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About The Batur Explorations
Lake Batur, a volcanic crater lake located in one of Bali’s towering volcanos, is both a mystical and spiritual place. Plagued by environmental problems such as siltation and degradation of water quality, the lake is slowly becoming unviable as a water source for the various communities which depend on its life giving waters to survive.
A group of intrepid explorers from Livingseas is trying to arrest this degradation, by understanding the causes of these environmental problems, and hopefully offer solutions or change local practices to better preserve the environment for future generations.
This is a story of their journey…
Batur March 2016
In March 2016 Living Seas launched a new style of trip which we are calling Extreme Week. These trips offer more challenging, objective driven projects for our base of competent divers to get involved with. Our first Extreme Week trip saw us return to Lake Batur, with a team of divers capable of exploring a larger area of the lake. This project also saw Living Seas collaborate with a group of scientists from NTU. Our divers provided RNA samples from the lake so scientist could identify the microorganisms (bacteria, fungi and algae) living in the lake.
Depth charts of the lake show an underwater ridge connects the east and west coasts of the lake. This ridge is located midway along the lake (see graphic below) and lies at a depth of 45m or so. Emerging from the lake is Mount Batur, a stratovolcano, with multiple vents throughout the caldera. First recorded eruption was in 1804 and the volcano has remained active ever since. The latest eruption was in 2000. We wondered whether there was an active vent beneath the lake which had caused the ridge to form. If nothing else, it would make for an interesting feature to explore.
An Eerie Beauty: Batur
Lake Batur
May 19-21st 2015
Diving in Bali usually conjures up images of Molas and Mantas over rich reefs in clear, warm, tropical waters. But high up in the volcanic North of Bali is a large lake offering those curious enough the opportunity to dive somewhere completely different. The low visibility created an eerie yet beautiful experience as we dived past imposing granite cliffs and found large lava fields, all inhabited by small crabs and fish. Descending to the depths of the lake was like entering a lifeless alien world that spoke volumes about the impact humans are having on the planet. An exploration trip to dive at altitude in a body of water no‐one has ventured before requires careful planning. With the right training and preparation, the results were immensely rewarding.
Lake Batur
Lake Batur is a crescent shaped lake lying within the heart of a huge crater created when the original Mount Batur violently erupted 20,000 years ago. Within this crater, the new Mount Batur has been slowly rising up and has erupted multiple times in living memory. The volcano draws thousands of tourists every year to hike up to the crater’s edge to watch the sun rise over Bali.
Situated high up in the mountains, the water level of the lake has been rising over the years. The jetty used by the local villagers is now underwater and no‐one knows why the water level is rising so quickly. The lake is not known as a dive destination, and has only been dived by Leon Boey and Terence Lee in 2014.
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