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Depth Blog

The most useful snippets from our authors, all in one place. DEPTH discusses topics of diving, equipment and environment, physics and physiology, technique and technology, and hyperbarics.

Working in a Blue Water Environment
John Heine
Technical Diving
Scientific divers often work in remote areas, and sometimes far offshore. In the photo below from author John Heine, research divers from Moss Landing Marine Laboratories instal light calibration sensors on a large optical buoy located 10 miles off the island of Lanai. Special training is required to work in this blue water environment. A detailed
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Behind the Publishing Experience (+ amazing photos)
Jennifer Idol
Recreational Scuba Diving
Author Jennifer Idol has taken the dive industry by storm since last year (2016) when she published her first book, An American Immersion. Today, Jennifer shares a few insights on how to get your first book published (and a few photos from her dive near the Best Publishing Company HQ). . . From Jennifer: "New and aspiring authors ask me for th
Join Alese Pechter at Book Expo in NYC
Eric vanBok
Upcoming Events
Content is being consumed in more dynamic ways than ever before and new methods must be used to engage readers. BookExpo is evolving to lead the global publishing industry to its consumer driven future and celebrate storytelling in all its forms. It’s the place where industry, authors and readers converge to define the new publishing universe
Diving First Aid
Dan Orr
Scuba Diving Safety
"The ability to manage a diving emergency and provide care to an injured diver does not come from experience alone. The best thing you can do to prepare for the dive-related injuries is to learn everything you can about such injuries and the situations that lead to them. Although you should be thoroughly prepared for any kind of emergency, case his
Researching the Use of Rebreathers Under the Ice
John Heine
Technical Diving
John Heine, author of Cold Water Diving: A Guide to Ice Diving, travels to places such as Antarctica (pictured below) to oversee scientific diving through the U.S. Antarctic Program of the National Science Foundation. In the photo belog he is researching the use of rebreathers under the ice, as well as various new strategies to stay warm with the u
Decompression in a Hyperbaric Chamber Explained
Monte Anderson
Hyperbaric Medicine
More than 100 years ago, Sorbonne Professor Paul Bert, the father of pressure physiology, explained, “All symptoms, from the slightest to those that bring on sudden death, are the consequences of the liberation of bubbles of nitrogen in the blood [on-gassing], and even in the tissues, when compression has lasted long enough. The great protect
To Illustrate or Photograph?
Paul J. Mila
BPC Kids
When author Paul Mila was writing Harry Hawksbill Helps His Friends, he and the Best Publishing Company editorial staff wrestled with one main question: should we use his underwater photographs to tell the story, or retain the services of an illustrator? The challenge of using photographs is that the scenes have to be in sync with the story and dia
Beyond the Journey. What's Next?
Jennifer Idol
Upcoming Events
Jennifer Idol shares two questions that she is most frequently asked about her 50 state journey: 1. Can you dive in all 50 states? Yes, and even find good places to dive in all of them. 2. What's next? I'm building a new product that will showcase both video and photography, but first, I'd like to share a few images from travels since the journey e
This is What Scientific Diving Looks Like
John Heine
Technical Diving
In the below image a scientific diver works in a deep kelp bed in central California.  She is measuring the percent cover of various marine algae as a part of her Master’s thesis. To learn more about this, and many other techniques, pick up a copy of Scientific Diving Techniques: A Practical Guide for the Research Diver, by John N. Heine
Dive Accident Management: There's no hyperbaric chamber nearby, now what?
Monte Anderson
Scuba Diving Safety
In 1982, when David Scalia was evacuated to San Diego after suffering an air embolism to his brain, there was no hyperbaric chamber in the city. Doctors at the UCSD Medical Center had a informal agreement with doctors at the Naval Medical Center San Diego to treat difficult cases. The USS Dixon (pictured below), a submarine tender complete with a h
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