Eternal rest in a watery grave….
May 12, 2008
About 14 metres beneath the ocean’s surface lies a cemetery with gates, pathways, plaques and even benches. The Neptune Memorial Reef, which opened last autumn, is seen by its creators as a perfect final resting spot for those who loved the sea. They hope the reef will one day cover 6.5 hectares (16 acres) and have room for 125,000 remains.
“This is simply as good as it gets,” said Gary Levine, a diver who conceived the reef and is now a shareholder in the company that owns it.
The Neptune Memorial Reef is located in open waters three miles off the coast of Key Biscayne, which means any certified diver can visit. The artificial reef’s first phase allows for about 850 remains.
The ashes are mixed with cement designed for underwater use and fitted into a mould, which a diver then places and secures into the reef. A copper and bronze plaque is installed with the person’s name, date of birth and death. There is also a line for a message.
The cost of a placement starts at $995 (£510) and can go up to $6,495.
From the Guardian: Read more
Massive Manta “Zeus” released
May 9, 2008
A 1,000-pound (450-kilogram) manta ray was returned to the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday after three years as a research subject and tourist attraction at a Bahamian resort. The massive black ray, known as “Zeus,” was lowered from a helicopter on a hydraulically welded frame to ensure its safe entry into the water. It spans nearly 13 feet (4 meters) in diameter — including a 3-foot (1 meter) mouth.
Marine biologists had studied the creature and will now use a satellite tracking tag to monitor its movements in the open sea.
Relocating the ray from its 2.7 million-gallon (10.2 million-liter) aquarium took more than two hours, according to a statement issued by the Atlantis resort on Paradise Island.
From AP: Read more
Shark attacks in perspective
May 8, 2008
Last friday morning a 66-year-old swimmer was attacked and killed by a shark off Solana Beach in San Diego county. It was the first fatal shark attack in San Diego since 1994.
While the attack has received widespread media attention, fatal shark attacks are increasingly rare relative to the number of people participating in ocean activities. In 2007 human deaths from shark attacks hit a 20-year low, according to statistics released by the University of Florida.
The single death of a swimmer in the South Pacific in 2007 represented the fewest casualties from shark attacks since 1987, when no one was killed by sharks.
“It’s quite spectacular that for the hundreds of millions of people worldwide spending hundreds of millions of hours in the water in activities that are often very provocative to sharks, such as surfing, there is only one incident resulting in a fatality,” said George Burgess, director of the International Shark Attack File housed at UF’s Florida Museum of Natural History. “The danger of a shark attack stays in the forefront of our psyches because of it being drilled into our brain for the last 30 years by the popular media, movies, books and television, but in reality the chances of dying from one are infinitesimal.”
From Mongabay.com: Read more
Google diving into 3D mapping of oceans
May 6, 2008
We’ve got Google Earth and Google Sky. Next up will be a map of the world below sea level–Google Ocean.
The company has assembled an advisory group of oceanography experts, and in December invited researchers from institutions around the world to the Mountain View, Calif., Googleplex. There, they discussed plans for creating a 3D oceanographic map, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The tool–for now called Google Ocean, the sources say, though that name could change–is expected to be similar to other 3D online mapping applications. People will be able to see the underwater topography, called bathymetry; search for particular spots or attractions; and navigate through the digital environment by zooming and panning. (The tool, however, is not to be confused with the “Google Ocean” project by France-based Magic Instinct Software that uses Google Earth as a visualization tool for marine data.)
From CNET : Read more
