July 29, 2008

Marine Ecology Field Technician

Posted as a courtesy. Please do not contact me about this opportunity-Dida

We are seeking a technician to assist in conducting coral reef damage and disease surveys in southeast Florida and to assist in water quality and aquatic community sampling along the northeast Gulf coast of Florida. Technical time will be split between these two geographic areas with housing (if necessary) and transportation provided during research trips. The position will be based in Gainesville, Florida in the University of Florida Program in Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. This is a temporary 1-year grant-funded position with the possibility of continuation for an additional 2 - 3 years depending on performance and the availability of funds. This is a full-time OPS level position (no fringe benefits). Pay will start at $12/hr for 40 hrs/week.

START DATE: AUGUST 25, 2008

For consideration, please email a CV, transcripts (non-official), and the contact information for three references to Dr. Don Behringer. The application review process will begin IMMEDIATELY and proceed until a suitable candidate is identified.

Email:
Mailing address:
Program in Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
University of Florida
7922 NW 71st Street
Gainesville, FL 32653

REQUIREMENTS:

1. This is a physically demanding position that will require long strenuous days of diving, carrying heavy dive and sampling gear, and long days of travel.

2. SCUBA certification and experience diving to 20 meters (60 feet).

3. Prior experience conducting underwater fieldwork.

4. Knowledge of coral reef ecosystems.

5. Prior coral reef survey experience is preferred, but underwater survey experience in other habitats may suffice.

6. Knowledge of sessile coral reef species (corals, sponges, etc.) or ability to rapidly learn to identify species.

7. Small vessel (20 - 30 ft) handling and transportation experience.

8. Clean driving record and driver's license.

9. Bachelor's degree in biology, ecology, or related field.

10. NOT PRONE TO SEA SICKNESS.

Continue reading "Marine Ecology Field Technician"

Posted by Dida at 11:32 AM

July 22, 2008

BAMFIELD MARINE SCIENCES CENTRE: DIVING & SAFETY OFFICER

The Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre (BMSC) - Canada's premiere facility for marine and coastal teaching and research, located on the stunningly beautiful west coast of Vancouver Island - has an opening for a Diving & Safety Officer. This full-time position includes a full benefits package and an office with an ocean view.

Position Summary

The diving and safety officer is responsible for the Scientific Diving Program and oversees all diving activities undertaken at BMSC, in accordance with BMSC policy, and governing regulations of the Canadian Association for Underwater Sciences, the Workers Compensation Board of BC and Canadian Standards Association. The diving and safety officer also oversees all aspects of Occupational Health and Safety at the Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre, in accordance with the standards described by the Workers Compensation Board of BC.

For full details of duties & responsibilities, and of qualifications & experience, please see the detailed job ad here.

Submission of Applications

Please submit a resume that summarizes your qualifications and experience, and provide the names and contact information for three references that can be contacted by telephone or e-mail.

Applications may be mailed, delivered by hand, faxed or e-mailed (e-mail preferred):

Shirley Pakula
Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre
PO Box 100
Bamfield, B.C. V0R 1B0 CANADA

Fax: 250-728-3452
E-mail

Preferred Start Date: Aug. 25, 2008

Review of applications will begin Aug. 4, 2008 and continue until the position is filled.

Posted by Dida at 7:43 PM

Undaria Removal in Monterey Harbor

It's important that local divers and non-divers help this program get funded again! Contact Rita Bunzel to participate and get the required paperwork-Dida
Hello Everyone,
Your efforts to monitor and remove Undaria in the Monterey Harbor has been very successful over the last few years. Our repetitive monthly volunteer monitoring events were key in reducing populations in the harbor and providing data to help us understand and manage this invasive. No other efforts of this kind are in place so what we've done as the pilot project will help shape other monitoring programs along CA and potentially other areas.

Unfortunately, our program reporting period is up and we are being re-evaluated for funding. That being said, we will hold what might be our last Undaria Monitoring event for a bit. In an effort to go out with a bang, I'm asking all volunteers and any of their diver friends that might want to participate to come out on Saturday, July 26th from about 9am to 1pm to help us conduct an underwater survey/removal and celebrate our efforts together as a group over lunch! I'm buying! In addition, we will be filming the programs public service
announcement so we'll have film crew working on the sidelines and underwater recording all of your efforts.

Please come out and join me for our last hurrah...or at least until a later date. If you are interest, please RVSP so I have a count for lunch, tanks, etc.

For those of you that can't make it...always wishing the best to my volunteers!

With Warm Regards,

Rita Bunzel
Program Manager
Undaria Monitoring Program
Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary

Continue reading "Undaria Removal in Monterey Harbor"

Posted by Dida at 6:06 PM

July 17, 2008

NOAA/HURL Coral Reef Conservation Program RFP

Posted her as a courtesy. Do not contact me about this opportunity. Read the full announcement and kindly direct inquiries to Dr. Ed Myers (808) 956-6859.-Dida

As one of six NURP Centers under the auspices of NOAA's Undersea Research Program (NURP), the Hawai‘i Undersea Research Laboratory (HURL) is presently soliciting research pre-proposals for coral reef ecosystem research for CY2004 and CY2005. Since HURL specializes in deep-water undersea research projects, it encourages research proposals that rely on advanced diving practices (e.g., saturation, mixed gases, and rebreathers). HURL and University of Hawai‘i assets, including the R/V Ka‘imikai-o-Kanaloa and the 900m remotely operated vehicle RCV-150, may be available to support operations in remote areas.

Regions of Interest:

* The waters of the Main and Northwest Hawaiian Islands, and the U.S. Territories and Freely-Associated States of the Western Pacific.
* American Flag Southwest Pacific waters, including American Samoa.

Go here for more information.

Posted by Dida at 10:19 AM

July 4, 2008

Teaching Support Officer in Maritime Archaeology

Job opening in Australia at Flinder's University in Maritime Archeology. Please do not contact me about this position, and instead contact Jennifer McKinnon-Dida

PDF job description here

Applications Close: Monday, 21 July 2008

Contact:
Jennifer McKinnon
Lecturer in Maritime Archaeology
Department of Archaeology
Flinders University
GPO Box 2100
Adelaide, SA 5001
AUSTRALIA

Phone: (+61 8) 8201 5875
Email

Posted by Dida at 7:47 PM

June 29, 2008

An Evening on a Tropical Beach: Tektite Man-in-the-Sea Project

Ed Clifton is a Geologist Emeritus, U.S. Geological Survey, and fellow board member for the Point Lobos Association. He's got lots of crazy research diving stories from back when the Navy dive tables were still being tested, and he agreed to share this one. I'm hoping he'll share more soon-Dida

-by Ed Clifton

The night of February 14, 1969, I sat alone on the south shore of St. John, listening to the waves lapping against a beach of coral rubble. The sky was brilliantly lit with stars, and a light, warm breeze touched my face. Introspection claimed me, for I was on the brink of trading my familiar sun and starlit world for an alien undersea environment. The following afternoon, 3 marine biologists and I would splash down to a seafloor habitat where we would spend the next 60 days as aquanauts in the Tektite Man-in-the-Sea project.

I was not, I must admit, a seasoned diver. I had become certified with SCUBA two years earlier, and had since made a few tentative dives in the southern Oregon surf zone, where we had hoped to employ underwater observation in our research of nearshore sedimentology. I suppose I had, all told, a total of 25 dives under my belt. My primary qualifications for being a Tektite diver was probably my willingness to commit 60 days of my life to being the first geologist-aquanaut. So much for "The Right Stuff"!

As I sat in the darkness, I could hear a steel band and shouts of revelry in the distance. The Navy Seabees, who had carved a base camp out of the jungle and were providing logistical support for the project, were justifiably celebrating Spashdown Eve. I wondered what part of my subaerial existence I would miss most over the next 2 months. Would it be the stars? The feeling of a breeze on my face? The underwater world seemed dark and forbidding. What did it hold? How was all this going to work?

As I mused, listening to the lap of the waves and the sound of distant partying, I became aware that there were other sounds in the night: splashes and the distinctive popping sound of feeding fish. The sea was alive! Suddenly my introspection dissolved into eagerness to explore this world in a way privileged to very few others. I sat there for awhile longer listening to the sound of life in the sea, then returned to the party.

The Tektite project proved to be a wonderful, rewarding experience. I returned to the Oregon coast the following summer and we put scuba to full use in the first comprehensive study of a high-energy surf zone. I was also an eager participant a year later in the Tektite 2 experiment which gained me an additional 20 days of undersea habitation.

And what was it that I most missed while living underwater (other than wife and family, of course!)? It was something I had always taken for granted – the healing warmth of the sun.

Posted by Dida at 8:36 AM

June 15, 2008

Safe Diving Reminder

Here's a reminder from Steve Clabuesch, Diving Safety Officer at UCSC, about maintaining safe diving protocols--Dida

As everyone begins their work for the Summer it is imperative that every diver remembers that dive safety begins with the individual diver. Diving does have inherent risks and managing those risks is what prevents accidents. Risk management is every diver's and dive supervisor's number one job. And the risks begin above the water in the loading of gear and the use of vehicles, trailers and vessels - make sure you have proper training before driving vehicles, trailering vessels and operating boats.

Common incidents as new divers begin working and more experienced divers become complacent, tend toward poor air and decompression management and pushing the physical limits of one's diving capabilities. Below is a list of practices, that will help prevent diving accidents. I encourage everyone to review this list, and add to it, and share it with their divers. Make sure you have emergency contact information for all your divers at the dive site for every dive. Safety first, data second.

In the event of a suspected diving injury, contact your dive supervisor/leader and DAN (919-684-4326), begin oxygen therapy and prepare transportation to the nearest medical facility. Do not try to self-diagnosis without the help of DAN, they are your best resource to determine your course of treatment (or non-treatment). Make sure your DAN membership and insurance are current. Remember denial = delay = diminished recovery potential.

Continue reading "Safe Diving Reminder"

Posted by Dida at 9:05 AM