Mediterranean 2006 Expedition: On-board Diary
Mar Menor
Author: Margot Stiles
Date: July 27, 2006
Last night we laid anchor outside of the Mar Menor (minor sea) and this morning we passed through a drawbridge and into this unusual world unto itself. In the weightless air of early morning we moved ahead into emerald waters and thousands, actually more like MILLIONS of jellyfish. We lined up along the front railing and my jaw dropped as jellies began to float by in groups of five, ten, thirty at a time in a continuous flow past both sides of the pontoon. Amazing, and in numbers beyond the imagination.
Read More...Mar Menor
Author: Ricardo Aguilar
Date: July 27, 2006
Yesterday was a day of testing. We worked out how to make the best use of the grids, rulers and other equipment that we have with us on board to assess the density of plants and marine algae on the sea floor. In the process, we also tested the coordination between all the team members. For that purpose, we headed towards the coast of Altea, where the extension of a marina has damaged the seagrass meadow of Posidonia oceanica and has also affected some areas of another seagrass species, Cymodocea nodosa.
Read More...
Burriana
Author: Ricardo Aguilar
Date: July 23, 2006
Mud and sand. That is what we are looking for. The sea floors made up of fine sediment are usually forgotten by marine conservationists and considered "dispensable" when discussing underwater sewage pipeline installations, high-impact fishing methods or any other activity that is considered necessary but damaging. These marine "deserts" are not as popular as rocky sea floors, walls covered in gorgonias and sponges, marine prairies or other ecosystems that are more pleasing to the eye.
Read More...Placer de la Barra Alta
Author: Ricardo Aguilar
Date: July 22, 2006
“Placer de la Barra Alta” is the strange name given to a small hillock measuring 60-70 meters in height located a few miles west-southwest of the Columbretes Islands. It rises from a flat sea floor at 80 meters and some of its peaks rise up to just 9 meters below the surface. It is not an extensive area, although the sea bed is quite interesting. Since this area is not protected like Columbretes, the sea bed is more deteriorated: we found fishing line and nets caught on the rocks and no sign of any large sessile animals (attached to the substrate).
Read More...Last day in Columbretes
Author: Ricardo Aguilar
Date: July 21, 2006
Today is our third and last day in Columbretes. We will concentrate on the exterior west section of Isla Grossa. The wall is more prominent here and thanks to this, there are many communities of sponges and corals, such as scleractinian and stoloniferous corals. There is also more movement and currents in this area and, consequently, some species can be seen here which usually inhabit open waters, such as the greater amberjack (Seriola dumerili) or the European barracuda (Sphyraena sphyraena).
Read More...On Ferrera Island
Author: Ricardo Aguilar
Date: July 20, 2006
We have spent the night anchored in the crater of the volcano that "gave birth" to Isla Grossa. During the night, the petrels give us a concert with their distinctive chants: the sounds they make are like a baby crying. Luckily, at night the temperature has been more mild, compared to the intolerable heat we must face during the day.
This new day of diving will take us to Isla Ferrera. There, we would like to film and photograph some species in detail which we have already identified, so this time we will be prepared with the macro.
Read More...To the Columbretes Islands
Author: Ricardo Aguilar
Date: July 19, 2006
After leaving Torredembarra at night, we saw various ships pass by us at sunrise, including cruise ships, cargo ships, etc. Further away, more or less two miles away, we saw a trawler. When we reached the area, we saw dozens of dead fish on the surface, mainly bogues (Boops boops), most probably the frequent leftovers of these trawlers. We have collected some with the fish net in order to identify and examine them. Many of them had suffered some injury, while others were completely destroyed.
Read More...Operations on the Gerona coasts
Author: Pilar Barros
Date: July 17, 2006
As soon as we docked in Roses port, the Ranger's crew was divided into three work groups:
Read More...New deck crane
Author: Phil Kline
Date: July 11, 2006
The new deck crane being installed over the next few days in Roses, Catalonia, will make many of the current operations more efficient and open some new possibilities. Right now just getting the divers and their equiptment in and out of the water is a three ring circus and not altogether safe for the delicate camera gear.
Read More...
