Penning these editorials is frequently a struggle.
Coming up with new topics or pressing matters to address can often be a real challenge. Sometimes I simply do not have anything new to add to what I have already said before, and on a few occasions, I suffer plainly from writer’s block.
But this time, I have struggled for a different reason.
Seagrasses need nutrients to thrive, particularly nitrogen (N). Up to now, it has been assumed that the nitrogen is taken up by the seagrasses through leaves and roots from the surrounding seawater and sediment. However, in many of the regions where seagrasses are most abundant, there is little nitrogen to be found.
Furthermore, while nitrogen is abundant in the sea in its elemental form (N2), seagrasses cannot use it in this form.
Scientists recently announced their findings in the Communications Biology journal, stating that the creatures' large body size helped to overcome the excess drag that was created as a result.
They discovered that while the plesiosaurs’ large necks did indeed increase the drag, this was relatively minor and was subsequently compensated for by the evolution of their large bodies.
For a cave diver, it is always an exciting moment to be the first to dive a location that has not been visited by other divers before. The Laplet slate mine in the Belgian Ardennes was such a location for our small group of explorers.
Join Wetpixel in diving and photographing one of the planet’s most rich and diverse marine environments. The Egyptian Red Sea, with its abundance of shallow fringing reefs, offers the opportunity to capture stunning underwater imagery. The confluence of nutrient-rich currents in the area makes for fantastic underwater scenery and many photographic subjects. The area boasts over 1,200 recorded species of fish, 1,000 invertebrate species, and 200 types of soft and hard coral.
DAN’s new video highlights some of the ways DAN is here to help divers — before, during, and after emergencies.
24/7 Emergency Hotline
Unimatic’s minimalist U1 series of dive watches was an instant hit upon its release in 2015. Handsome, highly legible dials combined with perfect proportions drew hordes of adoring fans, from hardcore divers to city slickers and everyone in between. The Modello Uno professional divers are coming back, this time, in a slimmer case and powered by an automatic Swiss Sellita SW200-1 movement, available in brushed finish and black DLC coating.
The innovative new Scubalamp OSD Snoot was officially released in late 2021. Underwater photographer Kate Jonker took it through its paces and shares her review of the product as well as her stunning photos taken with it.
Drawing on six decades spent in a variety of diving roles, David Strike’s personal misadventures and occasional lapses in good judgement provided him with more than enough material for a regular magazine column; one that ran for many years in Asian Diver magazine and other regional diving publications.
