Contents: What is "Fluo-Diving" and why would you want to make a "Fluo-Dive"? What Why Physics Biology History My equipment Commercially available equipment Other useful resources My experience Experience by other people Videos Magazines Photos Blogs Websites News Forum threads Articles related to fluorescence diving Scientific articles related to fluorescence diving Operators who offer fluorescence night dives Fluo-Diving's Who is Who Author Disclaimer What is "Fluo-Diving" and why would you want to make a "Fluo-Dive"? In short: WHAT: Night dives with an ultraviolet torch for viewing bio-fluorescence, the property of some marine life to reflect light with a longer wavelength (of visible light) when lighted with (invisible) ultraviolet light. WHY: Because the sight is magical, enchanting - as if the underwater life was actively shining like neon signs in the dark, or like a psychedelic disco, in many different colours. It is discovering a hidden world behind a hidden world. Long explanation: Physics: Some marine organisms (corals, sponges, anemones, jellyfish, clams, nudibranchs, shrimp, crabs, worms, fish) produce proteins which have the property to react to certain wavelengths of light with a phenomenon which is called "fluorescence". Fluorescence is the effect that the electrons of certain materials, in this case proteins (but there are other materials which also have this property, certain minerals for instance), absorb the photons of a certain wavelength of light, by which the electrons get "excited", i.e., promoted to a higher energy level. After a few nanoseconds, these electrons fall back to their initial energy level by emitting another photon of light, however with a longer wavelength (i.e., with a lower energy) than the exciting light. In the case of marine life, the exciting light can have wavelengths in a wide range between (invisible) ultraviolet and (visible) blue, and the wavelengths of the emitted light are usually blue, green, orange and red, depending on the specific protein the organism produces. Note that fluorescence is different from phosphorescence (after excitation, light is emitted over a longer period of time, as can be seen e.g. in cathode ray tubes, i.e., in pre-digital age television sets) and from luminescence (some marine organisms actively produce their own light using certain enzymes or symbiotic bacteria). Biology: Some fluorescent corals have been discovered because they were bright red despite the fact that at the depth that they were found, red light is completely absent, because red light is the first to be filtered out by water (which is also the reason why water appears blue from above, and why underwater images have such a blue tint, unless corrected). When divers first dived with torches under water, they discovered that many organisms were actually red. It was a biological mystery why organisms would spend energy to produce a pigment which would appear black below a certain depth anyway. It was speculated that this was used for hiding, but this hypothesis was not very satisfying. New results from scientific research show that many fish, even deep see fish, can actually see red light. One wonders why, since there is no red light at these depths. It has been found recently that underwater organisms actually use fluorescence to transform the only light available to them, namely ultraviolet and blue light, into visible light of longer wavelengths, such as red (of all colours!), among others, for a number of purposes: Besides from protecting themselves from the harmful effects of ultraviolet radiation, as a kind of sunscreen, corals seem to do this in order to feed their symbiotic algae, which live inside their tissues. This allows the corals to dwell at greater depths, where corals without this capability are unable to thrive. Recent discoveries seem to suggest that fish also use fluorescence, in order not to be easily discernible from the background of fluorescing corals, which otherwise would make them easy prey, and in order to communicate between each other (within the same species), at least at short distances. History: I first read about diving with ultraviolet lamps in the SF novel "Die Delphininsel" ("Dolphin Island"), by famous author and diver Arthur C. Clarke, during my childhood (the book is older than me; it has a copyright notice from 1963!): Arthur C. Clarke acquired his underwater UV lights from Dr. Richard G. Woodbridge, who wrote articles about fluorescence night diving in Skin Diver in 1959 and 1961, and also in Nature in 1959. History of the Discovery of Marine Fluorescence (CharlesMazel@NightSea) "The first printed record we have found of an observation of fluorescence of a marine organism dates to 1927. A Mr. C. E. S. Phillips was walking along the shore in Torbay, England, and noticed that the anemones in a tidepool seemed to be an especially bright green. He collected several specimens and used a light with a Wood's glass filter (a filter that absorbs visible light and transmits ultraviolet) to confirm that it fluoresced under ultraviolet light. Phillips suggested that marine biologists add such a light to their repertoire of research equipment, but not much seems to have come of his idea. [...]" GFP (Green Fluorescing Protein) Timeline (MarcZimmer@ConnecticutCollege) GFP (Green Fluorescing Protein) History (MarcZimmer@ConnecticutCollege) Photographing Fluorescent Corals (PDF 663KB) (Jack&SueDrafahl@SkinDiver) My equipment: My camera is a Nikon Coolpix P300 with Ikelite underwater housing 1x Cree XT-E Royal Blue LED 450-455 nm 3-5W (depending on battery state of charge), based on LED Lenser D14 / LED Lenser Frogman (formerly 1x UV LED 395-410 nm 1W) 2x Nichia NCSU033B 365 nm 6W, radiant flux (theoretically; 700 mA => factor 1.4) avg. 816 mW min. 756 mW max. 868 mW, based on Underwater Kinetics UK Sunlight C4 eLED 21x3W blue LEDs 450 nm ~60W, Hartenberger maxi compact LCD     NightSea filters 4x Nichia NC4U133A 365 nm ~46W, radiant flux (theoretically; 0.625 A => factor 1.25) avg. 6.53 W min. 6.20 W max. 6.85 W, based on equipment from TillyTec Download the original plan of this latter lamp's heatsink: plan4c_koelblok.pdf (PDF 225KB) I bought the Nichia UV LEDs through Nichia's Inquiries page, directly from Nichia Europe BV (Netherlands). The two NCSU033B cost 81.82 Euros a piece (plus 31 Euros import tax) in October 2010. My charge number was AA5059-UaP7M, which means (according to the NCSU033B specs): AA=produced October 2010, Ua=365nm, P7=270-310mW, M=3.6-4.0V. The four NC4U133A cost 90.90 Euros a piece (plus 69 Euros import tax) in November 2011. My charge number was BBE052-UaP9d31aM, which means (according to the NC4U133A specs): BB=produced November 2011, Ua=365nm, P9d31a=1240-1370mW, M=14.1-15.7V. 1x Cree XT-E Royal Blue LED 450-455 nm 3W, based on ScubaPro Fuego LED Light Commercially available equipment: After building my first two lamps (see also previous section above), I found manufacturers of commercially available torches for underwater bio-fluorescence (electrical power in parentheses): NightSea BlueStar Light $162.00 (1W) NightSea BW-1 Blue/White Dive Light $495.00 (3W) NightSea Filters for UK Light Cannon 100 HID $156.00 (10W; halogen-equivalent: 25W) ( ref1 ref2 ref3 ref4 ref5 ) NightSea products distributor for Europe: Peter Patz, Mineralienladen Balingen, Tel/Fax +49 7433 2754 70/71, <mineralienladen AT aol DOT com> NightSea+Light&Motion Sola Blue 1200 Video Light $699.00 Plongimage Kit découverte de la fluorescence sous marine 99.00 € (3W 400nm 60°) Plongimage Fluo 330 phare special fluorescence 269.00 € (3x3W 60°) Plongimage Phare video SOLARIS UV4200 + filtres 1,090.00 € (16x5W 120°) Dyron UV Light Solaris 4200 (16x5W 120°) Hartenberger mini compact LCD (7x3.5W=28W, 21x2.5W=50W 450nm) Hartenberger maxi compact LCD (7x3.5W=28W, 21x3W=60W 450nm) mini compact LCD (7.2V / 5.4Ah LiMn) 479.00 € + blue LED module 7x3.5W (spot or flood) 249.00 € = 728.00 € (28W) mini compact LCD (7.2V / 5.4Ah LiMn) 479.00 € + blue LED module 21x2.5W (spot or flood) 369.00 € = 848.00 € (50W) maxi compact LCD (14.4V / 4.5Ah LiMn) 599.00 € + blue LED module 7x3.5W (spot or flood) 249.00 € = 848.00 € (28W) maxi compact LCD (14.4V / 4.5Ah LiMn) 599.00 € + blue LED module 21x3W (spot or flood) 369.00 € = 968.00 € (60W) Most of the commercially available lamps use blue LEDs instead of UV LEDs, with peak wavelengths around 450 nm (as opposed to my first couple constructions which use UV LEDs with a wavelength of 365 nm). Tests have confirmed the prediction by Prof. Nico Michiels in a private communication that UV does indeed produce much less intense red fluorescence than blue excitation light. Prof. Horst Grunz has built his own torches (also using blue LEDs; from Osram, Luminus and Cree) based on equipment from TillyTec. TillyTec also offers a UV lamp head with a single UV LED with 410 nm and 3W according to this magazine (PDF 13MB) on page 42. Glowdive (located in Bilbao, Spain) offers an ultraviolet underwater torch (of unspecified wavelength), filters and photographic equipment for fluorescence dives. Reef Photo (located in Florida, USA) is a distributor for Glowdive equipment. UnderWaterVisions (located in the UK) also sells Glowdive equipment. Big Blue offers white light (LED) torches CF250 CF600 VL1300 VL1800 with Fluorodiving Kits (passive optical filters) which transform these white light torches into fluorescence torches. Tektite offers a range of UV LED flashlights with either 365 nm or 375 nm and a varying number of LEDs: 2 (4.4mW/8.6mW, $39.95), 4 (8.8mW/17.2mW, $49.95), 7 (15.4mW/30.1mW, $95.95), 14 (30.8mW/60.1mW, $149.95), 40 (88mW/172mW, $398.00). They also have a number of CSI forensics lights. Other useful resources: The Sandwich Shoppe (LED drivers) Deal Extreme (LED drivers) LED Driver List UV LED vendors: Mouser (LEDs, electronic parts) Farnell (LEDs, electronic parts) Digikey (LEDs, electronic parts) Future Electronics (LEDs, electronic parts) Newark (LEDs, electronic parts) cutter electronics (LEDs, electronic parts) illumination supply (LEDs, electronic parts) RapidLED (LEDs, electronic parts) Nichia (LEDs) LCK-LED (LEDs) S-Bend / Taiwan (LEDs) (Contact: Alan Hu <alan AT s DASH bend DOT com>) Conrad.de, Conrad.nl (LEDs, electronic parts) LED-Tech.de (LEDs) Lumitronix.de (LEDs) ELV.de (electronic parts) Reichelt.de (electronic parts) Rosco (Permacolor Glass Dichroic Filters): "Wood's Glass" #33650/#3650, "Double Coated UV Pass" #33660/#3660, "Primary Blue" #31080/#1080, "Medium Red Blue" #34600/#4600. Stagespot (Rosco Permacolor Glass Dichroic Filters) B&H Photo (Rosco Permacolor Glass Dichroic Filters) Lightco Nederland BV (Rosco Permacolor Glass Dichroic Filters) (Contact: Frank de Vos <frank DOT devos AT lightco DOT nl>) Controllux B.V. (Rosco Permacolor Glass Dichroic Filters) (Contact: Lex Oudshoorn <lex AT controllux DOT nl>) CandlePowerForums (CPF) LaserPointerForums Michael Lux: Selbstbauprojekte für LED Lampen Cable diameter vs. cross-sectional area, max. current, AWG table M.D. Edmond Kay's Diving Medicine Home Page Steffen Beyer's Dive Plan Calculator My experience: August/September 2011: In August/September 2011 I went to Hurghada/Egypt (Red Sea) and successfully tested my second ultraviolet diving lamp: Or see also on YouTube (or Picasa): January 2012: In January 2012 I went to the Dominican Republic (Caribbean Sea) and successfully tested my latest (third) self-made UV diving lamp: Or see also on YouTube or Picasa. February 2012: Participation in a marine research project (fluorescence highlights coral damage, here in red) of the Red Sea Environmental Centre (RSEC) in Dahab, South Sinai, Egypt named Coral Project Dahab I with focus on coral diseases, damage, bleaching and diversity; using fluorescence to assess coral reef health (see also current list of projects). More pictures: (Daytime pictures of me, courtesy of N. Milton, and by me) (Project album by N. Milton; needs Facebook account to view) (Project album by Prof. H. Grunz; needs Facebook account to view) (YouTube videos by Prof. H. Grunz) May 2012: On 4th of May 2012 I made a fluorescence night dive at Dreischor / Gemaal (see also digischool.nl or duikerslog.nl) in Zeeland / The Netherlands with two buddies, and made this video using my Hartenberger torch and NightSea filters. Or see also on YouTube or Picasa. Experience by other people: Videos: Here are the most relevant videos which a colleague and dive buddy of mine and I have found so far about diving with ultraviolet lamps and bio-fluorescence: Beyond The Blue (Trailer) by Guy & Anita Chaumette http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXFgU8vFmLM (11:11) (Prof. Horst Grunz) (NEW) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnL1xTKQjNw (10:06) (Prof. Horst Grunz) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLMAyYHNeeQ  (9:08) (Prof. Horst Grunz) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2rT_agiytk  (8:23) (Prof. Horst Grunz) (NEW) http://www.leddivelight.com/biofluorescent-night-dive-sunset-reef-east-end-of-grand-cayman/ (7:17) or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjPjiYyia_Q  (7:17) (DrDichro) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGWcoM7Apyc  (5:24) (Prof. Horst Grunz) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9GfctqCGKE  (4:16) (Prof. Horst Grunz) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHVI9vhgkXc  (2:55) (diveclubaquanauts) vimeo.com/29233717 Underwater Fluorescence  (2:43) (Carlos Villoch) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78de8IoRY0M  (2:31) (BBC Oceans) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbXgG37vlYw  (2:20) (aquanautsgrenada) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZueVxQ-tIYU  (1:59) (DrDichro) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ne5ceZTKdnk  (1:52) (Blue Ribbon Divers) (NEW) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meczKORhpmo  (1:20) (DrDichro) vimeo.com/17121144 GlowDive Fluorescence    (1:00) (Carlos Villoch) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_BGkq86uhs  (0:48) (Sea Dancer Dive Center) (NEW) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2KXbOPxH5I  (0:25) (DrDichro) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oD4Z4RC_isc  (0:25) (DrDichro) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yix20f-zqGU  (0:21) (DrDichro) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dy9t9gdmJEI  (0:18) (DrDichro) Magazines: Thanks to another dive buddy, I discovered an article in a French online magazine about fluorescence diving: Télécharger le numéro #1 (PDF 31MB): "La nuit, les plongées sont psychédéliques" by Caroline Lepage pages 55-58 of 62 (page numbers according to Adobe Reader), or pages 108-115 (page numbers at the bottom of each page) Two other recommended interesting articles (unrelated to bio-fluorescence) from the same magazine: Télécharger le numéro #1 (PDF 31MB): "Maîtrisez la béance tubaire et dites adieu au Valsalva" by Phil Simha pages 47-49 of 62 (page numbers according to Adobe Reader), or pages 92-97 (page numbers at the bottom of each page) Télécharger le numéro #5 (PDF 66MB): "Cette eau qui nous déshydrate" by Fabrice Couraud pages 42-44 of 52 (page numbers according to Adobe Reader), or pages 82-87 (page numbers at the bottom of each page) In issue #57 (PDF 9.5MB) of Underwater Photography Magazine, there is an article "Ultraviolet photography" by Matej Simonic on pages 56-59. (The latest issue of Underwater Photography Magazine is always free, back issues cost money - but see also http://ejlabs.net/tmp/UwP57.pdf) See also more photos by the article's author and his videos Ultravijoli #1 (1:07) and Ultravijoli #2 (1:01) of Postojna Cave (10:00). In issue #62 (PDF 9.2MB) of Underwater Photography Magazine, there is another article "Things that glow" by Alex Tyrrell on pages 43-47. Issues 03/2011 (PDF 13MB) and 04/2011 (PDF 13MB) of the German online magazine Dive Inside contain a continued article "Hightech-Fluoreszenz - Zauberwelt Korallenriff" by Prof. Horst Grunz. This article is particularly interesting because it shows pictures of the innards of his DIY torches, which complement the images in his following document: The most comprehensive document about underwater fluorescence with detailed illustrated explanations and many beautiful photos (including white light/UV light comparisons), by Prof. Horst Grunz, is the following: Fluorescence (PDF 198MB) (English, Hi-Res) Fluorescence (PDF 7.6MB) (English, Lo-Res) Fluoreszenz (PDF 198MB) (German, Hi-Res) Fluoreszenz (PDF 7.6MB) (German, Lo-Res) See also this media directory for some of these (and other) media. Photos: Dyron.fr (see bottom: "UV...") Spiegel Online Chris Grossman@Diver.net Charles Mazel@NightSea (scroll down) Charles Mazel@NightSea (click items) Charles Mazel@NightSea RoatanMan@ScubaBoard Blazinator@ScubaBoard Adrian Baddeley/Charles Mazel/Jack Sullins/Jason Heller/Justin Marshall/Michael Aw/Stuart Westmorland AlexanderMustard: Egypt, Red Sea. November 2010 [gallery] (buddy of Peter Rowlands) AlexanderMustard: Fluorescence Photography. Cayman Islands. Feb 2011 [gallery] AlexanderMustard: Fluorescence Photography, Devon, July 2011 [gallery] PeterPatz@MineralienladenBalingen: Fluorescent Fossils NikkiMcAllen ("First Fluorodive Guide in Thailand") ScubaProAsia: Fluorodiving Photos and Movies Blogs: Love and War: The Essence of Luminosity (NatGeoNewsWatch) Blue Light Night Dive: Fluorescent corals in Egypt The Fascinating Phenomenon of Coral Fluorescence Learn about Fluorescent Corals and How to Take Video of Them GestaltSwitchExpeditions: "Fluorescence" in marine organisms Fluodiving.com: Le blog de la fluorescence sous marine / The underwater fluorescence web site Fluorodiving: Science and Beauty of Coral Fluorescence Fluoro Dive - What is a Fluorescence Night Dive 2020VISION: Glow in the dark Under the lights: The gorgeous world of glow diving Hochschule Esslingen - Fluoreszenz von Korallen Websites: www.fluodive.de (German underwater fluorescence website and webshop by Paul Fischer) News: The Lux* Maldives Underwater Festival (01-Mar-2012) Sign up for the Underwater Festival (04-Mar-2012) LUX* Island Resorts announces the first edition of the lux* maldives underwater festival (04-Apr-2012) Forum threads: Magic fluorescence in night dives with HiTecLEDs "Hi all divers, I just returned from Diving in ElQuseir, Egypt. There I tested a HiTec Fluorescence lamp in Night-Dives. I have constructed the lamp with parts of Sandwhich Shoppe McR-20 reflectors and stepdown converters (Shark Buck 3A). The emitters are 4 blue OSRAM SMT modules (4 LEDs per module each). A description can be found on the PR-Page of OSRAM under Success Stories OSTAR LED in HiTec fluorescence lamps highlight the beauty of red sea corals. On my home page http://www.uni-due.de/zoophysiologie/ you will find an explanation what the technique is good for and also a 12 minutes movie (stream). For Fun-dives the technique it is a new underwater world. It is the magical transformation of drab-colored to brightly glowing color-saturated specimens that makes fluorescence so magical. The diver gets the impression that he (she) dives in underwater flower garden. This is indeed the case since my lamp illuminates larger areas in contrast to commercial available lamps with one LED only (16 in our lamp, 16fold brighter). Also on YouTube you will find the movie about this technique. From 6 hours night dive I have selected the highlights in this 10 minute version. http://www.youtube.com/user/horstartur" Nichia 365nm Light offerings "Hi guys, Through the years I have received numerous requests for a flashlight hosting one of the Nichia High Power UV LED's. I've done a few customs but pretty much just built some for myself and a few others. I finally bit the bullet and had a run of custom MCPCB's made for the latest generation UV LED, 033A." (bookmark) Source for nichia NCSU033B uv led? "Hi, I don't know if this is the right cat, but i am searching for a nichia NCSU033B uv led. Does anybody know a source for a single NCSU033B ? Thanks, markus" UV dive lights "In a random conversation with a dive buddy, I started wondering if anything underwater would fluoresce. Then we started talking about how to build an ultraviolet dive light. Turns out to be pretty easy." Dive Blacklight (UV Light)? "Has anybody seen an underwater blacklight (ultraviolet light) for sale? I know many corals and things are fluorescent so I was wondering if a uv light would make them glow with strange colors -especially on a night dive. Any ideas?" UV Night Dive?? "I've seen a few posts about UV night dives but have yet to see any details. Are they offered through dive shops? Is it something that you do on your own. It looks like a VERY cool dive. Any info you guys have is greatly appreciated." DIY UV dive light "Hey, folks. I've been working on building my own dive light specifically designed as an exciter for the green fluorescent protein present in many underwater critters. [...] I've attached a picture of the light and the one salvageable picture I took using it, of a fluorescing anemone (the green of the anemone is its fluorescence, the purple is from the light). It was hard to get good pictures as 1) it only is visible when there's no white light around, whether it's coming from the sun or another diver's light, and 2) I didn't have the UV light mounted on the camera housing like I should have. The end result was a set of pictures that were either too dark or really blurry from being shaken around by the Cozumel currents." Biofluorescent fun with your HID light "Night Diving just took on a whole new look with just a $30.00 dichroic Wood's Glass (Black Light) dichroic filter and your favorite HID light" Biofluorescent video and GC East End trip report "June 5 - 12th - The four of us got off the plane and immediately did one of my best all time dives at Eden rock - lots of bottom time, schools of jacks circling us, swim throughs, Fairy Basslets all around (love those colors!) etc etc - ALL for price of a tank rental. Stayed at The Reef resort and dove with Ocean Frontiers - wayyy professional, wayy courteous, set up and cleaned gear for you, way accomodating to our changing schedule - top notch." Biofluorescent (glowing coral) videos from night dive #2 "Finally uploaded the videos to YouTube of the glowing corals from my 24 Watt HID with the dichroic black light filters. Search SB on "Biofluorescence" to get more info on the light. What you actually see underwater is way cooler than the videos show, as the dark violet light is very dark until you hit something that fluoresces and then its like someone turned on a light switch inside the corals. I even found a bristleworm that glowed orange." UltraViolet light... "Does anyone have any experience with an underwater UV light? Especially in making one from UV LED's. I've made some regular LED lights with white light and red LED's but some folks have talked about using UV to make the colors pop with corals, etc. But would UV damage coral??" Night dives with an ultraviolet lamp ("blacklight") - taking advantage of bio-fluorescence "I read about using an ultraviolet lamp during night dives in the following book: [...] Such an ultraviolet ("black light") lamp is supposed to give a spectacular view underwater by way of bio-fluorescence. In the meantime I found a suitable (standard white) LED diving lamp and a suitable UV LED and was able to modify the lamp accordingly (see also the pictures annexed hereto). Maybe this will inspire you to do the same." WTB/Feeler: Nichia 365nm LEDs "I am having a hard time sourcing any of the Nichia 365nm LEDs, be it the "smaller" 325mw or the newer 950mw version. -->Nichia Those are really strong, emit almost no visible light at all, and are far more powerful and efficient than other manufacturers models. Does anyone want to sell one of these? Any shop known which sells the LEDs only? If all these fail: Groupbuy? They have their price though, 100$ is the minimum to expect for the smaller version." Feeler: Nichia high power 365nm LEDs "HERE I was trying to buy some of the new NICHIA high power 365nm LEDs. I am of course talking about the 250mw, 325mw and 950mw output versions. Yes, thats the actual optical output, not the electrical input as with those other "1 watt LEDs". What did I find out so far? there are three versions of those monster-LEDs: NCSU033A is around for years already, 250mw output. NCSU033B is new, like an update, and 325mw. NC4U133 has four dies inside, still in the same small size, with 950mw output!" Articles related to fluorescence diving: German: Wissenschaft aktuell: Übersehen - Viele Korallenfische erzeugen rotes Licht Bild der Wissenschaft: Meister des Verschwindens Spiegel Online: Riffbewohner leuchten im Dunkeln Prodivers: Bezaubernd, skurril & phänomenal... RedSea-EC: Fluoreszenz im Riff - Glühende Korallen Dive Inside: Wissensurlaub am Roten Meer - Meeresbiologisches Seminar "Fluoreszenz" Ägypten: Naturschutz im Neoprenanzug (Fluoreszenz-Tauchgang) English: Divernet.com: The Light Beyond BlueZooAquatics: Charles Mazel on Coral Fluorescence BlueZooAquatics: Coral Fluorescence in the Marine Aquarium UliBeyer: Fluorescent Lures for Fishing Scientific articles related to fluorescence diving: English: Red fluorescence in reef fish: A novel signalling mechanism? (PDF 6.6MB) The inherent visible light signature of an intense underwater ultraviolet light source due to combined Raman and fluorescence effects (PDF 226KB) Spectral measurements of fluorescence emission in Caribbean cnidarians (PDF 643KB) Reference List (CharlesMazel@NightSea) Operators who offer fluorescence night dives: Central Caribbean Marine Institute: Function of Fluorescent Proteins in Corals (8 day research mission for up to 8 divers on Little Cayman in 2012) Bonaire (Dutch Antilles): VIP Diving / Blue Divers Bonaire (Dutch Antilles): Buddy Dive Resort (Review) Bonaire (Dutch Antilles): Great Adventures Bonaire / Harbour Village Beach Club Bonaire (Source) Bonaire (Dutch Antilles): Divi Flamingo Beach Resort (unconfirmed) (Source) Grand Cayman (Cayman Islands): Ocean Frontiers (Review) Grenada (Caribbean): Aquanauts Grenada Barbados (Caribbean): Sundown Scuba (Review) Maldives (Indian Ocean): Prodivers Maldives (Indian Ocean): Euro-Divers Maldives (Review) Thailand (Koh Tao): UV Dive Koh Tao / Big Bubble Dive Resort, Chalok Baan Kao Bay (Review; scroll down to the entry of Wednesday 1st June 2011, at the bottom) Philippines (Dumaguete/Puerto Galera): Atlantis Dive Resorts and Liveaboards Philippines (Puerto Galera): Blue Ribbon Dive Resort Indonesia (Sulawesi): Wakatobi Dive Resort Egypt (Red Sea): RedSea-EC in cooperation with Sinai Divers Backpackers, Sinai Divers Hilton, Extra Divers Dahab, INMO Divers Egypt (Red Sea): Dive Inside / Taucher-News : SUBEX - The Art Of Diving (the operator Prof. Horst Grunz cooperated with to produce his videos) Egypt (Red Sea): Sea Dancer Dive Center (Dahab) Anthias Divers Dolphin Diving Center (yellow pages) Sinai Divers Fluo-Diving's Who is Who: Dr. Charles H. Mazel <mazel AT psicorp DOT com>, <nightsea AT nightsea DOT com> (pioneer, scientist, manufacturer) Prof. emer. Horst Grunz <horst DOT grunz AT uni-due DOT de> (scientist) Prof. Nico Michiels <nico DOT michiels AT uni-tuebingen DOT de> (scientist) John Blazy aka DrDichro aka Blazinator <Dichrolam AT att DOT net>, <Dichrolam AT gmail DOT com> (diver, photographer, inventor, manufacturer) Guy & Anita Chaumette <production AT liquidmotionfilm DOT com> (photographers and filmmakers, managers of Wakatobi Dive Resort) Gary "Gaz" Morris <info AT fluorescenceaware DOT com> (world's first instructor of PADI- and "Project AWARE"-approved "Fluorescence AWARE Diver" course) Author: Steffen Beyer Suggestions, additions and corrections are welcome! People and organisations are listed in arbitrary order, which does not imply any judgement of importance, or any other implied meaning. I do not pursue any commercial interests with this web page, it is intended to be purely informational and helpful to experts and enthusiasts of fluorescence diving. However, I would like to seed the formation of a community of fluorescence diving experts and enthusiasts, for the exchange of ideas, experiences, hints, photos, videos, discoveries, and other useful or interesting information. As Dr. Charles H. Mazel has put it: "The odds of you going in the water and finding something, seeing some animal fluorescing, that no-one else in the entire history of the universe has ever seen is probably over ninety percent! Anywhere in the world. Simply because so few people have done this." (Quoted from Liquid Motion Film/National Geographic Water Colours series) Therefore I believe that even scientists doing research in underwater fluorescence would benefit from the combined experiences and discoveries of such a community. The scientists can only be so many, and more eyes see more. Long-term idea: A half-scientific, half-practical international conference on underwater fluorescence with scientific as well as practical and artistic contributions from researchers and practitioners, also with photo exhibitions and video shows. For instance I would be very interested to know how John Blazy came to invent his new material, Dichrolam, which is essentially a dichroic filter (used to turn a HID dive light into an ultraviolet lamp for fluorescence diving) laminated with a UV-cured polymer, if I understood correctly. Disclaimer: I can not possibly check the integrity and genuineness of all the sites and businesses linked to on this page. Therefore use these links and businesses with caution and at your own risk!