Opening the World Beneath the Waves
Diversifying Scientific Scuba Diving
Alyssa Griffin likens the experience of scuba diving to a sensory deprivation tank. Beneath the water, weightlessness envelops the body and sounds are amplified. The hiss of the regulator chimes like a metronome, mixing with the natural soundscape produced by ocean creatures and processes: the crunch from fish as they nibble on coral reefs and the crash of the waves above.
“I find it just incredibly calming,” said Griffin, a UC Davis assistant professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences and a member of both the Bodega Marine Laboratory and Coastal and Marine Sciences Institute. “I really enjoy yoga and meditation and in yoga and meditation, there is a lot of emphasis on focusing on your breath. Scuba diving is very similar. For safety reasons, you have to make sure that your breath is calm and measured.”