the Lost Island Project

My First GUE Project

It's been eight years since that summer. I had become a GUE instructor the year before, and I seemed to have the world in my hands. Today I recall with a smile the great emotions that I experienced during those two weeks, and only now I can understand what an exceptional learning experience it was. Mario, the great Super Mario Arena, had arranged everything in detail, and the efficiency of his plans had allowed a group of GUE explorers to finally land on a small island in the Channel of Sicily. I say “finally” because over the preceding years, we had been rejected from the island more than once, as if it wanted to deny us the possibility of discovering its secrets. But in the summer of 2005, nothing could stop us, not even the island. The Archeology project Pantelleria 2005 saw committed and talented explorers: Mario, JJ, and David to name only the most famous. I was the master of the house, and in those days I felt I was living a dream. There were so many dives, so much effort, and so many smiles and stories, especially on those endless nights at the compressor. I remember the faces, exhausted by their efforts, but calm; I remember the sunsets and sunny days that made our work the most beautiful experience in the world. I also remember my pain: after only 2 days of the start of the project I caught an ear infection that forced me into bed and kept me from going down into the water for the duration of the project. I was at my house, I was there with the best technical divers in the world, and I could not be with them to discover the secrets of my island. But I was not sad, because even if I could not be with them underwater, I was always there. How much I’ve learned just by listening to their stories and observing their emotions. I felt like a baby, focused on every move. I was with them, always, 'cause we were a team, a united group with a single purpose. I remember my friend Massimiliano, just Fundy-certified, who spent the whole project on the boat as a surface diver. Every day he was there, working in the sun with his black DUI to check that all was well. Massimiliano never stopped and even if he’s never been on the bottom of that beautiful sea to discover ancient amphorae, he lived his most beautiful experience. Only when people feel useful and appreciated for their work are they able to give their best. When I think back to that summer and my first major GUE project, I think how lucky I was to have learned so much and made so many friends who are still part of my life. I have never abandoned the spirit of that time, and now that this new project is ready to take off, I would like to tell you that these are the things which make going underwater worthwhile, because this experience will accompany us throughout our lives and ...and you will see that you will not be alone. A special welcome to all the friends from that summer, especially Mario, Fabio, and Bruno, still my buddies today on this beautiful adventure.

Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yENgE3ihbBQ

Dott. Emanuele Lodolo from Italian National Institute of Oceanography and Geology presents the geological features of the GUE Lost Island Project

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Cerrano, what is your specialization and what are your current research projects?
I work in the Marine Zoology Lab of the Polytechnic University of Marche (Italy). My main fields of interest are the biodiversity, biology, and ecology of benthic organisms, in particular sponges and corals.
Regarding biodiversity, we described tens of new species, from polar, temperate and tropical regions.
Regarding ecology, I'm studying the effects of climate change on benthic assemblages, comparing responses of several species between shallow and deep populations.
Regarding biology, I'm studying the interaction between minerals and the living world, evaluating the responses of biological systems to different mineralogies at the cellular, organismic, and community level.

2. Can you describe for us the biological scientific research of the GUE Lost Island Project?
There is a general interest in knowledge of the biodiversity of the area. The possibility of fixing a baseline along a depth gradient represents the first opportunity to detail the benthic assemblages of the island. The peculiar geographic position of the island, between the western and eastern basins, and its unique geological history furnish the possibility to monitor a key area of the Mediterranean Sea for the study of climate change and to evaluate the pattern of colonization of such a young, in a geological way, substrate.

3. What is the importance of submerged volcanoes in biological research?
Owing to their peculiar geomorphologic and hydrodynamic characteristics, volcanoes and seamounts are considered fundamental "stepping stones," very rich in biodiversity. This means they can be considered true oases emerging from deep muddy bottoms, allowing dispersal of species and, at the same time, hosting many unique characteristics. Different factors contribute to the high levels of species richness found on these key areas: the high productivity of these environments, and the coexistence, in a relatively limited area, of various biological communities characterized by different bathymetric ranges.

4. What is the function of a technical diver in a scientific project?
There is a general problem of fundraising for research, especially regarding marine biology studies. Volunteers make it possible to do research that would never have been funded, even if considered of great importance on both a local and international scale.
Volunteers, when adequately utilized, can amplify the range of action of researchers. Thanks to their help, it is possible to increase the area of observation, and multiply the amount of data.

5. What could be the results of this first year of activity?
A detailed biological description of the area, including finding the most important species structuring benthic assemblages along a depth gradient. The possibility of working with taxonomists, experts both in meio- and macrobenthos, interested in the analyses of samples will guarantee the achievement of this result.

Exploration for its own sake. A joyous notion that needs to be done. More and more. Sometimes it's not about budgets, but the human spirit!
Enjoy listening this great Talk by prof. Brian Cox...let be inspired...Join Us.

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To all of you GUE Divers: Fundamentals, Tech, RB and Cave is dedicated the Lost Island Project. You do not have to be a commercial, professional or extreme diver to become part of the Team of scientific divers who will start to work from May 27, 2013 on the submerged volcano called Island Ferdinandea, you must be GUE Divers! Since the beginning of the project’s creation we had thought of all of you as leading actors of this new adventure. Join us in the project can be an important learning experience and a great diving training. The project was designed to allow all patented GUE to have a leading role in a scientific research project. It is hard to imagine what another organization could give life to an underwater research like this if not the GUE. GUE represents all of us, and it will be important to support the project all together. Each of you is and will be crucial. The work ahead of us is so much and very charming. The dive site is simply wonderful, pristine and for the most part unknown to divers. We will be the first, the first who will be taking part in a research project supported by scientific universities and research institutions in this legendary submerged volcano. Our work will bring us to explore unknown depths, collect data and make measurements and analysis of the seabed, document and publish. A full commitment and very rewarding thanks to which we will find ourselves in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea to spend long nights under the stars to tell our stories and our experiences together, united by a single passion, Adventure. GUE Fundamentals, Tech, Rb and Cave Divers...the project is dedicated exclusively to all of you.
Join Us.
Enjoy!

It is a very big pleasure to share with you this interview. JJ words are always very exciting!
This is what inspire us to do the best and keep going in this amazing project!
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1. Why is GUE Lost Island Project Significant?
JJ - "In addition to the exciting science being conducted, the Lost Island Project is an important milestone for GUE as it represents the next stage in our development. Our formational principles are heavily project and science/conservation based and we have always been working toward reinventing a next generation Cousteau society. Over the last decade we have been building the necessary infrastructure and now are able to begin building into this exciting new future. The Lost Island Project is the first in a series of projects which will merge recreational diving with credible scientific analysis."

2. Why is important for GUE to support a research project?
JJ -"Education and exploration have disproportionately consumed much of GUE’s focus in the early years. This was needed as GUE built and refined quality diver training and capable exploration capacity. But conservation and the associated research programs are the third tier of our mission and are a critical component in our organizational objectives. Our recently launched documentation diver program ties heavily into these goals and is an optional part of this project. Meanwhile this experience is part of the background development for a series of GUE science diver programs. The Lost Island University collaboration and experience will help refine GUE’s direction and be an important part of expanding our credibility in the scientific community."

3. What do you think about the Lost Island Project?
JJ -"I am very excited about the project diving and research projects planned. From my perspective it is an ideal blend of great diving together with useful and exciting research. I love to have fun while being productive and learning new things. As such this project is a perfect blend of activity. I am sure divers from around the world will be very excited from having taken advantage of such a neat opportunity."

4. Why should people join the Lost Island Project?
JJ -"Anyone looking for a unique diving experience which can also expand their capacity and diving skills should join this project. These experiences help form an important skill set that GUE will call upon in many projects to come. The optional GUE Documentation Diver is being taught in an ideal setting as it provides this unique GUE program in a perfect setting, allowing divers to learn and then build capacity within a new range of diving skills. Meanwhile, the chance to work on an active University research project is a unique and rare opportunity for most divers. Finally, people get a unique chance to dive a remote and exciting area of the Mediterranean with all the logistics well covered. I guess a better question is why not join."
JJ.

Today begins the official countdown of the Lost Island Project. GUE project Staff are preparing around the clock to prepare everything for explorers who will join us on this amazing adventure.
The Goal is redefine the concept of diving.
For us and for all of you who feel the need inside to try your hand at something different, to know yourself more in depth and to go beyond your limits, we imagined that is this new dimension of diving is the answer. We struggled and we worked hard to overcome GUE courses and finally we succeeded. We continued to practice, training our body and our minf with so many dives...and now we are finally ready for something more. Our preparation and our knowledge will be pushed into overtime allowing us to become masters of ourselves. We ill strive to identify our weaknesses and learn from them, led by men who have dedicated their lives to exploring and adventure.
Experience and learn the secrets of the aquatic environment by participating in a real scientific research project which will see us protagonists finally, at the forefront of an ambitious and unique underwater expedition in an unexplored place, full of surprise.
We will live an adventure....our first real adventure in the middle of one of the most challenging bodies of water in the world.
Nothing you have experienced before is comparable to the experience of GUE's The Lost Island Project.
Join Us....Enjoy!

the Lost Island Project

Blog

My First GUE Project

Video Interview with dott.Lodolo the Geo Division Scientific Director

Interview with our Bio Division Director Prof.Carlo Cerrano

Why we need Explorers

Dedicated to All of You

Interview with GUE President Jarrod Jablonski

The Challenge

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