Virtual Dives

Seeing Underwater

Not everyone can, or wants to, go underwater but that doesn't mean only divers can ever see what is on the seabed.

Video & Photography

Video and still image cameras are being used more and more underwater.

Visibility is an issue - even on clear days it is difficult to photograph anything with any clarity if more than a couple of metres from the camera. This makes it difficult ot show images of the seabed at a scale at which it is possible to get a real feeling for the structure of the seafloor.

New Technology

One way around this is to film a strip of seabed using a vertically pointing video camera and then stitch together the overlapping individual frames to produce a single image.

The following few clips are just a taster - Dorset Wildlife Trust is seeking funding to produce hi-resolution video transects of a range of Dorset seabed biotopes.

How to go on a Virtual Dive

Once you have clicked on one of the links below, drag your cursor across the image while holding down the mouse button to navigate across the dive site.

SHIFT key will zoom in.
CTRL key will zoom out.
You will need the QuickTime plug-in.

The Virtual Dives

> Click Here for a virtual dive on the wreck of the British Inventor (1.01MB).

> Click Here for a virtual dive over a rocky seabed in relatively shallow water. (1.52MB) The rocks and boulders are covered with a mix of red and brown seaweeds.

> Click Here for a virtual snorkel in Kimmeridge Bay (0.44MB)