Global diving travel has become increasingly easy over the last decade or so, providing easy access to a growing number of tropical and exotic destinations. So, for many divers residing in cooler climates or new to the sport, it is tempting to look only towards these warm distant destinations and perhaps ignore the wealth of marine life on their own doorstep.

Lake Thingvellavatn on Iceland. In more than one sense this place is wondrous and mystic. Geologically, the Thingvellir area is part of a fissure zone running through Iceland, being situated on the tectonic plate boundaries of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The faults and fissures of the area make evident the rifting of the earth’s crust.

Dutch Springs is a quarry in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Every weekend hundreds of scuba divers come to train, practice skills or just have fun underwater. The quarry features platforms where divers could practice skills, and has underwater attractions including boats, planes, vehicles and even a helicopter.

Impressions from Antarctica, photographed by Michael Aw and Göran Ehlmé

Viewing a torrent of flowing liquid turmoil while safe and dry on shore is enough to make anybody hesitate about signing up for a dive charter in the Skookumchuck Narrows. This is also the place where rushing tidal currents commonly reach impressive speeds of 14-16 knots (30 km/hr)!

Sliding into brackish water riddled by a seasonal downpour might not be everybody’s idea of a week-end in the Wild West...but for the frustrated winter diver that I am, there is sometimes nothing like the peaty waters of Connemara.

The proposed Water Discus underwater hotel in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, is to be comprised of a series of sci-fi styled discs, one of which will be positioned 21 stories underwater.