Photo Credit: California Science Center

Photo Credit: California Science Center

Note: this is almost identical to the orientation meeting that three off us attended today at the California Science Center, to apply to become Volunteer Aquarium Divers:

by Paris Waddill, Examiner.com

More than eighty Southern California divers packed into the back room of Eco Dive Center in Culver City last Tuesday night. What was the occasion? They were invited to Eco Dive Club’s monthly meeting, featuring a presentation by Captain Chris Wade, Dive Safety Officer and Senior Collector for the California Science Center.

Captain Chris provided information on the Science Center’s new “Ecosystems” wing. Among other exhibits the wing includes a 188,000 gallon tank, containing a live kelp forest and numerous plants and animals common to the Southern California coast. Island and river zones are also exhibited, featuring active aquaria with live ecosystems. Since admission to the Science Center’s permanent exhibition galleries is free, much of the work done in collecting plants and animals, maintaining the exhibits, and delivering educational presentations to visitors is done by volunteers. For the aquarium exhibits, this means volunteer divers.

http://www.examiner.com/x-52405-LA-Scuba-Diving-Examiner~y2010m6d4-California-Science-Center-reaches-out-to-area-divers

Photo: Janna Nichols/REEF

Completing 4 days of marine life surveying off the dive boat, the Monterey Express, skippered by Captain Phil Sammet, a team of 18 REEF surveyors from California and the Pacific Northwest, using the ‘roving diver’ method, tallied up and recorded a total of 54 species of fish and invertebrates, to be entered into REEF‘s Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS) database. See link below for more information: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/5461714/monterey_bay_national_marine_sanctuary.html?cat=58

Second to last row, first and third from right: Dr. Steve Lonhart and Chad King, respectively.

First row, second and third from left, Mike Bear and Barbara Lloyd, from San Diego.

Pacific sea nettle (Chrysaora fuscescens)

–Many thanks to Chad King , Research Specialist with the Sanctuary Integrated Monitoring Network (SIMoN), Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary for permission to post these gorgeous photos from our joint June 2010  REEF/MBNMS/SIMoN Expedition .

See here for more information: http://www.sanctuarysimon.org/

Friday, June 04, 2010

Locations: Outer Ocean Pinnacles/Dali’s Wall, Carmel

Dive Times:  0847/1038

Mix: 32%

Dive Buddy: Barbara Lloyd

Visibility [Amazing] : Site #1:  40-60 ft vertical/30-40 ft. horizontal Site #2:  20-30 ft.

Marine Life Observed: Macrocystis, Northern Palm, Southern Palm, Giant Sea Stars,  Bat Stars, Lacy Bryozoans, Kelp Greenling, Painted Greenling, Tube-Dwelling Anemone, Strawberry Anemone, White-Spotted Anemone, Spiny Brittlestars, large Pacific Sea Nettle ((Chrysaora fuscescens )

See here for more on the Sea Nettle: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_nettle

Highlights:

Dive#1:  ‘Outer Ocean Pinnacles,’ Carmel

This was a spectacular dive site with arguably 60 ft. vertical visibility and at least 30-40 ft. horizontal visibility.

Just as the name implies, it consisted of dramatic granite or stone pinnacles and steep walls, covered in Southern Palm and Giant Kelp, rising up from the sandy bottom at around 100 ft, covered in a wide variety of marine life, from colorful sponges to anemones and algae.

On the way to the surface, we encountered half a dozen or so large Pacific Sea Nettles, which ranged in size from 1 foot to 3 feet long, which was a real treat.

Dive #2:  Dali’s Wall

This was a nice rocky, kelp bed environment, with lots of Giant Sunflower stars scooting around the bottom, but I was distracted by a self-inflicted [by a sharp pencil] leak in my left wrist seal, which caused ice-cold sea water to pour into my dry suit—sea water so cold that it actually burned.

Needless to say, this cause me to cut my dive short—to about 15 mins—and head for the surface.

Nonetheless, these final dive sites, especially the ‘Outer Pinnacles,’ were a fitting end to a week of spectacular diving for REEF in some of the best dive spots  California has to offer.