Friday, January 26th, 2007
The British Sub-Aqua Club (BSAC) are now including Nitrox training at a basic level within their Open Ocean and Sports Diver courses. These are the first two courses offered by BSAC. (Open Ocean is equivalent to PADI Open Water Diver and PADI Advanced Open Water Diver).
BSAC aims to enable more and more divers to be able to use nitrox on all dives to enhance diver safety.
Divers who hold qualifications prior to the 2007 diver training syllabus but not holding a Nitrox certification, will be able to receive this training by attendance on The Nitrox Diver Workshop.
Read the Full Story Here
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Thursday, January 25th, 2007
World sea levels will keep rising for more than 1,000 years even if governments manage to slow a projected surge in temperatures this century blamed on greenhouse gases, a draft U.N. climate report says.
The study, by a panel of 2,500 scientists who advise the United Nations, also says that dust from volcanic eruptions and air pollution seems to have braked warming in recent decades by reflecting sunlight back into space.
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Wednesday, January 24th, 2007
New research suggests that manatees' tactile sense is so finely tuned that the animals may experience "touch at a distance" - an ability to "feel" objects and events in the water from relatively far away. In recent studies marine biologists Roger Reep and Diana Sarko at the University of Florida in Gainesville found that the giant mammals are covered with special whiskerlike hairs that act as sensors. Together these tactile hairs form a kind of sensory array, the biologists say, possibly allowing manatees to detect changes in current, water temperature, and even tidal forces.
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Monday, January 15th, 2007
In recent years digital cameras have profoundly altered the evolution of
underwater photography. This new book shows readers how to make the most of
the technology, with tips for purchasing gear, selecting camera settings and
taking the first dive with a digital camera. Also included are: exposure
techniques; lighting tips; ideas for close-up and super-macro photography;
tips for fish photography, reducing backscatter and more; ideas for close-up
and super-macro photography; travelling with and caring for underwater
digital equipment; and, tips for reef and animal protection.
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Friday, January 12th, 2007
Airlines that fly within the European Union will have to trade pollution
allowances beginning in 2011, which could see travellers paying more for
European diving holidays. Expanded rules covering all airlines that fly into
the EU will take effect the next year, a move that would hit U.S. airlines
on their lucrative trans-Atlantic routes. European airlines are generally in
favor of the plan, since EU officials had warned them that refusing to back
an emissions trading program would result in an aviation tax.
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Friday, January 12th, 2007
Protecting marine areas for even relatively brief periods can significantly
restore depleted fish stocks, scientists have said, citing a study of
octopus catches in Madagascar. The researchers found that after an area off
the coast of the Indian Ocean island nation was closed to fishermen for
seven months, the number of octopus caught later rose 13 times while the
total weight of the octopus catch jumped 25 times. Experts say nearly 75
percent of fish stocks, from tuna to cod, are caught faster than they can
breed as more and more people depend on them for food and livelihoods.
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