Renewal M 19 of the Monterey Bay Aquarium revealed-San Jose Mercury News

MONTEREY, when he was 12, future marine biologist Jon Hoech donned a diving mask, stuck his face in the ocean and has your first look at a shoal of fish, make a majestic choreography under the water, something that only happens in nature.

Up to now.

"The other day, this school of sardines has created a ring around the full exposure," said Hoech, pointing to the frenzied army of 9,000 fish closing around a tank of millions of litres that houses the new attraction of open sea of Monterey Bay Aquarium. "We played in krill medium and sardines ventilated to the Centre to create this huge cake and plan". Then they broke this great cone. I downloaded almost my knees when I saw it happen.

"It is a spectacular thing to see in nature and is taken to the right to display and a large amount of resources to what happens in a place like this," he said. "But let's do it, and will be very exciting to see the guests".

Exhibition of the open sea is the centerpiece of the renewal of $ 19 million Aquarium, to be released to the public on 2 July (with a preview of members on July 1). Mammoth tank houses sardines is also home to many sea life that were previously part of the attraction of the outer Bay: schools of tuna, mahi and a pair of giant turtles, green, now it is believed that at least 60 years of age.

Also, "repeated visitors will recognize much of the old cast, but will be integrating a lot of new animals," said Hoech, Creative Director of Aquarius. "This will be one of the main schools of sardines, never we showed us, that I'm very pleased because it is a magnificent animal that we never have done justice to show them in all their color and glory and numbers, as we have."

Inhabitants of open seas will increase to new technology that includes a lighting system to highlight the natural beauty of the animals, a curtain of bubbles which adds not only environmental, but helps the animal to navigate without finding the glass barrier and a water circulation device that creates waves that cause fresh than the waves of light dancing.

The designs of new exhibitions were the creation of Jaci Tomulonis and Raúl Nava, which helped integrate illustrations with exhibitions to help inform the public about issues related to the health of the ocean. A piece used representations of 270,000 fossilized shark teeth to convey the number of sharks die each day of their fins. Other transforms plastic bottles of water obtained from the ocean in sculptures of various types of algae.

"" It's a shame that many of the animals that we are showing are at risk due to human activity: Habitat destruction and overfishing "Hoech said." "This will give our guests the opportunity to learn what they can do to help the return to the situation. "

Aquarium visitors now have the opportunity to see near stranger, minors, green turtles, diving birds for colorful, playful (tufted puffins, Atlantic Puffin, horned pigeon guillemot) and microscopic plankton: the basis of all the food at sea: improved by a powerful microscope.

In addition, the interactive galleries includes renovation of computer-generated marine life which can be magnified or activate the touch of a finger. The new "swarm jelly Alcove" offers visitors a three-dimensional experience that simulates the appearance of swimming with a school of jellyfish.

IF YOU'RE GOING

Exposure of the Monterey Bay Aquarium sea

When: opens July 2

Cost: Aquarium Admission is US $ 29.95 for adults, US $ 24.95 for seniors and students r $ 19.95 for children (ages 3-12) and people with disabilities. Children under 3 years are free. Group rates are available with advanced reservations.

Information: Visit www.montereybayaquarium.org or call 800-648-4800

Read More...

In Monterey Bay Aquarium tank Gets great face lift-San Jose Mercury News

Tank cleaning is never fun. Ask any tropical fish hobbyist with a couple of fish, some gravel and some plants in plastic.

But what happens if the tank is 35 meters deep and has a window with the size of a movie screen?

In what could be the mother of all Reeva projects of aquarium fish, the Monterey Bay Aquarium is putting the finishing touches on the revision of its external tank Bay-a structure of 1 million liters containing more water than the other 90 tanks in combined tank and is ranked among the largest deposits of United States. It is part of a transformation of 19 million dollars which reopens to the public on Saturday.

"It has been like remodeling a House of 30,000 square meters, while 18 people living in it," said David Cripe, Special Coordinator in the Aquarium displays. "We insist on how you were going to move things and take things". "But we do that two weeks ahead of schedule ".

The exhibition, renamed into the open sea has new species in the great tank and other screens in the vicinity, including a sand bar shark Oahu, tufted puffins and other seabirds, show an interactive video wall of high technology in plankton, jellies of deep sea and many art installations. Scientific Aquarium also plans to introduce a young new great white shark in September, the sixth White Shark Aquarium will put on display since 2004.

Any aquarium in the world currently has a great white shark on the screen.

A difficult

trip

On Monday, dozens of volunteer teachers, getting his first glimpse reinforced around painters, welders and other construction workers who were putting the finishing touches in the exhibition. Oohed and aahed tank refurbished marquee, with brilliant schools of sardines his last out languorously floating mahi mahi and hypnotic turtles may not have noticed the long road of scientific and experimental error, setbacks and elbow grease to get this project up to now.

The Aquarium had closed the great tank to the public last August. It seemed to me that bluefin tuna and yellowfin tuna-some of whom had grown to more than 300 pounds of its original size of only 25 pounds, were creating this turbulence in the water, which swam faster than the glass was falling roof tiles in the interior of the tank.

"Green Turtles were eating tiles," spokeswoman for the Aquarium, said Ken Peterson. "They gets no wounded." Spend them. But he did not want to risk.

The tank is necessary an update anyway, I thought that administrators of the Aquarium. Then drained all the water in the ocean. But not before first capture approximately 10,000 copies in the tank. I took three weeks.

Aquarium biologists used a

NET designed to catch the 9,000 sardines. Tuna which surprised three dozen with barbless hooks and fishing line. Attracted to turtles and sharks hammer with food and are raised with deep gurney-water.

Some animals do not. Tuna each were too big to move and had to be sacrificed, Cripe said. A hammerhead shark also was killed. But the vast majority survive the upgrade. They were placed in tanks on trucks and sent to an installation of Aquarius 10 miles north of the Marina.

Workers under the guidance of the contractor, Rudolph and Sletten in Redwood City, who helped install the tank when the first was created in 1996, stripped to the shingles. They covered the walls of glass fiber with new sealant. Install a wave machine to create chop on the water's surface, as in the open sea. Acrylic Windows massive polishing and add new water heating systems-even a "turtle-lift" to make it easier for veterinarians to raise turtles in a farm pen next to the main tank. New lighting causes the colors of the animals in the tank shimmer as they pass in front of the huge window.

Where once the visitors saw the sides and bottom, now they see what seems like endless blue. Is the same view that many of the species seen as it will migrate up to 10,000 miles each year through the Pacific Ocean, a pattern that highlights the new exhibition, based on research with satellite tags facts over the last decade from Stanford University, UC Santa Cruz and other marine resources.

"It feels more like you're seeing now open sea", said Jaci Tomulonis, senior developer of exposure. "Before, it's like a tank of exposure".

Conservation education

Additional exhibitions explaining the creatures, such as the humpback whale, baula and Albatros is scheduled to open in February. And that, as the reformed wing opening on Saturday, they carry messages of conservation visitors 1.9 million Aquarium overfishing, plastic ocean pollution and global warming, part of a trend that has distinguished the Aquarium increasingly since it opened in 1984 with a gift of $ 55 million Titans David and Lucile Packard.

The Aquarium is the main sponsor of a Bill to move forward in the California legislature to ban the trade in shark fins, an issue that has divided the American community and caused considerable political.

"It is not enough to show people animals beautiful Ocean, especially when we know that the threats they face," said Peterson. "We are concerned". "We want people to participate and make a difference".

Please contact Paul Rogers at 408 920 5045.

Read More...