Shimmering on the water

The floods have done something amazing to the inland Australian landscape that is perhaps only rivalled by the fabulously unique underwater landscapes that are rarely glimpsed by the landbound. It is a rare event that mostly only occurs in La Nina weather patterns: the overflowing of Lake Eyre.

And where is all this additional water coming from? Tropical cyclones, with their destructive winds, which develop over the Pacific Ocean as far away as Fiji. So out of natural disaster (as we call it because of our cities and human settlement patterns) comes a natural wonder.

Is there a better way for us to accommodate the cycles of nature within our human environments?

7 thoughts on “Shimmering on the water

  1. Christine

    Perhaps a dive course with Blue Peace in Cancun Mexico would better acquaint you with the world under water?[ http://www.bluepeacediving.com/advancedopenwaterdiver.htm ]

    The 2010 climate change conference was held there. The coastal waters of the Yucatan Peninsula are home to the world’s second largest barrier reef. The Great Barrier Reef in Australia is the largest.

    Perhaps in Cancun there might also be underwater archaeology?
    [ http://www.underwaterarchaeology.gr/Conservation/index.htm ]

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  2. Tom Turner

    I have done a little underwater diving in Scotland it the ‘scenery’ is not like this! The colours are predominantly brown and indigo, and it cold.

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  3. Tom Turner

    I have done a little underwater diving in Scotland it the ‘scenery’ is not like this! The colours are predominantly brown and indigo, and it cold. The thing which puzzled me about the photograph is that I thought it was a scene in a temporary flood, rather than a permanent underwater world.

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  4. Christine

    Yes, diving scenery is different in different locations, and so is the water temperature. This is an example of the dive experience in Sydney Harbour. [ http://www.scubadivingsydney.com/scuba-diving-sydney-fairlight/ ]

    Sydney Harbour is a flooded valley, a Ria. [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ria ] Part of the Harbour, which forms the buffer zone to the Opera House is World Heritage Listed. Beneath the waters of the Harbour there is most probably archeological evidence of the early indigenous occupation of the valley.

    There was an exhibition in London recently where they imagined the city submerged as an underwater site.[ http://www.ballardian.com/flooded-london ] The structures under the water take on quite another character than they do on the surface.

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  5. Christine

    There is a beautiful legend of a young girl and a sea turtle which perhaps might inspire a contemporary consideration of the heritage potential of the Ama:

    “There is a story which tells about young amasan, called Kiyomi. Since she was afraid of deep water, she was disgrace for her family, which all female members were ama. But once, she met a sea turtle which teach her to dive in deep waters.”

    If a sea turtle could teach an ama to dive, I suppose the ama could teach men the art of free diving as ‘dive masters’.

    Tom I think it is a great idea which could preserve and evolve the tradition in a contemporary way.

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