Jim Milisen's photography is featured in an article in Scientific American: The Strange World of Nighttime Open-Ocean Diving [Slide Show]
Night diving could easily be one of the scariest possible forms since nothing makes it more obvious we are just food.
Every night in the open ocean zooplankton migrate toward the surface, away from their deepwater daytime habitat. They are followed by a large and diverse community of fish and invertebrates in what is called “diel vertical migration.” By scuba diving in the open ocean at night, so-called “blackwater divers” are some of the few people on Earth who get to see these weird and wonderful animals up close. “Blackwater diving really speaks to scuba divers that have seen most of what the reefs and wrecks have to offer and want to experience something completely different—a drifting, night dive miles away from shore in an environment where you will never see the bottom,” says Hawaii-based ecologist and underwater photographer Jeff Milisen. “What makes this dive so special is that it is completely unpredictable. With such a variety of animals inhabiting the epipelagic [uppermost] zone, even seasoned blackwater dive leaders frequently see animals and behaviors they have never experienced before. The list of possible encounters is as deep as the ocean.”
- SA
Blackwater diving may be one of the scariest sport dives anyone could consider but the sights it reveals are extraordinary.
It seems all of these creatures have lights inside them.
Too bad humans don't have this capability since that could make concerts an experience no-one ever imagined even at a Grateful Dead show.
You can see it too if you have the stones for it but I believe I'll wait this one out on the boat.
Night diving could easily be one of the scariest possible forms since nothing makes it more obvious we are just food.
Every night in the open ocean zooplankton migrate toward the surface, away from their deepwater daytime habitat. They are followed by a large and diverse community of fish and invertebrates in what is called “diel vertical migration.” By scuba diving in the open ocean at night, so-called “blackwater divers” are some of the few people on Earth who get to see these weird and wonderful animals up close. “Blackwater diving really speaks to scuba divers that have seen most of what the reefs and wrecks have to offer and want to experience something completely different—a drifting, night dive miles away from shore in an environment where you will never see the bottom,” says Hawaii-based ecologist and underwater photographer Jeff Milisen. “What makes this dive so special is that it is completely unpredictable. With such a variety of animals inhabiting the epipelagic [uppermost] zone, even seasoned blackwater dive leaders frequently see animals and behaviors they have never experienced before. The list of possible encounters is as deep as the ocean.”
- SA
Blackwater diving may be one of the scariest sport dives anyone could consider but the sights it reveals are extraordinary.
It seems all of these creatures have lights inside them.
Too bad humans don't have this capability since that could make concerts an experience no-one ever imagined even at a Grateful Dead show.
You can see it too if you have the stones for it but I believe I'll wait this one out on the boat.
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