.

Explorer Ventures Announces New Group Liveaboard Specials for 2021

NEW GROUP SPECIALS - The more people you book, the more you can save!

Pay for one, get two half off (and more)! We have launched new group liveaboard specials so you can get back to diving with your friends. Celebrate the second half of 2021 by taking a holiday with your dive group. Choose from select weeks this summer on destinations around the world. It's time to explore new shores.

Thirteen lessons that saved thirteen lives

 'Thirteen Lessons' was published on 1 June 2021, in hardback form | Price £20
'Thirteen Lessons' was published on 1 June 2021, in hardback form | Price £20

'In his new book, Thirteen Lessons That Saved Thirteen Lives, John reveals the nail-biting moments that left him preparing for the worst - from sedating the boys with ketamine to the exhausting swim for survival...He tells of the operation in heart-stopping detail, while also sharing the coping techniques he employed which can be used in everyday life.' - Daily Mirror

Master Liveaboards Bahamas Master Open for Business

Bahamas Master and tender

On top of this, the first weekly direct flight from the UK with British Airways touched down in Nassau on the 31st May. All signs are good that other EU countries will soon follow.  

This means that The Bahamas is open for business and the Bahamas Master’s fully vaccinated crew are waiting for you. Master Liveaboards are celebrating this with some amazing offers to kick off their Shark Season. You can save between 20% and 30% on a variety of itineraries in September and October of this year if you book in June.

DAN Welcomes 2021 Research and Safety Interns

Clockwise from top right: Grant Dong, Christine Tamburri, Gabriel Graf, Rhiannon Brenner, Benjamin Kistler

The DAN Internship Program was created more than 20 years ago to give qualifiedstudents valuable experience in dive safety research. While the program is still research-oriented, its scope has expanded over the years to include projects that focus on other facets of DAN’s mission to help divers in need of emergency medical assistance and to promote dive safety through education. 

Table corals can regenerate coral reefs at a very fast rate.
Table corals can regenerate coral reefs at a very fast rate.

Why table corals matter in reef regeneration

Remember those large table corals (tabular Acropora) at the Great Barrier Reef?

A new study had shown them to be “extraordinary ecosystem engineers”, with the ability to regenerate coral reef habitats at the iconic reef at a rate 14 times higher—more than 20 years faster—than any other coral type.

In essence, the research indicated that overall reef recovery would slow significantly if these corals declined or disappeared at the reef.

John Volanthen, Rick Stanton, Thirteen Lessons That Saved Thirteen Lives, Thai Cave Rescue, Tham Luang Cave, Rosemary E Lunn, Roz Lunn, XRay Mag, XRay Magazines, cave rescue, scuba diving news, cave diving book
'Thirteen Lessons' was published on 1 June 2021, in hardback form | Price £20

'Thirteen lessons that saved thirteen lives' published today!

The 'Wild Boars' football team and their coach had become stranded after sudden, torrential monsoon rain poured into Tham Luang cave. Within days two British cave divers - John Volanthen and Rick Stanton - along with British caver Rob Harper were dispatched to Thailand to assist an army of rescue personnel.

‘Thirteen Lives' is a case study in courage. Ron Howard, Oscar-winning director of Apollo