Bermuda Deep Water Caves 2011: Dives of Discovery between 20110607 and 20110627

During the three week NOAA Ocean Exploration project, Bermuda
Deep Water Caves 2011: Dives of Discovery, our four member deep team, aided by
numerous assistants, conducted eight deep offshore dives to a maximum depth of
448 ft., in addition to eight photo, instrument deployment, and exploration
dives in inland caves systems. Principal discoveries made during the expedition
were a natural bridge cave at 215 ft. depth on the northern edge of the main
Bermuda platform, a drowned reef at nearly the same depth off the south shore, a
sea level notch at 370 ft. at the eastern edge, and regularly spaced vertical
rifts and jagged, possibly volcanic, cliffs along the southeastern side of
Challenger Bank at depths to nearly 450 ft. All of these features were formed
during the Ice Ages when world sea level had retreated to the depths that we
reached on these dives.