(September) Join scientists as they set out on a series of expeditions in the seas surrounding Bermuda, searching for deep water caves. http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/11bermuda/welcome.html http://www.oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/include/images/ocean_explorer_podcast_100.jpg http://www.oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/11bermuda/welcome.html ____________________________________________________________________________ The Iliffe dive team has returned a remarkable and unique collection of animals from Bermuda’s deep reefs that will significantly expand the collection at the Bermuda Natural History Museum. At least two new cup corals were collected along with five rare specimens of the deep water antipatharians (or black corals) and deep water gorgonians. http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/11bermuda/logs/june27/june27.html ____________________________________________________________________________ This dive represents the deepest manned exploration of Bermuda. ROVs, bathyspheres and subs have combed these depths before, but our first hand look will offer details never before available to scientists. http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/11bermuda/logs/june26/june26.html ____________________________________________________________________________ Have a question for the team? Send an email to: melissa.ryan@noaa.gov. Questions will be forwarded to the team at sea, and their replies will be posted here. http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/11bermuda/logs/ask/ask.html ____________________________________________________________________________ Successful scientific diving projects require specialized equipment and thorough planning. A key component is the expert safety divers. http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/11bermuda/logs/june22/june22.html ____________________________________________________________________________ Following the discovery of an ancient fossil reef off the South Shore of Bermuda, a return trip to the site was planned to recover coral samples in an effort to date the age of this reef. http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/11bermuda/logs/june21/june21.html ____________________________________________________________________________ Using equipment that looks more like a space suit than scuba gear, we plunged to 444 feet on the Challenger seamount and brought back biological samples and geologic treasures for scientists to examine. http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/11bermuda/logs/june19/june19.html ____________________________________________________________________________ Our team is really working like a well-oiled machine now. We selected a site on the south side of the island to avoid the choppy seas. http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/11bermuda/logs/june18/june18.html ____________________________________________________________________________ A strong, northwesterly wind forced our team to move to the southern end of the Bermuda today in the hope that we might find sea conditions suitable to conduct a 300+ foot dive on the edge of the Bermuda platform. http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/11bermuda/logs/june17/june17.html ____________________________________________________________________________ As my dive team and I were drifting down to the target area, I could not help but wonder, how did I get here? My brain quickly kicked in — reminding me that daydreaming has its time and place. http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/11bermuda/logs/june16/june16.html ____________________________________________________________________________ Our second dive was conducted in Deep Blue Cave in Walsingham Forest. The cavern is filled with interesting life. http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/11bermuda/logs/june14/june14.html ____________________________________________________________________________ It takes a tremendous amount of diving expertise to safely conduct the type of diving we are involved in, but it also takes a high level of creativity and awareness. http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/11bermuda/logs/june13/june13.html ____________________________________________________________________________ Our team arrived safely in Bermuda, each with numerous bags and boxes of diving equipment and other luggage. http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/11bermuda/logs/june11/june11.html ____________________________________________________________________________ The exploration of deep oceanic caves presents some significant challenges for a photographer. Find out about the history of underwater digital imaging and see the state-of-the-art equipment that underwater filmmaker Jill Heinerth will use to study Bermuda's vast cave networks. http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/11bermuda/background/imaging/imaging.html ____________________________________________________________________________ View photos and videos taken during the Bermuda Deep Water Caves 2011: Dives of Discovery Expedition, including high-resolution photos, video, and slideshows. http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/11bermuda/logs/photolog/photolog.html ____________________________________________________________________________ The goal of this project is to thoroughly explore and characterize the upper edge of the Bermuda pedestal and two adjacent mid-ocean seamounts to confirm the existence of deep water (~60-200 m depths) caves. We will also document wave cut notches, drown reefs, terraces and other features formed during Ice Age low sea stands of the Pleistocene epoch (roughly defined as the time period between 1.8 million to around 10,000 years ago). http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/11bermuda/background/plan/plan.html ___________________________________________________________________________ Ocean Explorer Expedition Education Modules (EEM) are designed to reach out in new ways to teachers, students, and the general public, and share the excitement of daily at-sea discoveries and the science behind NOAA’s major ocean exploration initiatives with the people around the world. http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/11bermuda/background/edu/edu.html ____________________________________________________________________________ Bermuda Deep Water Caves brings together some of the most experienced cave diving explorers on earth with an array of technology never before deployed to reveal caves previously hidden in the oceanic depths. http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/11bermuda/background/caves/caves.html ____________________________________________________________________________ Explore the formation, physical characteristics, and geologic composition of Bermuda's underground anchialine cave network. http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/11bermuda/background/geology/geology.html ____________________________________________________________________________ The Bermuda cave habitat is characterized by the absence of light, a salinity and temperature stratified water column, very limited food resources, low levels of dissolved oxygen and stable environmental conditions. Read on to discover more about the extraordinarily diverse group of cave adapted organisms that inhabit the caves of Bermuda. http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/11bermuda/background/biology/biology.html ____________________________________________________________________________ Rebreather technology takes advantage of exhaled bubbles by recapturing them, scrubbing them clean of carbon dioxide and returning them to the diver with the addition of extra oxygen to maintain an appropriate level for metabolism. Continue reading to find out more about the history and development of rebreathers, as well as their importance to the success of this expedition. http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/11bermuda/background/rebreather/rebreather.html ____________________________________________________________________________ View photos and short bios of the explorers participating on the Bermuda Deep Water Caves 2011: Dives of Discovery Expedition. http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/11bermuda/background/explorers/explorers.html