Below is the bruising which can result from failure to keep sufficient air in your dry suit on the way down on a dive, in this case down to 4 atmospheres, or 4 times surface pressure = 60lbs/sq.in.
By the time you reach 60 ft., the ambient water pressure makes you feel as if your entire body is caught in a giant vice grip.
It was pure stupidity on my part of course, for having failed to check to make sure my dry suit hose was connected to deliver air pressure into the suit before the dive.
A helpful dive buddy assisted me in reconnecting it at 60 ft. and restoring pressure, but this is the result of not checking your hoses before a dive.
--Remember: it's always better to learn from the mistakes of others, rather than your own!
[See dive report below for 3-25-08]
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Bruising from Suit Squeeze at 60 ft. Ouch!
Friday, March 28, 2008
Scientists Uncover Mystery of Squid Beaks
"That deadly beak may be a surprise to many people and has long posed a puzzle for scientists. They wonder how a creature without any bones can operate it without hurting itself.
The beak, made of hard chitin and other materials, changes density gradually from the hard tip to a softer, more flexible base where it attaches to the muscle around the squid's mouth, the researchers found.
That means the tough beak can chomp away at fish for dinner, but the hard material doesn't press or rub directly against the squid's softer tissues
The razor-sharp beaks that giant squids use to attack whales – and maybe even Captain Nemo's submarine – might one day lead to improved artificial limbs for people. "
See here for more:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20080328/news_1n28squid.html
Thursday, March 27, 2008
VIDEO: California Reef Check Divers Attacked by Vicious Harbor Seals :)
This is cute: note what happens to their transect line..........there goes that survey!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqoRObXwZ2Y
Woods Hole: Pavlov's Fish?
BOSTON – Call them Pavlov's fish: Scientists are testing a plan to train fish to catch themselves by swimming into a net when they hear a tone that signals feeding time.
If it works, the system could eventually allow black sea bass to be released into the open ocean, where they would grow to market size, then swim into an underwater cage to be harvested when they hear the signal.
For more, see: http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20080327/news_1n27fish.html
Judge: Scuba Diver Abandoned by Dive Boat May Sue....
A recreational scuba diver abandoned in the ocean off Newport Beach in 2004 can take to trial his $4 million lawsuit against the dive shop that planned the trip, along with the company that owned the boat and its crew, a judge has ruled.
http://www.dailybreeze.com/ci_8705945
As long as they promise to stop making Grade 'D' movies about it, I'll be happy.......
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
CAT Results Explained Here: I Think....
Feel free to correct me, any budding medical students or MDs out there, but this is but one image from a series of about 60 CAT Scan images I received today....[which I selected at random], showing my torso looking up from the bottom, with the liver to the left of the lumbar vertebra, the stomach in the middle [with dark food matter in it, towards the top of the image] and the spleen on the right.
I don't see any excess nitrogen bubbles anywhere, but then again, I don't know where to look!
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
La Jolla Shores Night Dive: Vallecitos Pt.
Date: 3/25/08
Time: 7:30-ish [haven't downloaded data from dive computer yet]
Location: La Jolla Shores, Vallecitos Pt.
Conditions: incoming tide: low, 2-3 ft. waves, but with a bit of 'knock you back a couple feet' punch on the way out; slightly stronger on the way back in
Viz: not great: some greenish 'red tide' in top layers, with stirred up 5-8 ft. murk on the bottom
Dive Length: 45 mins
Max Depth: 92 ft.
Temp: a solid, b-b-b-bone chilling 50 F.
Buddy Teams: Me, Dave, Kathy and Merrianne
Critters Seen: Swimming crabs everywhere, Southern Kelp Crabs on Kelp, many Red Sea Hares, a couple nudis, Thornback Rays,
Round Rays, Target Shrimp, Brown Shrimp and Coon Shrimp
Remarks:
We must be one of the most literate dive groups around: the most memorable part of the dive was Kathy B. reciting to us, from memory, Edgar Allen Poe's 'The Telltale Heart' on the way out to the drop zone [!].
Luckily, I was able to get Merrianne to commit to reciting Tolstoy's 'War and Peace' for us [from memory] on our way out to Waaay North Wall next week. :)
We are so lucky to have such an educated group of divers here in San Diego!
Unfortunately, the literary salon was the high point of the evening. It sort of went down hill from there.
Upon arrival at the drop zone, I had apparently decided to see how far I could descend without putting any air in my dry suit, having conveniently forgotten to hook up my inflator hose before the dive [see? I'm not afraid to admit these things...].
Needless to say, by the time we reached 60 ft. or so, I was pretty much bug-eyed and purple from suit squeeze and reduced to making frantic gestures for assistance from Dave, who thought I was gesturing for him to connect his dry suit hose, which caused no end of comical confusion on his part, since his was already connected.
Actually, I had managed to locate my dry suit hose, but due to all the various crap I had dangling from my D rings, was having trouble getting it onto the dry suit connector, so finally, Kathy, in her instructor mode, patiently swam over to see what all the commotion was about and swiftly had me hooked up and ready to go.........but, not before I lost about 15 lbs from the ambient outside water pressure alone.
When we finally resumed the dive and began heading down into the canyon, I looked down to discover that, in all the commotion, I had now lost the pencil I had planned to use for my REEF survey, thereby putting a quick end to that project and rendering useless all the slates and other gear I had brought along to accomplish that.
This dive was getting off to a stellar start, I could tell.
Finally, we found ourselves at around 90 ft., blundering about in the dark and murk in the detritus pits.
It was here that I wished Terry S. and his magical camera had been with us: in addition to all the Coon Shrimp and Target Shrimp everywhere, I came across a rather large Sea Hare with the tiniest little Cleaner Shrimp you ever saw, about 2 mm long, in between the rhinophores, busily working to clean them off. It was a classic Shot of the Night, and of course, no camera.
We poked along, through the detritus pits, heading South for a while until we were back along the sloping sandy bottom, which didn't offer much to see, so I angled Dave down a bit again, towards 90 ft. again, hoping we'd come across something noteworthy and sure, enough, we found the steep sandstone walls of Zion--as in Southern Utah.
Here, various large Rockfish darted about here and there, trying, unsuccessfully, to keep out of the range of our lights.
By now, the 50 F degree water was starting to have its effect, so I began steering us up and over the shallower canyon walls towards the shallows, where we were escorted into shore by numerous Round Rays and Thornback Rays, including a really tiny juvenile, who was really cute: about 4 inches long.
Coming in through the now slightly larger and more powerful surf, I made the mistake of thinking I was clear and turned my back on it for a second and when I turned around again to face it, without my regulator in my mouth, of course, I got slammed with a face full of high velocity sea water and that always pleasant, but mercifully short sensation of drowning, before recovering my reg and my dignity and limping my way back into shore with Dave.
Not the best dive I've had in recent memory, but certainly worth it, if only for the literary education to be had on the way out to the drop zone!
Dive safe, everyone,
Mikey
Monday, March 24, 2008
Sunday, March 23, 2008
REEF Survey on Broomtail Reef, Pt. Loma
Date: March 22, 2008
Location: Broomtail Reef, Point Loma
Suface Conditions: light surface swell, 45 second intervals
Visibility: light yellowish Red Tide in top 15 feet
20 ft. visibility on bottom, 25 ft in certain places
Time: 11:16 AM
Dive Time: 40 minutes
Temperature: a b-b-b-butt-numbing 50° F
Max depth: 60 feet
Mix: 31%
Purpose: REEF Marine Life Survey/Photography
Critters Seen: Blacksmith, Tree fish, Barred sand bass, Opal eyes, Black Perch, Pile Perch, Rubber Lip Perch, Sheephead, Senoritas, Warty Sea Cucumbers, Bat Stars, Giant Spiny Starfish, Sunflower Stars, Red Volcano Sponge, Orange Puffballs, Giant Keyhole Limpet………..IMSIFS [I'm Sure I'm Forgetting Something….]
Remarks:
With Barbara still recovering nicely from recent neck surgery, NOAA Jim and I had the honor of hosting Orange County's finest underwater photographers, Messrs. Kevin Lee and Mike Bartick.
They arrived at the dock prompt as usual and we headed out to get some fuel and then it was on to Broomtail Reef for some nudibranch hunting before their trip to Indonesia.
Since I had been up most of the night with a minor stomach ailment, even though it was fine by morning, I had decided that it was the better part of valor to do only one dive today; Kevin and Mike were under no such limitations.
Upon arrival at Broomtail, we dropped anchor and decided to let the two photographers splash in first, while Jim and I BS'd and worked on our pasty white winter tans.
When they pop their heads up, about an hour later, they happily reported in light layer of red tide in the top 15 feet, but otherwise good visibility down below, where it counted.
That was all that Jim and I needed to hear, we suited up and jumped in.
Just as Mike and Kevin had said, after descending through a light layer of yellowish red tide, we arrived on the bottom to find pretty good visibility and a light surge awaited us.
The plan was simple: simply to head West until we hit 60 feet or so and head back.
The bottom contour was basically flat, with large kelp hold fasts scattered about, every 10 feet or so, interspersed with large rocky outcroppings, or pinnacles, reaching up 10 to 15 feet.
Jim and I headed West into the surge, which seemed to push us back 3 feet for every 2 feet that we moved forward. Unfortunately for me, but most fortunately for Jim, he was on the scooter, that rat bastard, and was able to power his way forward through the surge.
As is common in this area, a rich cornucopia of marine life was everywhere to be seen, which provided the 'target rich' environment, as they say for my REEF survey.
Giant Spined starfish were scattered about the bottom between the kelp holdfasts, by the dozen, with the yellow sponges, orange sponges, Red Volcano sponges, and orange puff balls by the hundreds.
Schools of senoritas and surf perch flitted around us as we headed West, along with large schools of Blacksmith fish.
Finally at around 60 feet, we came to some large rocky outcroppings which had dramatic drop offs on the opposite side, forming overhangs which hid even more marine life: purple spiny urchins, black Keyhole Limpets and Golden Gorgonians.
As I swim along, Jim would run slow, lazy circles around me in his scooter, the whirring sound of his propeller growing louder or fainter, depending on his position relative to me.
As I busied myself with my slate, that all graceful fronds of kelp swayed gently in the surge high above us.
As I came around the corner from one of the rocky pinnacles, I was astounded to see when of the largest Sunflower Stars I had ever seen: laying before me on the ground, his large purplish arms must have stretched 30 to 40 inches across. He was a beauty and took his place of honor on my REEF slate.
A few yards further on, Jim came across what appeared to be a right angled pipe line on the ground; turns out it was actually a davit which had been dropped long ago by some fishing boat.
We often joke that when we are old and decrepit, we will install one of these on the boat to lower us and our gear into and out of the water, so we can keep diving well into our eighties—LOL!
After filling up my slate with both vertebrates and invertebrates, I began to notice the finger- numbing cold of the 50° water that we found ourselves in, and the thought occurred to me but we should begin heading back to the boat.
Unbeknownst to me, the tear which Jim had failed to properly seal in his dry suit was beginning to allow a trickle, then a flood of ice cold seawater into his suit, and he had been chattering like a frozen clam the entire dive, and readily agreed when I signaled an ascent.
After a short safety stop, we climbed aboard the Scuba Do cold but happy that we had had on no other satisfying dive on Broomtail Reef.
Jim was actually hypothermic when he got aboard, hands shaking and lips a stylish marine blue.
When he took off his suit, a quart of ice cold seawater poured from each boot onto the deck.
Through chattering teeth, he raved about what a great dive we had had.
His excuse for not repairing the tear was that he can't stop diving long enough to allow the Aqua Seal to dry properly. A common enough excuse among the crazies who dive aboard the Scuba Do.
Kevin and Mike went on to do a second dive a bit further North, in a spot we named in honor of Kev, called 'Kevin's Digs,' with Jim and I abstaining for reasons stated above.
We look forward to the usual crop of completely stunning underwater macro photography we have come to expect from Messrs. Lee and Bartick.
It was a pleasure as always having them aboard!
Dive safe everyone…….
Thursday, March 20, 2008
3-19-08 Guest Dive Report by Jim Swanson
Just for fun, I'm presenting a guest Dive Report, from my weeknight dive buddy and newly appointed Photo Chronicler for the Scuba Do, Jimbo.
Here, our two accounts don't differ that much. Sometimes, though, you wonder if you were even on the same dive as the other person was [note difference in water temperatures, but that can be blamed on technology]--thanks, Jimbo!
****************************************************************************
LJS - Vallecitos Point
Time: 7:15 pm, March 19th
Surf: 1'~2'
Surge: nil~mild
Viz: nice 15-18 feet
Temps: 51F (my Oceanic computer said 48, but I don't believe it)
Max Depths: 123'
Duration: 50 min
Celebrity sightings: Virginia and Marla.
Met Kathy, Mikey, Merriane and Dave. Since two of us were on nitrox we decided to have two separate groups. Mikey and I made up group number two.
GREAT NEWS - Although the housing flooded completely, the camera I purchased just three short months ago was the Olympus Stylus 770 SW (the SW stands for Shockproof (from a 5 foot drop) and Waterproof (to 33 feet) - I am totally relieved this morning to find that the camera is still working. I knew I would make some dumb mistakes with the camera and am now quite happy that I leaned more towards the destructibility factor rather than magazine quality images. I will leave that to Kevin Lee for now.
Dusk Patrol: La Jolla Shores Night Dive
Date: 3/19/08
Time: 7:30-ish
Location: Vallecitos St., La Jolla Shores: straight out from the bathrooms.......
Surf: fearsome 6 inch ankle slappers
Viz: pretty good: beyond range of lights.....15 ft. +
Temp: 52 F
Dive Length: 50 mins
Mix: 30% [PPO Setting: 1.5]
Direction of Dive: South from Vallecitos
Max Depth: 120 ft.
Critters Seen: like last time, lots of shrimp: Coon, Target, Brown, lots of old squid egg sacs, Brittle Stars, Strawberry Anemones, baby octos, and several species of as yet unidentified nudis. Am awaiting word from local Nudibranch experts.
Remarks:
Merrianne, Kathy, Jimbo, Dave and I assembled at Vallecitos, all lucky enough to have gotten primo parking spots next to one another [that won't last much longer....], said 'hi' to Virginia and Marla, who were gearing up, and suited up ourselves, aided in our endeavor by Jimbo tapping his foot impatiently and pointedly glancing at his watch every few seconds--he being a wetsuiter who can suit up in 60 seconds or less. We'll get him for that.
Anyway, once suited up, we all trundled off into the vicious six inch surf, debating whether or not to turn back in the face of Mother Nature's fury.
Got out to 55 ft. according to Merrianne's trusty depth finder, mine being recently low on batteries and prone to giving out bizarre readings, like 13 ft. when we're actually in 50 ft., so we relied on hers, before dropping.
Murphy struck twice before we were even 15 mins. into the dive: Kathy forgot her 'trim weights' in the back of her BC, and so, was unable to descend and had to abort and swim back, and Jimbo's camera took one picture, I think, before giving up the ghost, due to some obscure setting gone awry that only photographers understand, so that's why there were no photos taken.
Unfortunately, I didn't understand this until much later and spend much of the dive driving Jimbo crazy by repeatedly finding 'The Shot of a Lifetime' for him [which, as we know, happens only when your camera malfunctions], only adding to his frustration at having a camera that didn't work properly.
So......we dropped in 50 ft. of water, with the biolum in full bloom and made our way Westward, using the Autonomous Buddy Team System, whereby buddy teams are free to separate from one another during the dive, as long as the buddies themselves don't become separated and headed South.
Before we knew it, Jimbo and I were at 120 ft., crawling along the bottom with numerous decaying squid egg sacs and literally dozens of shrimp, who were all out for a stroll in the detritus pits: Coon shrimp, with their eyes glowing orange in our lights, lots of Target shrimp, scuttling about and a few, large Brown Shrimp, who all seemed quite tame.
So tame, in fact, that I was able to coax one to hop onto my arm and sit there staring at me with his big bulbous eyes for about 5 mins.
I motioned Jimbo over, still not realizing that his camera was 'kaput,' to give him The Pefect Shot of the Night, of me, with large Brown Shrimp on Arm, and he dutifully went through the motions of taking a picture, knowing all the while that it was fruitless.
I was almost able to coax a Coon Shrimp onto my arm, but they are too wiley for that, and quickly hop off again, unsure exactly how far Homo sapiens can be trusted at extreme depths........ in the dark.......and, rightly so.
We continued moseying Southward until we ran up against deco and began slowly ascending towards Vallecitos Point at around 60 ft., and come up right on it and continued South along the rim there, admiring the Strawberry Tipped Anemones blooming florescent pink in our lights, as well as hundreds of Brittle Stars, which have taken up residences here.
There were also numerous clusters of Red Sea Hares out, some in bunches of one or two, others in orgy-like balls of 4-5.
How come they get to have all the fun?
Finally, we began running low on gas and started heading in through the shallows, escorted by the odd Round Ray, which would follow along beside us for a while, before shooting off into the distance after having checked us out.
All in all, it was an excellent dive, accompanied by good visibility, incredible biolum and pleasantly warm for this time of year.......
We'll have to do it again next week!
Monday, March 17, 2008
Shark 'Superhighways' and 'Cafes' in the Deep
The world's sharks are disappearing. These fearsome yet charismatic fish continue to fall victim to overfishing and many are now at risk of extinction as a result. New research shows that open-ocean sharks are particularly threatened from overfishing, and other work shows that the deeper sharks live, the longer it takes for their populations to recover. Yet researchers are just now learning critical details of their behavior, including the fact that some species migrate quickly along "superhighway" routes and congregate at established "stepping stone" sites in the deep.
For more, see:
http://tinyurl.com/2oqg83
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Photos from Tuesday's La Jolla Shores Night Dive, Courtesy Jim Swanson
Click here to View-->: http://tinyurl.com/2w3p4l
Tuesday Night Dive: La Jolla Shores
Date: 3/11/08
Location: Vallecitos St., La Jolla Shores
Time: 8:30-ish
Dive Length: 50 mins
Surf: negligible: 1-2 ft.
Viz: 10-15 ft. depending on location
Temp: Bottom: 53 F/Top: 55 F.
Max Depth: 112 ft.
Critters Seen: numerous species of shrimp: Target, Brown, Coon and lots of unknown juveniles in detritus pits, Strawberry Anemones, Brittle Stars, Sheepcrab, Swimming Crabs, the occasional Rockfish, Southern Kelp Crabs, and Hemphills.........
Remarks:
Well, last night was Jim Swanson's 100th dive and, of course, I couldn't miss that.
High surf has been predicted beginning Wens., so Kathy and Merrianne had moved their normal Wens. night dive up a day to Tuesday, but they were unable to wait until Jimbo was out of his night class at 7:30, so I happily volunteered for that duty.
It was dark by the time Jimbo and I finally suited up, but a quarter moon was out and the surf was negligible as we waddled out into the water. Coming out, we were met by Kathy and Merrianne in the surf who assured us that conditions were good and that was all we needed to hear.
The biolum was in full bloom, so upon reaching our drop point, we decided to drop through the darkness without our lights for as long as we could stand the suspense [after first verifying our depth on a depthfinder].........as we dropped into the inky blackness, we waved our hands back and forth and watched with amazement the 'green fire' that erupted all around us.
Finally, at around 60 ft. we flicked out lights on and gently landed on the bottom, scaring away a few startled swimming crabs who scuttled back about 2 ft and then, with dukes up, immediately challenged us to a fight. We politely declined their offer and slowly began making our way down into the canyon proper.
As we dropped down the gently slopping bottom past 100 ft., we found ourselves in the soft, kelp-filled detritus pits, which can be a real
treasure trove of marine life, if you know where to look.
At first glance, these detritus pits seem like they are just filled with rotting kelp and organic debris; but, closer inspection, especially at night, reveals them to be teeming with tiny life.
Tonight it was Coon shrimp, everywhere, their eyes glowing bright orange in our lights, playing peek-a-boo behind boa kelp fronds, and tiny orange Southern Kelp Crabs and some unknown species of very small, juvenile shrimp which I couldn't identify, but found on the back sides of the Macrocysitis.
I very gently pulled one up on a kelp frond for Jimbo to photograph with his camera, but he wasn't cooperating very well and the little guy kept running over to the underside of the frond to get away from our lights.
Finally, I was able to position him so that Jimbo could get a shot, but it took some doing. He was only about the size of a pencil eraser, but really cute.
We moved along, Southward, along the underside of the canyon rim at about 110 ft., exploring the nooks and crannies of the detritus pits as we went. Whenever I found something of interest, I would gently carry it over to Jimbo or direct his attention to it, so he could get a shot.
We cruised along until we basically ran into deco, so involved were we in inspecting all the tiny types of marine life in the pits.
Finally, we began our gentle ascent up to the canyon rim at around 60 ft. and found ourselves right at Vallecitos Pt., with thousands of Brittle Star arms waving gently in the current, filtering for phytoplanton, and beautiful bright pink clumps of Strawberry Anemones, the size of baseballs, which glowed with neon-like brightness in our lights.
So basically grey and drab during the day, I had never realized how beautiful Vallecitos Point could be at night!
We slowly cruised back into shore through the shallows, stopping and pausing for Jimbo to catch a shot and and there and to 'mock-box' with the Swimming Crabs who continually threw up their dukes to fight us as we passed by.
Those guys are SO comical, I almost spit my regulator out laughing each time I see them.
The usual assortment of Round Rays and Thornback Rays seemed to escort us back until we were in the surf zone again and stood up and walked out to the showers, happy smiles on our faces, having had the privilege of visiting the marvels of Neptune's Kingdom once again.
Happy 100th, Jimbo......Dive Safe, everyone.
Note: the 'unknown' nudibranches in the above photos were confirmed by our local nudibranch expert in Orange County, Kevin Lee, to be Dirona picta and Triopha maculata, respectively.
Thanks, Kevin!
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
More on Organ Reversal Syndrome [Situs inversus]--See CAT Scan Dive Report Below:
Probably more than you want to know about Organ Reversal Syndrome on Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Situs_inversus
Sunday, March 09, 2008
3-9-08 UCSD Bubble Study Dive Profile, Showing Nitrogen Loading at the 25 Min Mark [Click to Enlarge]
UCSD Bubble Study/CAT Scan Dive: La Jolla Shores
Date: 3/9/08
Location: Vallecitos Point, La Jolla Shores
Time: 8:06 am
Dive Length: 37 mins
Surf: 3-4 footers with some punch
Temp: 52 F at depth/Surface: 57 F.
Viz: 10-15 ft.
Max Depth: 92 ft
Critters seen: not much was out today: numerous empty squid egg casings, a couple Sheephead, a Kelp Rockfish, Swimming Crabs and more Sand Dollar nurseries
Remarks:
Here is how Dr. Mark Koenig, of UCSD Thornton Medical Center, described the purpose of today's study:
"Essentially, we are looking to see if normal, air, no-deco dives will lead to sufficient nitrogen tissue levels that we might see "bubbles" on a CAT scan done within 3 hrs of reaching the surface of a diver with no symptoms of the bends.
We would like you each to dive a profile that you feel comfortable (and safe) with, given your diving experience, and the conditions that day. The only parameters we request are that you do 2 dives, at least 50% or greater of the NAVY/PADI/NAUI no-deco limit for your depth. For example: first dive 80 feet x 25 min (F diver), SI 60 min (E diver), then repeat dive of 60 feet x 30 min. "
Note: two dives was not mandatory for this study. We did only one.
Apparently, what led up to this study was the UCSD Hyperbaric chamber had a diver come in recently with DCS symptoms and nitrogen bubbles in the hepatic vessels in his liver, which led them to wonder: are nitrogen bubbles in the liver a normal occurrence for divers, or only in cases with DCS symptoms?
Today's dive and subsequent CAT scans were designed to answer this question.
I didn't do a head count, but roughly half a dozen divers assembled on the lawn near the Main Life Guard Tower at La Jolla Shores at 6:45 am for a [very] early morning breakfast and a quick briefing to basically just go out an do a normal, no-deco dive the way we normally would and then report to the UCSD Medical Center at Thorton in La Jolla within 3 hours for the CAT scan.
Some did two dives; my dive buddies and I elected to do only one.
OK, so, NOAA Jim, Merrianne, Deb, Jarrod and I suited up and waded out into the surf at the South end of La Jolla Shores.
The entry was interesting: the 3-4 ft. surf was not particularly high, but packed enough wallop to keep you on your toes and the waves just kept coming. Good practice for keeping your shore diving skills up and not conditions for the beginner. One sizable wave spun my mask around on my face, causing it to face in the opposite direction, just to remind me who's boss out there.
I managed, by hook and by crook to make it out past the breakers, but it became quickly apparent that Merrianne and her buddy Deb were having problems. Jarrod swam up to me and said he had a major leak in his suit and was aborting; a few minutes later, he was back, saying he had 'fixed' the problem [don't ask] and was resuming the dive.
Out past the surf zone, Merrianne finally joined up with us and reported that Deb had lost her mask in the surf and was unable to continue on with us, so the 3 of us powered out to the drop zone.
NOAA Jim, [that bum!] had used his scooter to power out under the waves and was happily waiting for us beyond the breakers, grinning from ear-to-ear watching us struggle our way out to him.
The water was thick as thieves today with Open Water and Rescue classes. We're talkin' a diver every few feet all the way out past the breakers.
So, the 4 of us continued out to the drop zone and dropped into about 60 ft. of water.
The plan was to drop to around 70 ft. and head North for a while and search for the dramatic sandstone cliffs we have dubbed 'Zion' in honor of the same area in Southern Utah and get them on video with Jim's camera in the nose of his scooter.
The problem it seems, is every time we actually look for them, we almost never find them; and each time we're not looking for them, we do.
So: guess which one it was today? :)
But, we have fun, cruising along North at around 80 ft. or so, admiring the empty squid egg sacs lying scattered about the bottom.
Adding to the fun was dodging all the other divers that seem to come at us from every direction and depth.
Heading North at 80 ft., we ran into divers coming at us, heading South
. Heading up we ran into divers coming down on us. Dipping down to 90 ft. to get away from them, we ran into divers coming up at us.
Sigh......welcome to La Jolla Shores on the weekend! They need to install traffic lights down there or something.
Anyway, so we had a cool little dive cruising around between 60 ft. and 70 ft. Came across a small cave with a huge Sheephead in it and a Kelp Rockfish popping in to take a look.
Ever once in a while we'd hear the droning sound of Jim, zipping by on his scooter, periodically keeping an eye on us, before zooming off again to wherever it is he goes by himself on these dives. Actually, he managed to stay with us pretty well on this dive.
On the way back in, in the shallows, we passed over the San Dollar nursery in 20 ft. of water, which was cool: full of tiny little Sand Dollars, the size of dimes, everywhere.
The CAT Scan:
Back on shore, Jarrod, Merrianne and I doffed our gear and headed up the hill to UCSD's Thornton Medical Center where we were met by Dr. Koenig and had our blood draws and free lunch and CAT scan. NOAA Jim had already had a CAT scan the previous week, as part of this study and was not allowed to have another one so soon, so he headed home.
The CAT scan was, obviously, the most interesting part of the whole thing.
They ushered us out to a trailer, where the device was located and we were welcomed by a friendly and knowledgeable CAT Technician.
Jarrod went first into the machine, while Merrianne and I waited and chatted with the Tech as he supervised the scan, which we could see taking place live right on a monitor in front of us, as it passed over Jerrod's torso. The CAT scans they wanted for this study were 'torso only,' from the pubic bone up to the clavicle; not head or brain.
Too bad, we joked later, because we wanted to have some proof of the damage
that nitrogen under pressure has caused some of our brains!
So, we watched Jerrod's torso go through the machine and, as it moved up from the pelvis, we could see all his internal organs light up on the screen before us. As it did so, he told us of a woman who had been there a few weeks earlier [not a diver] who had all her organs on the opposite side, as if in a mirror: her heart on the right, liver on the left, spleen on the right, etc. Wow! And, apparently she suffered no ill-effects from it and, in fact, according to the Tech, people with their organs reversed in this way, tend to be healthier and live longer than their 'normal' counterparts, ie: us.
This was worth doing just to hear medical tid-bits like that!
Then, Jerrod was done and it was my turn, so they have you keep all your clothes on, but you have to pull your pants down to your knees [under a sheet] and then the automated gurney pulls you about halfway into the CAT machine, up to your neck and then, a strange computerized voice come on and tells you when to breath and when to hold your breath, while the device spins, whirrs and clicks and does its thing.
After about 5 minutes, it's all over and you're done!
Then, it was Merrianne's turn and we watched her go through the CAT machine on the live monitor next to the Tech and after everyone was done, he let us all view our scan images separately as we stood there.
The Tech, not being a radiologist or MD, is not allowed to comment on any abnormalities in your image, that is left to the radiologist and 2 Hyperbaric Medicine MD who will review the scan.
But, he did make some general comments about bone density and that the black spots appearing in our stomachs and intestines were not cancer, but food [actually he used another, more polite medical term for waste]--but, you always knew we were full of it, right? :)
So, after a bit more small talk and chatter about CAT scans in general, we left the trailer and were released by the presiding MD and he explained to us that the CAT scan images would be looked at and evaluated by a radiologist and at least 2 Hyperbaric medical doctors and mailed to us within about 2-3 weeks.
They said their 'prospect' or research results will be released in about a year to the medical community and they will send us the results of that also.
Gosh, a year seems a long time to find out if you have nitrogen bubbles in your liver!
But, at least we got a free lunch and CAT scan worth anywhere between $500-$1200, depending on how good your insurance is.....
I downloaded and attached a 'screen capture' of my dive computer's Dive Profile for this dive to aid in their analysis.
Interesting day!
Dive safe, everyone: ya don't wanna get nitrogen trapped in your liver and have to get a CAT scan, now do you? :)
PS: if they send me a .jpeg or bitmap version of my CAT scan image, I will upload it to my blog [below] and post it when it arrives.
Friday, March 07, 2008
Scheduled for Sunday, Mar. 9: UCSD Nitrogen Bubble and CAT Scan Study
[Dive report to follow on Sunday, following the CAT Scans. Anyone interested in participating can contact me and I can give you Dr. Koenig's contact info.]
--Mikey
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Thank you all for you interest in our SCUBA research study. We have confirmed you to participate in our dive on Mar 9 at La Jolla Shores. Consent forms will be provided and need to be signed prior to the dive. For the women in the group, a urine pregnancy test will be performed at Thornton hospital prior to the CAT scan as a safety precaution. Breakfast and lunch will be provided. Dive parameters are outlined below.
We will meet at La Jolla Shores at 6:45 am. We will bring a blue pop-up awning and set up on the grass just next to the Lifeguard tower at the South Side of the parking lot. From there we will have a quick briefing, and hope to start the dives shortly thereafter.
Essentially, we are looking to see if normal, air, no-deco dives will lead to sufficient nitrogen tissue levels that we might see "bubbles" on a CAT scan done within 3 hrs of reaching the surface of a diver with no symptoms of the bends.
We would like you each to dive a profile that you feel comfortable (and safe) with, given your diving experience, and the conditions that day. The only parameters we request are that you do 2 dives, at least 50% or greater of the NAVY/PADI/NAUI no-deco limit for your depth. For example: first dive 80 feet x 25 min (F diver), SI 60 min (E diver), then repet dive of 60 feet x 30 min. At that point we will be waiting for you at the awning by the Tower, we will all debrief, then drive to Thornton Hospital, La Jolla which is only a few minutes away (maps will be provided). Each diver will get a small blood draw, then get their CAT scan.
While waiting for your turn in the scanner, we will have food and drinks provided. We hope to conclude by early afternoon (or sooner). After your scan, that will complete the activities that day, and we will later mail you a CD with the images of your scan, as well as all lab results. looking forward to meeting y'all!
peace- m
Mark D Koenig, MD
