Our first trip to Yellowstone concluded with some amazing technology. Mark Hardy, co-owner of a company called 3D at Depth, joined us in the park for the last few days of our project. Apparently the inability to pack light holds true for underwater technology as well, as Mark was accompanied by several pelican cases of gear!

3D at Depth specializes in the underwater application of a scanning technology called lidar which illuminates a target with a laser then analyzes the reflected light. The resulting data set is called a “point cloud” image. Whenever the laser hits the subject of interest it creates a point, and then millions of points combine to form the final image.

For the Yellowstone project, our target was a rowboat that had been sunk in front of Lake Hotel in the early 20^th century. Although Lidar is still a relatively new technology it is rapidly becoming the industry standard in the architectural and engineering world due to its accuracy.  3D At Depth is perfecting the technology in the subsea, or underwater environment, particularly in the oil and gas industry world wide. The SRC has partnered with 3D At Depth to explore how the technology can be utilized to both map historic shipwrecks and educate the public through 3D models. Because this particular laser scanner was depth rated to 3000 meters (thats 9,842.52 feet!) it was pretty unwieldy and extremely heavy, so getting it off and on the boat was quite a process! 

In order to get a 360 degree scan of the rowboat we had to scan nine times each from different angle. This meant that Brett and I would hop in the water, move the scanner, and then surface while the scan was underway. 30 minutes later we’d be back in the water to move the laser again! I broke a new personal record with six dives in one day, although all of them were only to 25′ and relatively short dives. You can check out 3D At Depth profile of the Yellowstone scanning project by clicking the 3D At Depth logo below (opens new window).

After the scanning was complete our work in Yellowstone was done. We packed up the trailer and left it ready for the next trip a week later, and then began the nine-hour trip home. Being back in Denver meant having a week off to relax and prepare for the next Yellowstone trip. The whole Submerged Resources Center Staff was in town (which rarely happens) so it was the perfect opportunity for a staff photo, taken by yours truly. It was a great opportunity to meet everyone, and catch up on different projects that had been ongoing around the country.

Being in Denver also meant I had the opportunity to explore some of the quirkier aspects the city had to offer. Jessica Keller, one of the SRC archaeologists, took me to play a game of underwater hockey. The game is played in eight feet of water, and each player holds a miniature hockey stick to move the puck around the pool and into the opposing team’s goal. After watching a couple YouTube videos I was pretty nervous, as underwater hockey players seemed as competitive and aggressive as real hockey players!  But once I got in the water my nervousness vanished, and I even managed to score two goals! According to the players I was a “natural,” which I thought was pretty funny for such an unusual sport. It must have been all of that club swimming growing up! (Thanks Mom).

Hanging with a Yeti!

After underwater hockey Jess and I went back to her place, where we had some delicious ribs barbecued by SRC archaeologist and grill master John Bright. I’m a recovering vegetarian, and those ribs were the best (and only) I’ve had in seven years! Our food adventures weren’t done there; the next day John and Jess took me to one of their favorite restaurants, the Sherpa House in Golden, Colorado. It was an all-you-can eat Tibetan café, so needless to say I ate all I could!

So with high spirits and a full stomach I was ready for my second trip to Yellowstone. On this project, the SRC was collaborating with National Geographic Magazine and their underwater photographer Brian Skerry to image the geothermal features in Yellowstone Lake. Apparently National Geographic is dedicating an entire issue of the Magazine to Yellowstone National Park in the Fall of 2015 in anticipation of the NPS Centennial anniversary which happens in 2016. Through the SRC’s relationship with Senior Photo Editors at National Geographic they were able to offer up a rarely seen side of Yellowstone, its underwater world, and support this project along with the Park. I researched Brian’s work in college, and even had one of his books signed at the Boston Sea Rovers Film Festival a few months earlier. I was a little worried that I would be too awestruck to speak intelligibly, but luckily he was kind, humble and a great person to learn from. Turns out that earlier in his career he was the recipient of an Our World Underwater Scholarship Society internship as well, which I thought was pretty neat.

Me helping prep Brian’s gear!

The other members of our troop included the SRC’s Deputy Chief and Photographer Brett Seymour, who was on the first Yellowstone trip last week, and Volunteer In Parks (VIP) Jim Koza (known to us simply as Koza) who is a retired NPS’er with nearly 40 years experience running boat and dive operations in and around the NPS. I rounded out the foursome, and after we arrived in Yellowstone Brian started the task of unpacking his nine Pelican cases and prepping his gear.

Saying goodbye to the Mahn!

Koza and I boarded the Robert E. Mahn for an orientation provided by former Lake District Ranger Rick Fey. Rick was a fount of knowledge for all things boat-related, and showed Koza and I the ins and outs of the Mahn. We were taking the boat around the lake when the port engine unexpectedly shut off! Koza maneuvered the boat back to the harbor using only the starboard engine, and then he, Rick and a couple maintenance guys checked out the engine. I didn’t understand all of the lingo about the “outdrive engine,” but at the end of the day we had to find another boat to use. Luckily enough the Maintenance department in the Lake Region generously lent us one of their boats, and we were back in business on the Warwood.

Notice the white knuckles?

My role on this trip was to assist Brett and Brian on their dives and act as camera assistant (handing in and retrieving cameras and lights, last minute vacuum seals, etc.), deckhand, and Dive Supervisor. This was a great opportunity, as I was able to pick up all sorts of useful skills, such as tying knots. Koza is an absolute knot guru, and so I learned the clove hitch, square knot, grapevine knot, Prussik knot, bowline, sheepshank, sheetbend, alpine butterfly knot, anchor bend and figure eight knot. Whew! I also got some more practice at driving a boat, as well as “parking” it! It was a little bumpy, but practice makes perfect.

One of the most important things I learned on this trip was to back up my work on an external hard drive. One night while mooching internet at the Ranger station my hard drive suddenly shut down. My pleas to my laptop went unanswered, and my photos from Yellowstone were lost. It was very upsetting to lose the photographs and all my files, but as Brett said, it’s better to have that lesson learned sooner in both my internship and career rather than later! Now I’ve established a nightly back-up to an external hard drive, just in case.

We had some very special guests join us while diving on Yellowstone Lake: Yellowstone Superintendent Dan Wenk, and Chief of the Yellowstone Center for Resources Dave Hallac both joined us for a morning dive. It was a beautiful day with a calm lake, and their visit was a great opportunity to meet the people running the park! We also had former Chief Ranger and Regional Dive Officer Bob Whaley join us for a day; he started the dive program at Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway in Wisconsin/Minnesota and it was great to hear about his dive programs accomplishment with invasive species on the St. Croix River.

From left to right: Brian Skerry, Dan Wenk, Brett Seymour and Dave Hallac

And of course, I can’t forget the fantastic advice I received from Brian! He encouraged me to get involved in the marine science community, and use photography to tell scientific stories. My favorite thing he said regarding underwater photography was when he said to “take photos that makes that person sitting in a dentist’s chair stop and read the captions.” His advice and encouragement was fantastic motivation to push myself professionally and photographically, and I can’t wait to see where this summer leads me!

Me, Brian, and Brett at a thermal feature in Mary Bay of Yellowstone Lake

Surface support for Brian and Brett

“Welcome to Jellystone!” was our first official welcome into Yellowstone National Park. We rolled in on Monday evening, after a nine-hour drive from Lakewood, Colorado. Our team for this project includes Andres Diaz, an underwater archaeologist, Brett Seymour, an underwater photographer and Deputy Chief, Dave Conlin, the Chief of the Submerged Resources Center and myself.

Tuesday morning dawned bright and early and we started preparations for our two-week project. Brad Ross, the Lake District Ranger gave us a tour of the Bridge Bay Marina, and took us on a short trip on the lake in the Robert E. Mahn, the boat we will be using for our diving operations. We also met Pat Bigelow, a Fisheries Biologist in the park. She outlined some areas of interest for us to survey using the side-scan sonar. The rest of the day was spent preparing the trailer and the boat for operations.

Wednesday was our first day in action, and we woke up to a thin coat of snow covering the dock. We had planned to spend the first half of the morning scanning, and then the afternoon diving, but scanning took up most of the day. Our main focus in Yellowstone is photographing and mapping a natural phenomenon called spires, which are large cylindrical growths formed by bacteria that are 11,000 years old. The spires are found in the north-west area of Lake Yellowstone, and are 10-30 feet high. By scanning the spires with the side-scan sonar we were able to get prices GPS locations for each spire, as well as map the underwater topography of the area. The process for surveying is interesting, however not particularly exciting, as you’re basically driving a boat back and forth in a series of lines as you tow the sonar and collect data. Dave put it best when he said “If you’re doing it right, sonar surveying is boring.” We also scanned some sunken rowboats in front of Lake Hotel which we’ll be photographing and diving near later in our trip. Once our surveying was concluded we brought the boat back to the marina, and wrapped up our day with dinner and some “Moose Tracks” ice cream for dessert. I think they should be called Bison Tracks, but regardless, it’s never too cold for ice cream!

Brrr…

The next day was “splashdown,” as we braced the cold water for a morning dive. I’ve used drysuits in the past, but it’s truly a different beast when you’re diving professionally versus recreationally. For example, who knew that the zipper on your thermal goes on the front!

A new fashion statement?

I tried to prepare mentally, but the 38 degree Fahrenheit water was quite a shock. I had “brain freeze” for a few minutes after we descended, but luckily I was soon distracted by beautiful scenery. We dove in the West Thumb Geyser Basin, which was home to thermal vents both on land and underwater. We came across quite a few “bubblers,” which were small areas of the bottom that were emitting gas bubbles. Even more exciting were the two cavernous holes in the bottom of the lake, which were covered in bright green algae and releasing water at a toasty 48 degree Fahrenheit. We descended into one of the holes, which went about 10 feet below the bottom. It was definitely an otherworldly experience!

Geothermal vents promote algal growth, which blankets construction materials from a destroyed dock. 

We finished up our surveying by scanning some areas of interest provided by Pat Bigelow and the Fisheries and Aquatic Resources department. Lake trout are an invasive species in the lake, and threaten native Cutthroat trout. The Fisheries and Aquatic Resources team records and analyzes the amount of fish caught in certain areas, so we scanned a few locations where they had caught large amounts of the invasive trout. The best part about scanning was I got to try my hand at driving the boat! All went smoothly despite a few navigational hiccups (I blame the wind.)

Andres (left) and Dave pulling up the sonar towfish. 

Once surveying was complete we began focusing more on the photography aspect of our trip. We began diving on the spires, which were a little deeper at around 50 ft. Because the spires are deeper than the geothermal vents, the visibility was quite poor, and any careless fin movement stirred up clouds of silt. It was a great challenge to control buoyancy, not stir up silt, and still get good photos. It took a couple tries, but with some great tips from Brett I finally got a few good shots! One of the humbling aspects of diving among the spires, besides their otherworldly appearance, is the fact that I’m one of approximately 30 people to have seen them in person. The nearest scuba support is in Jackson Hole, and the lack of scuba support combined with the cold water makes diving the spires a nightmare for recreational divers. It makes me feel even more fortunate to have this amazing opportunity!

Me next to the spires! (Photo by Brett Seymour)

We also photographed a number of rowboats in front of Lake Hotel. These rowboats were used to ferry visitors and guests of Lake Hotel, and were sunk in the early 20^th century.

Diving in Yellowstone definitely requires a steep learning curve. Some challenges included getting familiar with a drysuit again, dealing with mask flooding, and trying to find the boat anchor in silted out visibility. Oh, and have I mentioned the cold? Every day there’s a new curveball and something else to become familiar with. A lot of people at the park think that what we do is glamorous, and as the photo below shows, it’s anything but!

Diving means every day is a “bad hair day!”

Of course, crazy hair and difficult diving conditions become minor concerns when surfacing from a dive with this view. Good thing I’ll be coming back next week!

~Yasmeen

Hi everyone, I’m Yasmeen Smalley, the 2014 National Park Service Submerged Resources Intern! This amazing opportunity stems from the generosity of both the Submerged Resources Center (SRC) and the Our World-Underwater Scholarship Society.

My summer adventures began last Saturday when I flew from Boston to the SRC office in Denver, Colorado. I had spent most of the previous night packing frantically, so I arrived in Denver bleary-eyed but excited to meet the people who would be helping and coaching me throughout my travels. Brett Seymour, the Deputy Chief and Photographer at the SRC picked me up at the airport, and we made our way to Boulder, where I would stay with Dave Conlin, the Chief at the SRC, his wife Michelle, and their energetic dog Luke.

Normally all of the SRC staff convenes for a barbecue, but because half of the staff is currently doing work in Florida we had a small get together at Dave and Michelle’s, which was a great way to be welcomed to Colorado.

Since I arrived on a Saturday, we had all of Sunday to explore the natural beauty of the area and for me to get settled in. Since I grew up in Houston, Texas and attended school in Rochester, New York, I’m used to living in a very urban environment. While Denver and Boulder are both cities, they’re very close to beautiful foothills and rock formations, including one called the Flatirons. Being able to drive by these beautiful mountains each day is a wonderful change from skyscrapers and pavement!

Doing a morning hike in the Flatirons!

My first day “on the job” was spent driving around Denver with Brett to different medical appointments; I got a chest x-ray as well as several blood tests, with a physical and audiology test scheduled for later in the week. Being poked and prodded is necessary to ensure safe diving, but it’s certainly not my favorite part of the process! The second half of the day was much more enjoyable- I got to try on gear that I’ll be using in the field! My travels will take me to Yellowstone, Biscayne, Dry Tortugas, and Channel Islands National Park, as well as the World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument. Because of the variability of water temperatures in these parks, my exposure suits will range from rash guards to a drysuit.

That neck seal sure is tight!

The rest of my week has followed the same format; medical tests in the morning, and then gearing up in the afternoon. Brett and I also went to a local dive shop to use their pool for some dive tests. My current residence in New England doesn’t allow for much diving during the winter months, so it was good to get in the pool and become familiar with the new gear. Besides a fin floating away during a “ditch and don” exercise, all went smoothly!

The next step was to prepare all of my gear for our two-week trip to Yellowstone. We leave on Monday, and will be loading our gear into a truck and trailer. Due to the equipment-heavy nature of underwater photography and videography, none of the SRC staff can “pack light.” For myself I have a large dive bag, a bag containing my drysuit and thermals, a Pelican case full of camera gear, a dry bag full of my clothes, and a backpack with electronics and personal items. Whew!

My new and improved camera housing! Sweeeet.

Since yesterday was Friday the 13th and a full moon, I decided to take my camera gear and explore some of the Rockies in search of some magical pictures. After a few hours driving around in the dark I found the perfect spot to photograph.

And as if my week wasn’t eventful enough, I had a minor trip to the ER yesterday! While loading gear into the trailer I accidentally dropped a 75 lb tank on two of my fingers, resulting in a small “Tufts” fracture of the tip of my index finger. I’m not superstitious, but fracturing my shutter finger on Friday the 13th definitely makes me a little more wary of things that go bump in the night! Luckily I’ll still be able to dive (I verified this with Dave multiple times in the ER) so I just have to wait for it to heal and use my middle finger for the camera shutter in the meantime.

Hopefully the next couple days go smoothly, and pretty soon I’ll be diving in Yellowstone!

Until then,

Yasmeen