InnerSpace Scientific Diving

Today is National Scientific Diving Day.

It’s also the 40th anniversary of recognition in federal regulations distinguishing occupational scientific diving from other commercial/occupational diving. Without that distinction, scientific diving would have been and today would be significantly curtailed - completely shut down in many instances.

I’m proud to have represented scientific divers - primarily in academia and government agencies - in making that distinction and providing support for it more than four decades ago. The American Academy of Underwater Sciences was born of those efforts.

Some of us are not trying to keep our heads above water.

More than 2 1/2 decades of a field research project involving mollusks comes to an end. Now it’s time for data crunching and analysis.

The latest from Sea Grant/University of Connecticut’s “Wracklines”. The 2021 efforts below the surface around Plum Island, NY is the lead article.

(Note: I said “bryozoans”, not rhizomes. Blame it on my mumbling and remotely communicating via Zoom and cell phones. Please.)

Post post note: the editors corrected this digital version.

https://seagrant.uconn.edu/2022/05/04/wrack-lines-issue-explores-creatures-from-sea-to-sky-to-garden/ #

Wrack Lines issue explores creatures from sea to sky to garden | Connecticut Sea Grant "All Creatures Great and Mostly Small" is the theme of the Spring-Summer 2022 issue of Wrack Lines magazine, filled with stunning images and engaging articles about some of the marine and terrestrial animals around us and the people who devote their attention to them.

With many thanks to everyone who participated and made it possible, the latest from Plum Island, New York with the New York Natural Heritage Program and InnerSpace Scientific Diving, funded by Save the Sound and its generous donors:

(The press release from Save the Sound includes a link to our full report)

https://www.savethesound.org/2022/04/01/plum-island-scientific-dive-report-catalogs-126-species-of-flora-and-fauna-a-surprising-diversity-of-life/?emci=ec928815-deb5-ec11-997e-281878b83d8a&emdi=de8f383e-e6b5-ec11-997e-281878b83d8a&ceid=8071510

https://suffolktimes.timesreview.com/2022/04/report-study-of-plum-islands-pristine-waters-reveal-rare-long-island-habitat/

https://www.newsday.com/amp/long-island/suffolk/plum-island-underwater-ecosystem-report-xanrkdy2

(The Newsday piece has a typo - it’s more than 800 acres, not miles)

Plum Island scientific dive report catalogs 126 species of flora and fauna, “a surprising diversity of life” - Save the Sound Southold, NY—The results of a 2021 scientific dive off the coast of Plum Island, NY, were released today, providing a deeper understanding of findings from an earlier dive and documenting 126 species of plants and animals beneath the surface of Long Island Sound. The report, “Survey of Plum Isla...

In a report released today, scientists leading an August 2021 dive off Plum Island have recorded 126 species—double the count from a previous dive! They’ve also helped advance future mapping of the island’s natural communities, including habitats rare for Long Island, such as eelgrass meadows and subtidal areas with large boulders completely covered with organisms--including corals and anemones. Read the full report here: https://ecs.page.link/CyTYk. New York Natural Heritage Program InnerSpace Scientific Diving

Pass it on to the next generations. We need the passion and commitments now, and for the future.

Real Life as a Marine Biologist Students in Emma Willard School’s science classes get plenty of exposure to scientific theory, lab basics, and experimentation, but what is it really like to be a professional scientist? This year’s marine biology class had the opportunity to discover just that when scientific diver and....

https://www.eastendbeacon.com/a-groundbreaking-exploration-of-the-waters-off-plum-island/

A Groundbreaking Exploration of the Waters Off Plum Island All islands are shaped by the waters surrounding them, and Plum Island, which sits just off the end of Orient Point on the North Fork, is no exception. The island, home since 1954 to the U.S. Depar…

A mistake in there that could have been made by anyone conveying info to or reporting what they heard or thought. These are the numbers:

9 transects through 7 sites;

78 meter square quadrats;

26 rather than seven dives.

Plum Island Waters Teem With Life | The East Hampton Star In collaboration with New York Natural Heritage Program and Cornell Cooperative Extension, Save the Sound's private donors sponsored a first-of-its-kind dive: five days underwater to survey biodiversity where the Long Island Sound and Peconic Estuary empty around 822-acre Plum Island.

https://www.savethesound.org/2021/08/06/press-release-scientists-dive-to-grow-understanding-of-plum-island-biodiversity/

Press Release: Scientists Dive to Grow Understanding of Plum Island Biodiversity - Save the Sound NY Natural Heritage Program, Save the Sound, Cornell Cooperative Extension, and more collaborate to deepen understanding of fragile underwater habitats Orient Point, NY – This week, divers have been conducting a scientific dive using SCUBA in New York State waters off Plum Island, NY, to deepen ou...

From the memories files:

SUNYSUB post-launch and sea trial, Port Jefferson Harbor, Long Island, NY, USA, June 1981.

Three senior ocean engineering students from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Stony Brook;

Steven C. Resler, ocean engineering college and Marine Technology Society
- Stony Brook Chapter, advisor and lead scientific diver;

Henry Honigman, experimental machinest and refined welder extraordinaire, SUNY Stony Brook - Heavy Engineering;

Herbert Herman, Professor and Chair, SUNY Stony Brook - Engineering , Laboratory for Surface Technologies and Materials Science;

Bill Wilkes, Sperry Oceanographics.