Between March 18th  and 20th, Discovery Deep team members Nic Fuller, Rebecca Ziegler and Frank Stopa convened in San Diego, California to launch our Kelp Forest Project.  In collaboration with Ocean Sanctuaries, a non profit marine conservation foundation based in San Diego, San Diego-based divers Bethy Driscoll and Jade Sommer, and Orange County, California diver David Hershman, the team spent the weekend diving off Point Loma and then at La Jolla Cove capturing video and 360-degree video to document the state of the kelp forests off the California coast.

On Saturday the 19th, the team worked with Captain David Hershman who took them to the area off the coast of Point Loma.  They conducted two dives at the Broomtail site followed by one more dive at the Christmas Reef site. "The water was cool - in the mid-50's at depth - and the visibility was maybe 15 feet at best.  Still we got a good appreciation for what the winter storms and El Nino had done to the kelp.  Everywhere we looked we saw stalks of kelp broken off about two to threefrom the bottom," commented Stopa. "Despite that we did manage to collect some footage of the decimation, not to mention the overabundance of purple sea urchins, which eat the kelp."

On Sunday the 20th, Fuller, Ziegler and Stopa dove at La Jolla Cove north of San Diego to survey the status of the kelp there withe Driscoll and Sommer. After realizing the kelp was essentially gone, they conducted a shallower dive to capture video of the abundance of species in the water. The highlights of the day included a visit by a young sea lion who dropped right in amongst the divers. They also spent a fair amount of the dive snooping for horn sharks, which showed a willingness to come out of their rock crevices and pose for our cameras.

All in all the weekend was a good start to the project.  Team members will continue their visits to La Jolla and sites closer up toward Los Angeles as the kelp recovers in the expectation that they'll document the difference between the regrown forests and the decimation they experienced this past weekend.  The end goal will be the creation of 360-degree video vignettes of the kelp and a virtual reality tour of a representative kelp forest.

Discovery Deep has added another new team member to our fold: Rebecca Ziegler of Riverside, California.  Rebecca graduated this past summer from the University of Hawaii at Hilo where she received dual Bachelor's Degrees in Marine Sciences and Communications.  She's a PADI Dive Master, a trained science diver, IYT certified Crew Sail and Marine VHF Operator, as well as a photographer and videographer.  She's also a member of the Explorers' Club and the Royal Geographic Society.

Rebecca is poised to provide underwater videography for Discovery Deep's Kelp Forest Project on the California coast beginning in March 2016 and our Artificial Reef project in North Carolina launching in April 2016.  She'll alsobe with us at out booth at Beneath The Sea April 1-3, 2016 in Secaucus, New Jersey.

Discovery Deep is pleased to welcome experienced Florida Dive Instructor Paul Seldes to our team.  Paul is an experienced Emergency Management consultant, planner, trainer and technologist with over 30 years of experience. He's a Certified Emergency Manager (CEM) as well as a Florida Professional Emergency Manager (FPEM) and a Master Florida EM Instructor. He is currently the Director of Operations at ntb group, LLC where he directs the emergency management and homeland security related operations of that company.

Prior to ntb group, Mr. Seldes was a Senior Vice President at Global Learning Systems and Savant LLC where managed global training projects in the government, defense and military sectors. Previously, he was a Global Vice President for Risk Management at major US banks (Manufacturers Hanover Trust, Chemical Bank, and Chase Manhattan).On the diving side, Paul is certified as a dive master and a dive and dive rescue instructor with Emergency Response Diving International, Scuba Diving International and Technical Diving International (ERDI/SDI/TDI).

Team members Frank Stopa, Steve Klinker, Nic Fuller and Mohamed Hafez are all in sunny Orlando, Florida this week and weekend for the DEMA 2015 conference; that's the annual Dive Equipment & Marketing Association trade show.

We look forward to spreading the word about our upcoming dive expeditions as well as check out the latest and greatest in the scuba diving industry and get a taste of the newest technology that we can use on our expeditions!

Photo: Frank Stopa poses with the folks of Deeperblue.com at DEMA 2015!

And now we’d like to welcome another new member to the Discovery Deep team, Nic Fuller. Nic brings a Bachelors in Science in Show Production. He has focused his attention on video and broadcasting, and began working for Celebrity Cruises as a Broadcast Operator soon after graduating. He was already Open Water certified, and after a 6 month contract, turned all of his focus on becoming a Divemaster. Now he combines his two passions, technology and diving.

He has been operating his own video production company, Above All Video, which was started earlier this year to provide clients with specialized aerial and underwater content. He has always loved seeing how technology progresses, and has taken a special interest in Virtual Reality. He believes that in the next few years, scientists and civilians alike will be able to explore the underwater world with ease. And he believes that Discovery Deep has the passion and drive to make that happen. Again, welcome, Nic!

We’d like to welcome Dr. Stephen Klinker to Discovery Deep. Dr. Klinker has dedicated his life to serving others by setting up medical, dental and eye teams in Central and South America and throughout South East Asia, as well as in his private dental practice. He has traveled extensively throughout these regions and studied different forms of medicine. He’s also been involved in neuropsyopharmocology studies, has had a tremendous interest in human physiology, hyperbaric neurophysiology, and basic research of underwater human physiology.

On the diving side, Dr. Klinker started diving in Texas in 1978 when he became NAUI certified. He’s a full cave diver and trimix diver, along with many other certifications and was privileged to be part of a cave expedition team that did some of the initial mapping of the caves on the island of Cozumel, Mexico. His love for diving has motivated him to become a part of Discovery Deep, to help with our organizational efforts, as well as marketing strategies. He’ll also act as our medical adviser and, in his own words, a “general gopher.” Welcome Dr. Klinker!

Discovery Deep team member Dr. Steve Klinker, a recent addition to the team, carried out the first sample collection of environmental DNA supporting Salford University (Manchester, UK) Professor Stefano Mariani’s Shark Biodiversity research. Steve, diving with buddy Steve Bourque, conducted two dives today just south of Jupiter, Florida. We’d like to congratulate the two Steve’s for their work!

Mariani’s Shark Biodiversity research aims to evaluate the use of environmental DNA collection to track shark populations through the organic matter they leave behind in the water column rather than relying solely on visual data. He and his grad assistant Judith Bakker working out of The Bahamas agreed to Discovery Deep’s proposal to support their research via the collection of samples from shark habitats to which Discovery Deep has ready access. So far their plan calls for collecting samples off the Florida California and North Carolina coasts. Other areas of the world may cone into play in the near future.

We would like to announce that San Diego-based dive master and aspiring marine biologist Anthony Doria has joined the Discovery Deep team as a volunteer diver and project manager, in addition to his other personal and professional pursuits.

Born and raised in Rochester, New York, Anthony is a retired Army Logistician and an aspiring Marine Biologist, now residing in San Diego, CA. He’s a certified PADI Dive Master and conducts guided dive tours with La Jolla Dive and two dive boat charters in the La Jolla/San Diego area. He’s logged over 600 dives. Additionally, Anthony works with Marine Animal Rescue in El Segundo, California rescuing sea lions and other marine mammals. While living in the Pacific Northwest, he volunteered at the Nisqually Reach Nature Center in the citizen science program conducting and teaching Fish Seining, Fish Foraging and helping to maintain a 15,000 acre aquatic reserve. Furthering his love for our oceans, he has also volunteered as teacher’s assistant at Pierce College teaching Oceanography, Marine Biology and Nature classes.

“Anthony came to our attention earlier in the year when he guided me in a great pair of dives at La Jolla cove,” noted team member Frank Stopa. “On another recent trip to California, I had to dive with him again. He was a great diver, and an aspiring marine biologist. He’s a natural fit for our organization and we know his talents will help us immensely.”

Anthony is already involved in planning for the collection of ‘environmental DNA’ samples on the West Coast to track shark populations under a research program run by Salford University in Manchester, UK. We’d like to welcome him to Discovery Deep.

We are pleased to announce that Discovery Deep divers will soon be at work supporting the research of Professor Stefano Mariani of the Salford University School of Environmental and Life Sciences in Manchester, UK. Professor Mariani is researching the use of environmental DNA sampling to track the biodiversity of sharks.

“In select locations, our divers will employ environmental membranes to sift organic material from seawater that can then be analyzed for its DNA content, showing the presence of shark species,” explained Discovery Deep’s Frank Stopa. “Professor Mariani’s research has the potential to track the presence and frequency of sharks on a large scale.”

While specific locations for the sampling work have yet to be finalized, divers will begin their first series of collections before the conclusion of the summer season. This marks Discovery Deep’s first foray into the world of the “citizen scientist”, providing support for research into the distribution of our oceans’ apex predators.

Discovery Deep would like to announce addition of Laura Keuhl to our team! Laura brings a youthful energy to the team along with the ability to assist the team with organizational and administrative matters.

With her interest in photography and writing, Laura will be developing the Discovery Deep newsletter with articles about the team, the projects, and pieces of general scuba interest. She’s already proven her value on our inaugural Mapping the Radeau project, ensuring that all administrative issues were taken care of, and providing shore support throughout the weekend. When not making sure our paper work was all in order Laura was behind the lens capturing the team in action. Many of her pictures have already been featured on the Discovery Deep website as well as our Facebook page.

Although not a diver herself, Laura has shown great interest in learning to dive and becoming part of the dive community. She spends time on dive boats taking pictures and interacting with the divers and learning what she can about our passion. We may see her suited up ready to splash someday soon, until then we will continue to enjoy her invaluable assistance, photographs and journalistic contribution. Welcome to the Discovery Deep team Laura!

Although he’s been with us for over a month, We’d like to officially Welcome Matthew Lerpiniere to Discovery Deep. Matt, from Kingston, Ontario, Canada, has been diving since 2009, has his open water dive master certification with SDI and most recently became certified at the Intro to Cave Diving level with TDI. He’s always looking to enhance his skills and spends most of his personal time diving or working on the dive boats for Thousand Island Pleasure Diving on the St. Lawrence River.

Matt will be bringing his knowledge of the St. Lawrence and Lake Ontario area, his passion for history and preservation of underwater sites, and his desire to improve his diving skills and capabilities to Discovery Deep. With his boundless energy, Matt has already begun project management, diving, and photography work for us. He’s organizing dive safety issues, and is tinkering nicely with our Facebook page.

This is a very special moment for us, a historic landmark for our organization, and we hope you’ll share it with us as we embark on this incredible journey to bring the marvelous oceanic world and what lies beneath it, to you!

Our goal is to raise at least $4,000.00 to produce the digital map of the Lost Radeau at the bottom of Lake George, New York. But, we’re already on our way, having raised $500.00 through our expedition page on www.openexplorer.com. Now that we’ve officially launched our campaign on Indiegogo.com, you’ll be able to contribute to our effort and enjoy the perks we have to offer! As well as be a part of our efforts to preserve history!

Discovery Deep’s first project, “Mapping the Radeau”, will kick off on 16 May 2015 at Lake George, New York with reconnaissance dives to the shipwreck under the auspices of the New York State Dive Association and the Get Wet Divers of Upstate New York. The work continues 12-14 June 2015 with more diving and data collection and will conclude later in the summer with the production of the digital mapping. Please help us out with your contributions at Mapping-the-Radeau.

Over the weekend, the Discovery Deep VR team attended a local VR meetup!

Conducting a photographic survey of one of the oldest shipwrecks in North America sounds at the same time exciting and snooze inducing, and it is. But that’s not all that Discovery Deep is up to during its inaugural project, “Mapping the Radeau”, during the second weekend in June.

Diving on a wreck dating back to 1758 from the French and Indian War is fantastic in and of itself. The photographic work, while challenging due to the conditions at the bottom of Lake George, is relatively mundane. It’s been done before. The beauty of the idea is that Discovery Deep is trying to do something nobody has done with this wreck site. They’re collecting data for two purposes, maybe even three!

Discovery Deep’s Co-Founders, Frank Stopa, Mohamed Hafez and Kevin Moore, in their “Mapping the Radeau” project aim to put 12 divers onto the wreck 105 feet down over the course of the weekend to collect as much photographic and video data as they can. That data in turn will be used to create the first interactive, digital mapping of the site ever done. The first goal is to produce the digital map for the museums and historical societies in Upstate New York; the region was a crossroads of activity during the colonial period as well as the early period of American independence.

The first objective is to allow school children, scientists, divers and historians the chance to experience the Radeau like they’ve never experienced it before. In addition to that, there’s data they aim to collect that will contribute to the conservation of the wreck. That data will be provided to underwater archeologists and the State of New York to update their understanding of its state with an eye toward helping them make better conservation decisions.

And if that’s not enough, Stopa, Hafez and Moore hope to, as time permits, capture 360 degree photography of the site to contribute to Google’s efforts to digitally image significant sites under the world’s waters through its Google Street View Ocean program.

This will be Discovery Deep’s first steps in the direction of becoming a full-fledged non-profit foundation to conduct ‘Blue Water Exploration’ to support the research and exploration of the scientific, historic and academic communities with the collection of the data they need. Stopa, Hafez and Moore are excited to be at the beginning stages of their organization’s life. They are committed to help make a difference.”

The hats for divers and crew on our first project, ‘Mapping the Radeau’ are in!