Diving Procedures
You must have heard about how terrific Diving is. Undeniably, seeing the beauty of the underwater world firsthand is incomparable. However, before you dive underwater, there are some things you need to know.
There are various types of Diving, and they are usually categorized into main groups according to the Scuba Diving Equipment used, the breathing mixture, the area, and the proficiency level.
Scuba diving is, by far, the most popular form of Recreational Diving, though it’s also used for scientific, commercial, and military purposes. The term “scuba” itself refers to the portable Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus or SCUBA that divers of this kind wear.
There are two types of scuba. One is the open circuit, in which the diver’s exhaled air goes into the water and rises as bubbles. Another is the closed-circuit, wherein the diver reuses the air he breaths. The carbon dioxide in the exhaled air is chemically removed in one of the cylinders in the scuba, and can then be reused. This type of scuba allows divers to stay longer underwater. The wonder of any scuba apparatus is that it’s portable, so even though divers must return to the surface before their air supply runs out, they can freely move around without holding their breaths.
Such is cannot be said of free or breath-hold diving, which is exactly as it sounds. The earliest type of diving, it has been used traditionally by ancient civilizations to search for food and accessories, and even to ambush enemy ships. The advantage is that the diver can move freely. The disadvantage, of course, is the limited air supply and therefore limited diving time. A snorkel can be used, but that would require the diver to stay close to the surface.
Surface-air diving provides relatively more air supply for divers than a snorkel would. A long cord from the surface delivers air to divers’ mouths or to devices attached to them. Examples of apparatus used here are diving bells and hard hats.
On the other hand, saturation diving allows divers to stay underwater for even longer periods, sometimes weeks. This was developed by the US Navy in the late 1950s, and is used mainly for scientific or military research. Saturation divers—called so because they become “saturated” with gases like nitrogen—usually work at pressurized facilities. To safely release the nitrogen that was absorbed by the body’s tissues, divers must be “decompressed”; i.e., they must rise to the surface very slowly.
Vessel Diving also involves pressurized facilities. Examples of high-pressure underwater vessels are bathyspheres, bathyscaphes, and submarines. A submarine can function despite great pressures, and is widely used for scientific and military purposes.
Generally, Diving requires skill, willpower, and the proper pieces of Scuba Diving Gear. Once you have all these, you can enjoy exploring the beauty beneath the oceans.
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