Towards the end of my internship I had the opportunity gain a good bit of experience working with underwater cameras. The aquarium camera was still out of commission from last time we used it for the rockfish survey, so Vallorie was gracious enough to allow me to use her own
I have finally completed the last requirements towards becoming a fully certified AAUS scientific diver! The process began while I was still at home in Pennsylvania, with a medical exam to attest to my diving fitness. Recreational divers are required to have a similar medical exam when they initially get
Recently I had the incredible opportunity to scuba dive in Clear Lake, a serene, freshwater lake that sits about 75 miles east of Eugene. I was told about the lake by Sean Nolan, a friend through the aquarium and NAUI instructor. After hearing about my recurring low visibility dives on
In an effort to document changes in Northwest rockfish populations, Oregon Coast Aquarium has collaborated with the Seattle Aquarium and Point Defiance Zoo to survey rockfish populations in the Pacific Northwest. I was eager to participate in this project, not only because it would allow me to work on my
It was my fourth week in Oregon and time to experience my first collection dive. We took Gracie Lynn offshore to North Pinnacle and anchored on the crest at a depth of about 40 ft. The warm and sunny weather we have been enjoying for the past week came with
Early Thursday morning I packed my diving gear onto Gracie Lynn, the aquarium’s research vessel used for off coast specimen collection and scientific dives. We pushed off the dock a little after 6 a.m. and set out to go SMURFing. SMURF is an acronym for Standard Monitoring Unit for the
This week I was trained as fill station operator so that I can fill scuba cylinders. It is very important to be properly trained to handle high-pressure cylinders because of the hazards associated with them. A damaged cylinder, or improper filling techniques can cause a cylinder to explode, a serious
Hey everyone, My name is Teresa Tymon and I was selected to be the 2013 OWUSS/AAUS scientific diving intern. I just graduated from the University of South Carolina as a marine science major and will start graduate school at San Diego State University this fall. My main interest is in
