Features
CONTENTS
FALL 2011
The Magazine of Divers Alert Network
AlertDiver.com / FALL 2011
INDONESIAN WILDERNESS:
THE BIRD’S HEAD SEASCAPE
ALASKA ADVENTURE
+
FLIP NICKLIN’S
WORLD OF
WHALES
BACTERIAL
HAZARDS
BE AWARE
PSYCHIATRIC
FITNESS
MENTAL HEALTH
AND DIVE SAFETY
BUOYANCY
CONTROL
A CRITICAL
SAFETY BASIC
MV Captain Keith Tibbets, also known as the “Russian Destroyer,” Cayman Brac. Photo by Stephen Frin
Marko Dimitrijevic photographed the interaction of an
underwater photographer with a large whale shark in
the open water off the coast of Isla Mujeres, Mexico,
in August 2011. He used a Canon 5D Mark II camera
in a Seacam housing, shooting in available light,
Canon 16-35mm II lens set at 20mm, ISO 640,
shutter speed priority at 1/320 sec, f/8.
66 BIRD’S HEAD SEASCAPE
Epicenter of marine biodiversity
TEXT BY MAURINE SHIMLOCK
PHOTOS BY BURT JONES AND
MAURINE SHIMLOCK
In a land where wildlife outnumbers
human life, conservationists are
working to find a way to allow
access to a rare area of diversity
without destroying it in the process.
74 ALASKA
Nature in the raw
TEXT AND PHOTOS
BY STEPHEN FRINK
Alaska is one of the few destinations
whose terrestrial delights have the
power to keep divers out of the
water. Stephen Frink takes readers
above and below the surface to
explore our nation’s wildest state.
80 MICROBIAL HAZARDS
A threat to scuba divers?
BY MICHAEL MILLER, P
H
.D., AND
PETAR DENOBLE
Bacteria is an elusive and often
undefined threat, but what dangers
does it pose to divers? Take a look
at the different microbial threats to
divers, and learn what you can do to
reduce the risk of infection.
86 PSYCHIATRIC
FITNESS TO DIVE
A look at mental health and
dive safety
BY ADAM ROTH, M.D.
In the diving environment, psychiatric
well-being is as important as
physical health. Psychiatrist Adam
Roth presents a reasoned approach
to evaluating dive fitness in the
context of common and less-common
mental illnesses.
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