Deep diving

Deep diving is underwater diving to a depth beyond the norm accepted by the diving community. In some cases this is a prescribed limit established by an authority, and in others it is associated with a level of certification or training, and it may vary depending on whether the diving is recreational, technical or commercial diving.

Definition

The definition of deep diving varies depending on the context. Even within recreational diving, definitions range from when a dive exceeds 18 metres (60 ft), where decompression stops are needed, to any dive deeper than 30 metres (100 ft), where additional safety rules apply. In technical diving, a depth below about 60 metres (200 ft) where nitrogen narcosis becomes a significant hazard is often considered deep diving.

Equipment

Deep diving can mean something as specific as diving to a depth beyond a certain point, such as 60 feet (18 m) or 130 feet (40 m) in recreational diving or to depths beyond the light zone in scientific diving, or it can mean diving to a depth that is significantly beyond the range typical for recreational diving. Equipment used for deep diving in recreational diving includes a dive computer, buoyancy compensator, weights, fins, dive mask and scuba set, but may also involve a drysuit, dive light, underwater camera, surface marker buoy, and dive flag.

Hazards

The hazards of deep diving are significantly greater than those of shallow diving. They include decompression sickness, nitrogen narcosis, oxygen toxicity, and hypothermia. In addition, visibility can be poor at large depths, and there is less light penetration from the surface. Deep diving requires more equipment, greater physical fitness, and more training than shallow diving.

See also

• Scuba diving
• Technical diving
• Commercial diving
• Underwater diving

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