Modes of underwater diving

Surface-supplied diver with helmet, bailout set and umbilcal cable

There are several modes of diving distinguished by the equipment and procedures used:

• Freediving – Underwater diving without breathing apparatus
• Scuba diving – Swimming underwater breathing gas carried by the diver
• Surface-supplied diving – Underwater diving breathing gas supplied from the surface
• Saturation diving – Diving for periods long enough to bring all tissues into equilibrium with the partial pressures of the inert components of the breathing gas
• Atmospheric pressure diving – Diving where the diver is isolated from the ambient pressure by an articulated pressure resistant diving suit or in a crewed submersible
• Unmanned diving – Diving by mechanisms under the direct or indirect control of remote human operators for observation, data collection or manipulation of the environment using on-board actuator devices

Diving skills and procedures

Divers decompressing in the water at the end of a dive

Divers doing a buddy check

Sidemount diver pushing a cylinder in front

Solo diver surveying dive site. The bailout cylinder can be seen slung at the diver's left side.

Diving procedures – Standardised methods of doing things that are known to work effectively and acceptably safely

• Ascending and descending (diving) – Procedures for safe ascent and descent in underwater diving
  • Ear clearing – An ascent to the surface by a diver in an emergency
  • Emergency ascent – An ascent to the surface by a diver in an emergency
    • Controlled emergency swimming ascent – A technique used by scuba divers to return to the surface in an out-of-gas emergency in shallow water
    • Controlled buoyant lift – A technique used by scuba divers to raise an incapacitated diver to the surface
• Boat diving – Procedures specific to diving from boats
  • Canoe and kayak diving – Recreational diving from a canoe or kayak
• Decompression (diving) – The reduction of ambient pressure on underwater divers after hyperbaric exposure and the elimination of dissolved gases from the diver's tissues
  • Decompression practice – Techniques and procedures for safe decompression of divers
    • Pyle stop – Type of short deep decompression stops in addition to the standard profile
    • Ratio decompression – Rule of thumb for estimating a decompression schedule for a given set of breathing gases
• Dive log – Record of diving history of an underwater diver
• Dive planning – The process of planning an underwater diving operation
• Diver communications – Methods used by underwater divers to communicate
• Diver navigation – Underwater navigation by scuba divers
• Diver rescue – Rescue of a distressed or incapacitated diver
• Diver trim – Balance and orientation skills of an underwater diver
• Drift diving – Scuba diving where the diver is intentionally transported by the water flow
• Finning techniques – Techniques used by divers and surface swimmers using swimfins
  • Back kick (finning) – Finning technique to move backwards
  • Combat sidestroke – Variation of side-stroke swimming used by United States Navy SEALs
  • Dolphin kick – Swimming style
  • Flutter kick – Kicking movement used in both swimming and calisthenics
  • Frog kick – Finning propulsion kick used particularly by cave and wreck divers
  • Helicopter turn – Rotation about a vertical axis by an underwater diver using only fins
  • Scissor kick (finning) – Techniques used by divers and surface swimmers using swimfinsPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
• Scuba skills – The skills required to dive safely using a self-contained underwater breathing apparatus
  • Buddy breathing – Technique for sharing breathing gas from a single mouthpiece
  • Buddy diving – Practice of mutual monitoring and assistance between two divers
    • Buddy check – Pre-dive safety checks carried out by two-diver dive teams
  • Low impact diving – Scuba diving that has minimal environmental effect
  • Penetration diving – Diving under a physical barrier to a direct vertical ascent to the surface
  • Rebreather diving – Underwater diving using self contained breathing gas recycling apparatus
  • Scuba gas management – Logistical aspects of scuba breathing gas.
    • Gas blending for scuba diving – Mixing and filling cylinders with breathing gases for use when scuba diving
    • Rule of thirds (diving) – Rule of thumb for scuba gas management
    • Scuba gas planning – Estimation of breathing gas mixtures and quantities required for a planned dive profile
  • Sidemount diving – Diving using an equipment configuration where the scuba sets are clipped to the sides of the harness
  • Solo diving – Recreational diving without a dive buddy
• Surface-supplied diving skills – Skills and procedures required for the safe operation and use of surface-supplied diving equipment
• Underwater searches – Techniques for finding underwater targets

Underwater diving, by environment

Ice Diving – View from the top

Underwater diving environment – The underwater environment to which a diver may be exposed

• List of diving environments by type – The variety of environments that people may dive in
• Open-water diving – Diving in unrestricted water when the diver has unrestricted vertical access to the surface
• Altitude diving – Underwater diving at altitudes above 300 m
• Cave diving – Underwater diving in water-filled caves
• Deep diving – Underwater diving to a depth beyond the norm accepted by the associated community
• Ice diving – Underwater diving under ice
• Muck diving – Recreational diving on a loose sedimentary bottom
• Night diving – Underwater diving during the hours of darkness
• Recreational dive sites – Specific places that recreational divers go to enjoy the underwater environment or are used for training purposes
• Underwater environment – The aquatic or submarine environment
• Wreck diving – Recreational diving on wrecks

Occupational diving

Underwater welding.

NAUI Nitrox diver certification card

Pearl diver in Japan

Nesconset fire department scuba rescue team on training exercise

Salvaging a ship's propeller

A diver at work on hull maintenance

Sponge diver putting on his diving suit in Tarpon Springs, Florida.

Professional diving, also known as Occupational diving – Underwater diving where divers are paid for their work, or dive as part of their occupation

• Ama – Japanese pearl divers
• Aquarium diving – Occupational diving in large aquariums
• Commercial diving – Professional diving on industrial projects
  • Commercial offshore diving – Professional diving in support of the oil and gas industry
  • Hyperbaric welding – Welding metal at elevated pressure
  • Nondestructive testing – Evaluating the properties of a material, component, or system without causing damage
• Dive leader – Recreational diving certification and role
• Diver training – Processes by which people develop the skills and knowledge to dive safely underwater
  • Diving instructor – Person who trains and assesses underwater divers
  • Diving school – Establishment for training and assessing underwater divers – A venue for training underwater divers
  • Occupational diver training – Processes by which people develop the skills and knowledge to dive safely for diving at work
    • Commercial diver training – Processes by which people develop the skills and knowledge to dive safely for industrial applications
    • Military diver training – Training of underwater divers for service in the armed forces – Processes by which people develop the skills and knowledge to dive effectively for military applications
    • Public safety diver training – Training divers for public safety services – Processes by which people develop the skills and knowledge to dive safely for public safety purposes
    • Scientific diver training – Training divers who will be doing scientific work underwater – Processes by which people develop the skills and knowledge to dive safely for scientific projects
  • Recreational diver training – Processes by which people develop the skills and knowledge to dive safely for recreational purposes
    • Technical diver training – Processes by which people develop the skills and knowledge to dive safely for recreational technical diving
  • Diver certification – Certification as competent to dive to a specified standard
    • List of diver certification organizations – Agencies which issue certification for competence in diving skills
  • Diamond Reef System – System for training divers in buoyancy, trim and maneuvering skills
• Divemaster, also known as Dive guide – Recreational dive leader certification and role
• Diving contractor – The legal persona responsible for professional diving operations for a client – A legal entity responsible for professional diving work
• Haenyeo – Female occupational divers in the Korean province of Jeju
• Hazmat diving – Underwater diving in a known hazardous materials environment
• Media diving – Underwater diving in support of the media industries
• Military diving – Underwater diving in a military context by members of an armed force
  • Defense against swimmer incursions – Methods of protection against incursions by underwater divers and swimmers
  • Army engineer diver – Members of national armies who are trained to undertake reconnaissance, demolition, and salvage tasks underwater
  • Clearance diver – Navy diver specialist with explosives
  • List of military diving units – List of links to articles on notable military diving units
    • Army Ranger Wing – Special operations force of the Irish Defence Forces
    • British commando frogmen – Special Boat Service, whose members are drawn largely from the Royal Marines
    • Canadian Armed Forces Divers – Underwater divers employed by any of the Canadian armed forces
    • Clearance Diving Branch (RAN) – Diving unit of the Royal Australian Navy
    • Comando Raggruppamento Subacquei e Incursori Teseo Tesei – Italian special forces diving unit
    • Commandos Marine – Special operations forces of the French Navy
    • Commandos Marine § Commando Hubert – Special operations forces of the French Navy – Unit with combat swimmers.
    • Decima Flottiglia MAS – Italian naval commando frogman unit of the Fascist era
    • Frogman – Tactical scuba diver
    • GRUMEC, also known as Brazilian commando frogmen – Brazilian Navy special forces diving unit
    • Kommando Spezialkräfte Marine – German postwar commando amphibious warfare force
    • KOPASKA – Indonesian Navy special operations and demolition unit
    • Marine Commandos – Special operations group of the Lebanese Navy
    • Minedykkerkommandoen – Norwegian Navy clearance diver unit
    • Minentaucher – Mine clearance divers of the German Navy
    • PASKAL – Special operations force of the Royal Malaysian Navy
    • Naval Service Diving Section – Diving unit of the Irish Naval Service
    • Naval Special Warfare Command – Special operations force within the Military of Thailand
    • Röjdykare – Clearance divers of the Swedish Navy
    • Russian commando frogmen – Tactical scuba diving unit
    • Shayetet 13 – Special operations unit of the Israeli Navy
    • Special Boat Service – British special forces unit of the Royal Navy
    • Special Service Group – Pakistan Navy special operations force
    • Taifib – Indonesian amphibious reconnaissance unit
    • Underwater Defence – Special operations unit of the Turkish Navy
    • Underwater Demolition Command – Special warfare unit of the Greek Navy
    • Underwater Offence – Special operations Forces of the Turkish Navy
    • United States military divers – Underwater divers employed by the US armed forces, including navy, army, marine corps, air force and coast guard
      • Master diver – Senior diver rating in US Navy
      • Navy diver – US Navy personnel qualified in underwater diving and salvage
      • Explosive ordnance disposal – US Navy personnel who render safe or detonate unexploded ordnance
      • Underwater Demolition Team – US Navy special operations group
      • United States Marine Corps Combatant Diver Course – Military diver training for the US Marines
      • United States Navy SEALs – US Navy special operations force
        • List of United States Navy SEALs – Notable current and former members of the United States Navy SEALs and Underwater Demolition Teams
        • United States Navy SEAL selection and training – Selection and training procedures and criteria
        • National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum – Museum recording the history of US Navy UDT and SEAL teams and their members
  • Underwater warfare – One of the three operational areas of naval warfare
• Nuclear diving – Diving in an environment where there is a risk of exposure to radioactive materials
• Pearl hunting – Collecting pearls from wild molluscs
• Public safety diving – Underwater work done by law enforcement, rescue and search and recovery teams
  • Police diving – A branch of professional diving carried out by police services
    • Special Duties Unit – Hong Kong Police tactical unit
• Salvage diving – Diving work associated with the recovery of vehicles, cargo and structures
• Scientific diving – Use of diving techniques in the pursuit of scientific knowledge
• Ships husbandry diving – Diving related to the maintenance and upkeep of ships
• Sponge diving – Diving to gather natural sponges
• Underwater archaeology – Archaeological techniques practiced at underwater sites
• Underwater demolition – The deliberate destruction or neutralization of man-made or natural underwater obstacles
• Underwater photography – Genre of photography
• Underwater search and recovery – Locating and recovering underwater objects
• Underwater videography – Branch of electronic underwater photography concerned with capturing moving images

Recreational diving

Diver returning from a 600 ft (183 m) technical dive

Two underwater hockey players competing for the puck

Underwater photographer

Divers on the wreck of the Zenobia

Recreational diving – Diving for the purpose of leisure and enjoyment, usually when using scuba equipment

• Technical diving – Extended scope recreational diving
  • Cave diving – Underwater diving in water-filled caves
  • Doing It Right – Technical diving safety philosophy
• Shark tourism – Tourism industry based on viewing sharks in their natural habitat
  • Shark cage diving – Diving inside a protective cage to observe sharks in the wild
    • Shark-proof cage – A metal structure to protect divers and snorkellers from potentially dangerous sharks
    • Shark baiting – Attracting sharks by chumming the water
• Underwater photography – Genre of photography
• Underwater sports – Competitive underwater recreational activities
  • Aquathlon – Competitive underwater wrestling
  • Competitive apnea – Competitive breathhold diving
    • Constant weight apnea – Freediving discipline in which the diver descends and ascends only by swimming with the use of fins
    • Constant weight without fins – Freediving discipline
    • Dynamic apnea – Freediving disciplines where the breath-hold diver swims horizontally under water with or without fins
    • Free immersion apnea – Freediving discipline in which no propulsion equipment is used, but pulling on the rope during descent and ascent is permitted
    • No-limits apnea – Freediving discipline in which the diver descends and ascends using their method of choice
    • Variable weight apnea – Deep freediving using a weighted sled for descent, pulling along the depth rope for ascent
    • Static apnea – Discipline in which the diver holds their breath underwater for as long as possible, and does not need to swim any distance
    • Skandalopetra diving – Freediving using a stone weight at the end of a rope to the surface
  • Finswimming – Competitive watersport using swimfins for propulsion
    • 2016 Finswimming World Championships – International competition in Volos, Greece
    • 2018 Finswimming World Championships – International competition in Belgrade, Serbia
    • Apnea finswimming – Underwater swimming in a swimming pool using mask, monofin and holding one's breath.
    • Finswimming at the 2009 Asian Indoor Games – Competition held in Mỹ Đình National Aquatics Sports Complex, Hanoi, Vietnam
    • Immersion finswimming – Underwater swimming using mask, monofin and underwater breathing apparatus in a swimming pool
  • Spearfishing – Hunting for fish using a spear
  • Sport diving – Underwater sport using recreational open circuit scuba equipment in a swimming pool
  • Underwater football – Underwater team sport using snorkeling equipment and an American football
  • Underwater hockey – Underwater sport of pushing a puck into the opposing goal
  • Underwater ice hockey – Variant of ice hockey played upside-down underneath frozen pools or ponds on breath-hold
  • Underwater orienteering – Underwater compass navigation and speed competition on scuba.
  • Underwater photography – Competitive underwater digital photography on scuba
  • Underwater rugby – Game where two teams try to score a negatively buoyant ball into the opponents’ goal at the bottom of a swimming pool on breath-hold
  • Underwater target shooting – Breathhold underwater sport of target shooting with a speargun in a swimming pool.
• Wreck diving – Recreational diving on wrecks

Diving equipment

Diving equipment – Equipment used to facilitate underwater diving

• Autonomous underwater vehicle – Unmanned underwater vehicle with autonomous guidance system
• Breathing gas – Gas used for human respiration
• Buoyancy control device – Equipment for controlling the buoyancy of a diver
• Decompression equipment – Equipment used by divers to facilitate decompression
• Dive light – Light used underwater by a diver
• Diver propulsion vehicle – Powered device for diver mobility and range extension
• Diving bell – Chamber for transporting divers vertically through the water
  • Dry bell, also known as closed bell – Hyperbaric chamber for transporting diversvertically through the water
  • Wet bell, also known as open bell – Chamber for transporting divers vertically through the waterPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
• Diving mask – Watertight air-filled face cover with view-ports for improving underwater vision
  • Anti-fog – Chemicals that prevent the condensation of water as small droplets on a surface
  • Full face diving mask – Diving mask that covers the mouth as well as the eyes and nosePages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
  • Integrated Diver Display Mask – Diving half-mask with integrated head-up instrument display
• Diving safety equipment – Equipment used to facilitate underwater diving
• Diving suit – Garment or device designed to protect a diver from the underwater environment
  • Atmospheric diving suit – Articulated pressure resistant anthropomorphic housing for an underwater diver
  • Dry suit – Watertight clothing that seals the wearer from cold and hazardous liquids
  • Hot water suit – A wetsuit with a supply of heated water to keep a diver warm
  • Rash guard, also known as rash vest – Stretch garment for protection from abrasion, UV and stings
  • Wetsuit – Garment for thermal insulation from water
  • Standard diving dress – Copper helmet with rubberised canvas diving suit and weighted boots
• Diving weighting system – Ballast carried by underwater divers and diving equipment to counteract excess buoyancy
  • Weight belt – A ballasted waist belt worn by a diver
  • Diving weight – Ballast carried by a diver to counteract buoyancy or adjust trim
• Remotely operated underwater vehicle – A tethered underwater mobile device operated by a remote crew
• Snorkel – Tube for breathing face down at the surface of the water
• Swimfin – Finlike accessories worn on the feet, used for swimming, snorkeling and diving propulsion
  • Monofin – Single blade swimfin attached to both feet
• Towboard – Underwater survey equipment used to tow a diver
• Underwater breathing apparatus – Equipment which provides breathing gas to an underwater diver
  • Scuba set – Self-contained underwater breathing apparatus
    • Diving cylinder – Cylinder to supply breathing gas for divers
    • Diving regulator – Mechanism that controls the pressure of a breathing gas supply for diving
    • Rebreather – Portable apparatus to recycle breathing gas
  • Surface-supplied diving equipment – Equipment used specifically for surface supplied diving
    • Diving helmet – Rigid head enclosure with breathing gas supply worn for underwater diving
    • Diver's umbilical – A hose and cable bundle which supplies breathing gas, communications and other services to a diver
• Atmospheric diving suit (ADS) – Articulated pressure resistant anthropomorphic housing for an underwater diver
• Crewed submersible – Small watercraft able to navigate under water

Diving support equipment

Diving support equipment – Equipment used in the support of an underwater diving operation

• Booster pump – Machine to increase pressure of a fluid
• Cascade filling system – Filling pressurized gas from a series of storage cylinders
• Communications panel, also known as Diver's telephone – Surface control panel for underwater diving voice communications system
• Diver down flag – Flag signal indicating divers are in the water nearby
• Diver's pump – Manually powered surface air supply for divers
• Diving air compressor, also known as Diving compressor – Machine used to compress breathing air for use by underwater divers
• Diving chamber – Hyperbaric pressure vessel for human occupation used in diving operations
  • Hyperbaric stretcher – Portable pressure vessel to transport a person under pressure.
• Diving spread – The topside base for commercial diving operations
  • Air spread – The topside base for surface-supplied air diving operations
  • Saturation spread – The topside base for saturation diving operations
    • Saturation system – Diving decompression system
• Diving support vessel – Ship used as a floating base for professional diving projects
  • HMS Challenger – Royal Navy saturation diving support vessel
  • Liveaboard – Way of using a boat
  • Dive boat – Boat used for the support of scuba diving operations
    • Combat Rubber Raiding Craft – Rubberised fabric tactical inflatable boat used by the US Navy
  • Diving ladder – Ladder to facilitate egress from the water by divers
  • Diving platform (scuba) – Low freeboard platform on a dive boat to give divers easy access to the water
  • Moon pool – Opening in the base of a hull, platform, or chamber giving access to the water below
• Echo sounder, also known as fish finder – Measuring the depth of water by transmitting sound waves into water and timing the return
• Gas panel, also known as Diving gas distribution manifold – Breathing gas distribution panel for surface-supplied diving
• Helium analyzer – Instrument to measure the concentration of helium in a gas mixture
• Helium reclaim system – System for recovering exhaled breathing gas
• Launch and recovery system (LARS) – Equipment used to deploy and recover a diving bell, stage, or ROV
• Marine VHF radio – Radios operating in the very high frequency maritime mobile band
• Nitrox production – Methods of producing nitrox mixtures
  • Membrane gas separation – Technology for splitting specific gases out of mixtures
  • Pressure swing adsorption – Method of gases separation using selective adsorption under pressure
• Proton magnetometer, also known as metal detector – Instrument which measures very small variations in the Earth's magnetic field
• Recreational Dive Planner (RDP) – PADI no-decompression dive table also available as a circular slide rule and electronic calculator
• Remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) – A tethered underwater mobile device operated by a remote crew
• Satellite navigation – Use of satellite signals for geo-spatial positioning
  • Global Positioning System (GPS) – American satellite-based radio navigation service
• Subsurface (software) – Creator and lead developer of the Linux kernel (born 1969)Pages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
• Trongle – Device used on submarines to help swimmers to locate a submerged submarine

Underwater work tools and equipment

Soviet SPP-1 underwater pistol

Airlift dredging

ROV at work in an underwater oil and gas field. The ROV is operating a subsea torque tool (wrench) on a valve on the subsea structure.

Underwater work tools and equipment – Tools and equipment used for underwater work

• Airlift (dredging device) – Dredging device using injected air to move water and entrained load up a pipe
• High-pressure water jetting – The use of very high pressure water for removing contamination and coatings from hard surfaces
• Lifting bag – Airtight bag used for underwater buoyant lifting when filled with air
• Remotely operated underwater vehicle – A tethered underwater mobile device operated by a remote crew
• Snoopy loop – Rubber band made from inner tube
• Tremie – Equipment for underwater concrete placement

Physics of underwater diving

Views through a flat mask, above and below water

Physics of underwater diving – Aspects of physics which affect the underwater diver

• Buoyancy – Upward force that opposes the weight of an object immersed in fluid
  • Archimedes' principle – Buoyancy principle in fluid dynamics
  • Neutral buoyancy – Equilibrium between buoyancy and weight of an immersed object
• Diffusion – Transport of dissolved species from the highest to the lowest concentration region
  • Molecular diffusion – Thermal motion of liquid or gas particles at temperatures above absolute zero
  • Permeation – Penetration of a liquid, gas, or vapor through a solid
• Force – Influence that can change motion of an object
  • Weight – Force on a mass due to gravity
• Ideal gas law – Equation of the state of a hypothetical ideal gas
  • Combined gas law – Combination of Charles', Boyle's and Gay-Lussac's gas laws
  • Amontons' law – Relationship between pressure and temperature of a gas at constant volume
  • Boyle's law – Relationship between pressure and volume in a gas at constant temperature
  • Charles's law – Relationship between volume and temperature of a gas at constant pressure
  • Gay-Lussac's law – Relationship between pressure and temperature of a gas at constant volume
• Pressure – Force distributed over an area
  • Ambient pressure – Pressure of the surrounding medium
  • Atmospheric pressure – Static pressure exerted by the weight of the atmosphere
  • Hydrostatic pressure – The static pressure exerted by the weight of the fluid column above the point
    • Metre sea water – Unit of pressure equal to one tenth of a bar
  • Partial pressure – Pressure of a component gas in a mixture
    • Dalton's law – physical law that the pressure of a mixture of ideal gases is equal to the sum of the partial pressures of its constituentsPages displaying wikidata descriptions as a fallback
    • Oxygen fraction – Volumetric proportion of oxygen to other constituents in a breathing gas
  • Torricellian chamber – Air space in a cave chamber with pressure below atmospheric
• Psychrometric constant – Relation of the partial pressure of water in air to temperature
• Solubility – Capacity of a substance to dissolve in a solvent in a homogeneous way
  • Henry's law – Gas law regarding proportionality of dissolved gas
  • Solution – Homogeneous mixture of a solute and a solvent
  • Supersaturation – State of a solution that contains more solute than can be dissolved at equilibrium
• Surface tension – Tendency of a liquid surface to shrink to reduce surface area
  • Hydrophobe – Molecule or surface that has no attraction to water
  • Surfactant – Substance that lowers the surface tension between a liquid and another material
• Underwater vision – The ability to see objects underwater
  • Snell's law, also known as Law of refraction – Formula for refraction angles
• Work of breathing (WoB) – Energy expended to inhale and exhale a breathing gas

The diving environment

Plunging breaker

Lago Licancabur, site of world's highest ever altitude dive.

Entrance to Peacock Springs Cave System

Underwater diving environment – The underwater environment to which a diver may be exposed

• List of diving environments by type – Variety of environments that people may dive in
• Underwater environment – Aquatic or submarine environment
• Open-water diving – Diving in unrestricted water when the diver has unresricted vertical access to the surface
• Altitude diving – Underwater diving at altitudes above 300 m
• Cave diving – Diving in water-filled caves
• Deep diving – Underwater diving to a depth beyond the norm accepted by the associated community
• Ice diving – Underwater diving under ice
• Muck diving – Recreational diving on a loose sedimentary bottom
• Night diving – Underwater diving during the hours of darkness
• Recreational dive sites – Places that divers go to enjoy the underwater environment
• Wreck diving – Recreational diving on wrecks
• Physical and biological aspects of the diving environment
  • Algal bloom – Spread of planktonic algae in water
  • Breaking wave, also known as Surf – Wave that becomes unstable as a consequence of excessive steepness
  • Ocean current – Directional mass flow of oceanic water generated by external or internal forces
  • Current (stream) – Flow of water in a stream caused by gravityPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
  • Ekman transport – Net transport of surface water perpendicular to wind direction
  • Halocline – Stratification of a body of water due to salinity differences
  • Hazards of the aquatic environment represented by List of diving hazards and precautions#The aquatic environment –
  • Hazards of the specific diving environment represented by List of diving hazards and precautions#The specific diving environment –
  • List of diving hazards and precautions – Hazards associated with underwater diving
  • Longshore current – A current parallel to the shoreline caused by waves approaching at an angle to the shoreline
  • Overfall current – A turbulent area of water caused by a strong current over an underwater ridge, or by currents meeting.
  • Rip current – Water current moving away from shore
  • Stratification – Layering of a body of water due to density variations
  • Surge (wave action) currently represented by Waves and shallow water – the component of wave motion close to and parallel with the bottom
  • Thermocline – Thermal layer in a body of water
  • Tidal race – Fast-moving tidal flow passing through a constriction, forming waves, eddies and strong currents
  • Tide – Rise and fall of the sea level under astronomical gravitational influences
  • Turbidity – Cloudiness of a fluid
  • Undertow (water waves) – Return flow below (nearshore) water waves.
  • Upwelling – Replacement by deep water moving upwards of surface water driven offshore by wind

Physiology of underwater diving

Diagram of the human circulatory system

Decompression profiles based on the Thermodynamic model compared with the US Navy table for the same depth and bottom time

Diagram of the human respiratory system

Human physiology of underwater diving – Influences of the underwater environment on the physiology of human divers

• Circulatory system – Organ system for circulating blood in animals
  • Patent foramen ovale – A heart defect present at birth
  • Blood–air barrier – Membrane separating alveolar air from blood in lung capillaries
  • Blood shift – Blood flow to the extremities redistributed to the head and torso during a breathhold dive
  • Perfusion – Passage of fluid through the circulatory or lymphatic system to an organ or tissue
  • Pulmonary circulation – Part of the circulatory system which carries blood from heart to lungs and back to the heart
  • Systemic circulation – Portion of the cardiovascular system which transports oxygenated blood away from the heart
• Cold shock response – Physiological response to sudden exposure to cold
• Dead space (physiology) – Inhaled air not part of gas exchange
• Diving reflex – The physiological responses to immersion of air-breathing vertebrates
• Metabolism – Set of chemical reactions in organisms
• Physiology of decompression – The physiological basis for decompression theory and practice
  • Decompression theory – Theoretical modelling of decompression physiology
    • Bühlmann decompression algorithm, also known as Buhlmann algorithm – Mathematical model of tissue inert gas uptake and release with pressure change
    • Equivalent air depth – Method of comparing decompression requirements for air and a given nitrox mix
    • Gradient factor in decompression modelling – A way for users to adjust the conservatism of a decompression algorithm in software
    • Haldane's decompression model – Decompression model developed by John Scott Haldane
    • Lipid – Substance of biological origin that is soluble in nonpolar solvents
    • Oxygen window in diving decompression – Physiological effect of oxygen metabolism on the total dissolved gas concentration in venous bloodPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
    • Reduced gradient bubble model – Decompression algorithm
    • Thalmann algorithm – Mathematical model for diver decompression
    • Thermodynamic model of decompression – Early model in which decompression is controlled by volume of gas bubbles forming in tissues
    • Uncontrolled decompression – Unplanned drop in the pressure of a sealed system
    • Varying Permeability Model – Decompression model and algorithm based on bubble physics
• Respiration (physiology) – Exchange of gases between environment and tissues
  • Artificial gills (human) – Hypothetical devices to extract oxygen from water
  • Breathing – Process of moving air in and out of the lungs
  • Carbon dioxide retention – A tendency to retain abnormally high tissue carbon dioxide levels
  • Gas exchange – Process by which gases diffuse through a biological membrane
  • Hypocapnia – State of reduced carbon dioxide in the blood
  • Normocapnia – Normal arterial carbon dioxide levels
  • Respiratory exchange ratio – Ratio between the metabolic production of carbon dioxide and the uptake of oxygen
  • Respiratory quotient – Ratio of carbon dioxide produced by the body to oxygen consumed by the body
  • Respiratory system – Biological system in animals and plants for gas exchange
  • Tissue (biology) – Group of cells having similar appearance and performing the same function
• Underwater vision – The ability to see objects underwater

Diving medicine

Diving medicine – Diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disorders caused by underwater diving

• Fitness to dive, also known as Medical fitness to dive – Medical fitness of a person to function safely underwater under pressure
• Diving medical examiner – A medical practitioner registered to assess medical fitness to dive
• Diving medical practitioner – Diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disorders caused by underwater diving
• Diving medical technician – Person trained in advanced first aid for divers
• Hyperbaric medicine – Medical treatment at raised ambient pressure

Diving disorders and treatment

Mask squeeze - a mild form of barotrauma

Staged image showing how victims may black out quietly underwater, often going unnoticed.

Diving disorders – Physiological disorders resulting from underwater diving

• List of signs and symptoms of diving disorders – Evidence of physiological disorders resulting from underwater diving
• Drowning – Respiratory impairment resulting from being in or underneath a liquid
  • Laryngospasm – Involuntary contraction of the vocal folds restricting inhalation
• Dysbarism – Medical conditions resulting from changes in ambient pressure
  • Barotrauma – Injury caused by pressure
    • Arterial gas embolism – Vascular blockage by gas bubbles
    • Pulmonary barotrauma – Lung over-pressure and squeeze injuries
  • Compression arthralgia – Joint pain caused by fast compression to high ambient pressure
  • Decompression illness – Disorders arising from ambient pressure reduction
    • Decompression sickness – Disorder caused by dissolved gases forming bubbles in tissues
      • Dysbaric osteonecrosis – Ischemic bone disease caused by decompression bubbles
        • Avascular necrosis – Death of bone tissue due to interruption of the blood supply
      • Inner ear decompression sickness – Medical condition caused by inert gas bubbles forming out of solution
      • Isobaric counterdiffusion – Gaseous diffusion through body tissue at constant pressure
      • Taravana – Decompression sickness after breath-hold diving
      • Therapeutic recompression – Recompression to reduce symptoms of decompression illness
        • Hyperbaric treatment schedules – Planned hyperbaric exposure using a specified breathing gas as medical treatment
        • In-water recompression – In-water treatment for decompression sickness
• Hypercapnia – Abnormally high tissue carbon dioxide levels
• Hypothermia – Human body core temperature below 35.0 °C (95.0 °F)
• Hypoxia (medical) – Medical condition of lack of oxygen in the tissuesPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
  • Freediving blackout – Loss of consciousness caused by cerebral hypoxia towards the end of a breath-hold dive
  • Latent hypoxia – Lung gas and blood oxygen concentration sufficient to support consciousness only at depth
• Motion sickness, also known as seasickness – Nausea caused by motion or perceived motion
• Oxygen therapy – Use of oxygen as a medical treatment
  • Built-in breathing system (BIBS) – System for supply of breathing gas on demand within a confined space
• Surfer's ear – Common name for an abnormal bone growth within the external ear canal
• Toxicity – Degree of harmfulness of substances
  • Carbon monoxide poisoning – Toxic effects of carbon monoxide
  • Nitrogen narcosis – Reversible narcotic effects of respiratory nitrogen at elevated partial pressures
    • Equivalent narcotic depth – Method for comparing the narcotic effects of a mixed diving gas with air
  • Oxygen toxicity – Toxic effects of breathing oxygen at high partial pressures
    • Maximum operating depth – Depth below which the partial pressure of oxygen (pO2) of the gas mix exceeds an acceptable limit
  • High-pressure nervous syndrome – Reversible disorder caused by breathing helium based gas below about 150 m
  • Hydrogen narcosis – Psychotropic state induced by breathing hydrogen at high partial pressures
  • Hydrogen sulfide – Poisonous, corrosive and flammable gas
• Vertigo – Type of dizziness where a person has the sensation of moving or surrounding objects moving
  • Alternobaric vertigo – Dizziness resulting from unequal pressures in the middle ears

Diving safety

Diving safety – Risk management of underwater diving activities

• Checklist – Aide-memoire to ensure consistency and completeness in carrying out a task
• Code of practice (CoP) – Set of written rules which specifies how people working in a particular occupation should behave
• Dive team – A group of people working together to enhance dive safety and achieve a task
  • Professional diving – Underwater diving where divers are paid for their work
  • Diving supervisor – Professional diving team leader responsible for safety
  • Stand-by diver – A member of a dive team who is ready to assist or rescue the working diver
  • Bellman (diving) – The member of a dive team who acts as stand-by diver and tender from the diving bell
  • Diver's attendant – Assistant for a diver
  • Life support technician – A member of a saturation diving team who operates the surface habitat
  • Chamber operator – A person who operates a diving chamber
  • Diving systems technician – A competent person who maintains and repairs diving life-support equipment
• Divemaster – Recreational dive leader certification and role
• Diving hazards – Agents and situations that pose a threat to the underwater diver
  • Silt out – Reduction of underwater visibility by disturbing silt deposits
  • Task loading – Relationship between operator capacity and the accumulated activities that must be done
• Diver rescue – Rescue of a distressed or incapacitated diver
  • Rescue Diver – Recreational scuba certification emphasising emergency response and diver rescue
• Doing It Right (scuba diving) (DIR) – Technical diving safety philosophy
• Human factors in diving safety – The influence of physical, cognitive and behavioral characteristics of divers on safety
• Hazardous Materials Identification System – Numerical hazard rating using colour coded labels
• Occupational safety and health, also known as Occupational health and safety – Field concerned with the safety, health and welfare of people at work
  • Safety culture – Attitude, beliefs, perceptions and values that employees share in relation to risks in the workplace
• Operations manual – Authoritative document of how things should be done in an organisation
  • Emergency response plan – Dealing with all humanitarian aspects of emergenciesPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
  • Evacuation plan – Removal of personnel from a high risk area or a developing incident to a safer place
  • Standard operating procedure (SOP) – Set of detailed instructions to assist in workplace safety
• Risk management – Identification, evaluation and control of risks
  • Hazard identification and risk assessment (HIRA)
    • Hazard analysis (HAZID) – The identification of present hazards as the first step in a process to assess risk
    • Job safety analysis (JSA) – Procedure to integrate safety practices into a particular task
    • Risk assessment – Estimation of risk associated with exposure to a given set of hazards
  • Risk control – Process in which identified risks are reduced or mitigated
    • Hierarchy of hazard controls – System used in industry to eliminate or minimize exposure to hazards
  • Incident pit – Conceptual model for explaining incident development and recovery
  • Lockout–tagout (LOTO) – Safe isolation of dangerous equipment during maintenance or testing
  • Permit To Work – Work safety management systemPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
  • Redundancy – Duplication of critical components to increase reliability of a system
  • Safety data sheet, also known as Material safety data sheet – Sheet listing work-related hazards
• Scuba diving fatalities – Deaths occurring while scuba diving or as a consequence of scuba diving
• Single point of failure – A part whose failure will disrupt the entire system
• Water safety – Human safety in the vicinity of bodies of water

Notable diving incidents rescues and fatalities

The decompression chamber at the moment the Byford Dolphin accident occurred. D1–D4 are divers; T1 and T2 are dive tenders.

• Early diving incidents
  • John Day (carpenter) – First recorded death in a diving chamber
  • Charles Spalding – Scottish confectioner and amateur diving bell designer
  • Ebenezer Watson – nephew of Charles Spalding and died in the same accident
• Freediving incidents
  • Loïc Leferme – French freediving record breaker
  • Audrey Mestre – French world record-setting freediver
  • Nicholas Mevoli – American freediver who died while attempting to set a record (1981–2013)
  • Natalia Molchanova – Russian multiple world record holding freediver (1962–2015)
• Professional diving incidents
  • Johnson Sea Link accident – Manned submersible incident in which two divers died
  • Offshore diving incidents
    • Byford Dolphin#Diving bell accident – Semi-submersible offshore drilling rig
    • Drill Master diving accident – Fatal diving bell accident off Norway in 1974
    • Star Canopus diving accident – Fatal offshore diving bell accident in 1978
    • Venture One diving accident – Saturation diving fatality in the North Sea in 1977
    • Waage Drill II diving accident – Fatal saturation diving accident in the North Sea in 1975
    • Wildrake diving accident – Fatal offshore diving accident in Scotland, 1979
  • Rescues involving diving
    • Tham Luang cave rescue – 2018 international rescue in Thailand
    • Harrison Odjegba Okene – Diver who remains at depth underwater for longer than 24 hoursPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
  • Professional diving fatalities
    • Roger Baldwin (diver) represented by Waage Drill II diving accident – Fatal saturation diving accident in the North Sea in 1975
    • John Bennett (diver) – British technical diver and former record holder lost in commercial diving incident
    • Victor F. Guiel Jr. represented by Wildrake diving accident – Fatal offshore diving accident in Scotland, 1979
    • Craig M. Hoffman represented by Venture One diving accident – Saturation diving fatality in the North Sea in 1977
    • Peter Henry Michael Holmes represented by Waage Drill II diving accident – Fatal saturation diving accident in the North Sea in 1975
    • Edwin Clayton Link represented by Johnson Sea Link accident – Manned submersible incident in which two divers died
    • Gerard Anthony Prangley represented by Star Canopus diving accident – Fatal offshore diving bell accident in 1978
    • Pier Skipness represented by Drill Master diving accident – Fatal diving bell accident off Norway in 1974
    • Robert John Smyth represented by Drill Master diving accident – Fatal diving bell accident off Norway in 1974
    • Albert D. Stover represented by Johnson Sea Link accident – Manned submersible incident in which two divers died
    • Richard A. Walker represented by Wildrake diving accident – Fatal offshore diving accident in Scotland, 1979
    • Lothar Michael Ward represented by Star Canopus diving accident – Fatal offshore diving bell accident in 1978
    • Joachim Wendler – German aquanaut (1939–1975)
    • Death of Bradley Westell – Fatal diving accident in the North Sea in 1995
    • Arne Zetterström – Swedish diver and researcher (1917–1945)
• Scuba diving fatalities – Deaths occurring while scuba diving or as a consequence of scuba diving
  • Ricardo Armbruster – Spanish ecologist, adventurer and entrepreneur
  • Allan Bridge – American conceptual artist (1945–1995)
  • David Bright (diver) – Wreck diver
  • Berry L. Cannon – American aquanaut who died in a diving incident
  • Cotton Coulson – Photographer known for his work for National Geographic magazine
  • Cláudio Coutinho – Brazilian football manager and coach
  • E. Yale Dawson – American botanist and taxonomist
  • Deon Dreyer – South African diver
  • Milan Dufek – Czech singer, composer and musician
  • Sheck Exley – American cave and deep diving pioneer and record breaker
  • Maurice Fargues – French navy diver and first scuba fatality using aqualung for a depth record attempt
  • Guy Garman – Scuba diver who died in a depth record attempt
  • Steve Irwin – Australian zookeeper, conservationist and television personality (1962–2006)
  • Jim Jones (American football, born 1935) – American gridiron football player (1935–1982)
  • Henry Way Kendall – American particle physicist who won the Nobel Prize in Physics
  • Artur Kozłowski (speleologist) – Polish cave diver (1977–2011)
  • Chris and Chrissy Rouse, represented by The Last Dive – Non-fiction book by Bernie Chowdhury about a double wreck diving fatality
  • Kirsty MacColl – English singer and songwriter (1959–2000)
  • Agnes Milowka – Australian cave diver
  • François de Roubaix – French film score composer
  • Dave Shaw (diver) – Australian technical diver and former record holder killed in a diving incidentPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
  • Wesley C. Skiles – American cave diver and cinematographer
  • Dewey Smith – American aquanaut. Died in diving accident.
  • Rob Stewart (filmmaker) – Canadian photographer, filmmaker and conservationist
  • Esbjörn Svensson – Swedish jazz pianist
  • Josef Velek – Czech journalist, author and environmentalist

Legal aspects of diving

Legal aspects of diving – how underwater diving and divers are affected by law

• Civil liability in recreational diving – Legal duty of care, negligence and liability in recreational diving
• Diving regulations – Stipulations of the delegated legislation regarding the practice of underwater diving – Legislation regulating diving activity, usually a branch of occupational health and safety.
• Duty of care – Legal standard of care in activity
• Investigation of diving accidents – Forensic investigation of underwater diving accidents
• List of legislation regulating underwater diving – List of national and state legislation regulating underwater diving

Frogman operations

Italian Maiale manned torpedo "Siluro San Bartolomeo" displayed at the Royal Navy Submarine Museum, Gosport, UK.

• 1982 invasion of the Falkland Islands – Argentine invasion of the Falklands
• Exercise Paddington Diamond – Joint Bolivian-British-Swiss scuba diving expedition to Lake Titicaca
• Raid on Algiers – Italian frogman raid on Allied ships in Algiers harbour in 1942
• Defense against swimmer incursions – Methods of protection from incursions by divers and swimmers
• Italian auxiliary ship Olterra – Undercover Italian auxiliary ship from World War II
• Operation Algeciras – Argentine plan to sabotage a British warship in Gibraltar
• Operation Thunderhead – American amphibious mission during the Vietnam War
• Raid on Alexandria (1941) – Italian frogman raid on British warships
• Sinking of the Rainbow Warrior – 1985 covert attack by French foreign intelligence service on a Greenpeace ship
• USS Westchester County (LST-1167) – US Navy tank landing ship built in 1952Pages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets

Notable underwater salvage operations

Salvage of Royal George

• HMS Royal George (1756)#Salvage attempts – Early salvage operation using bells and surface supplied divers
• SS Egypt#Salvage – Salvage of gold bullion from wreck using an armoured observation bell
• Kursk submarine disaster#Salvage operation – Raising the wreck of a Russian nuclear submarine
• USS Squalus represented by USS Sailfish (SS-192)#Sinking of Squalus and recommissioning as Sailfish – The successful rescue of the crew and later raising of the sunken vessel.

Diver training

• Diver training – Processes by which people develop the skills and knowledge to dive safely underwater
• Recreational diver certification represented by Diver certification – Certification as competent to dive to a specified standard
  • Advanced Open Water Diver – Recreational scuba diving certification slightly above minimum entry level
  • Autonomous diver – International minimum standard for entry level recreational scuba diver certification
  • CMAS* scuba diver – Entry level recreational diving certification from CMAS
  • Divemaster – Recreational dive leader certification and role
  • Diving instructor – Person who trains and assesses underwater divers
  • Open Water Diver – Entry-level autonomous diver certification for recreational scuba diving
  • Master Instructor – Person who trains and assesses underwater divers
  • Master Scuba Diver – The highest non-leadership recreational scuba diver certification issued by some agencies
  • Rescue Diver – Recreational scuba certification emphasising emergency response and diver rescue
  • Supervised diver – Minimum requirements for a recreational diver to dive in open water under direct supervision
  • Introductory diving – Non-certification scuba diving experience
  • Universal Referral Program – System to complete recreational scuba training with another instructor

Diver certification organisations

List of diver certification organizations – Agencies which issue certification for competence in diving skills

• Occupational diver certification authorities
  • Australian Diver Accreditation Scheme (ADAS) – Australian based international occupational diver accreditation organisation
  • Divers Institute of Technology – Private, commercial educational institution for the training of commercial divers
  • Emergency Response Diving International (ERDI) – American organisation for training and certification of emergency response divers
  • Health and Safety Executive (HSE) – United Kingdom government agency
  • South African Department of Employment and Labour – Department of the South African government responsible for matters related to employment
• Recreational diver certification agencies
  • Freediver certification agencies
    • AIDA International (AIDA) – Worldwide rule- and record-keeping body for competitive breath-hold events
    • Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques (CMAS) – International organisation for underwater activities
    • Performance Freediving International (PI) – Freediver training agency
    • Scuba Schools International (SSI) – Recreational scuba and freediving training and certification agency
  • Recreational scuba certification agencies
    • American Nitrox Divers International (ANDI) – Recreational diver training and certification agency
    • CEDIP members
      • Association nationale des moniteurs de plongée (ANMP) – French recreational diver training and certification agency
    • British Sub-Aqua Club (BSAC) – Recreational diving club, training and certification agency based in the UK
      • Comhairle Fo-Thuinn (CFT) – Governing body for recreational diving and underwater hockey in Ireland
      • Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques (CMAS) – International organisation for underwater activities
      • CMAS Europe – Non-profit branch of the world underwater federation representing European affiliates – the branch of the world underwater federation representing European affiliates
      • Fédération Française d'Études et de Sports Sous-Marins (FFESSM) – French diver training and certification agency
      • Federazione Italiana Attività Subacquee (FIAS) – Italian non-profit recreational diver training organisation affiliated to CMAS
      • Federación Española de Actividades Subacuáticas (FEDAS) – Spanish national federation for underwater activities, affiliated to CMAS
      • Israeli Diving Federation (TIDF) – Israeli recreational diver training and certification agency
      • Nederlandse Onderwatersport Bond (NOB) – Dutch governing body for underwater sports
      • Sub-Aqua Association (SAA) – British recreational diver training and certification organisation
      • Nederlandse Onderwatersport Bond (NOB) – Dutch governing body for underwater sports
      • Scuba Educators International (SEI) – Recreational diver training and certification agency
      • Türkiye Sualtı Sporları Federasyonu (TSSF) – Turkish national governing body for underwater sport and lifesaving
      • European Underwater Federation certification
      • Israeli Diving Federation (TIDF) – Israeli recreational diver training and certification agency
      • National Academy of Scuba Educators (NASE) – Recreational scuba training and certification agency
      • Scuba Schools International (SSI) – Recreational scuba and freediving training and certification agency
    • Global Underwater Explorers (GUE) – Recreational/technical scuba training and certification agency
    • International Association for Handicapped Divers (IAHD) – Non-profit organisation based in the Netherlands
    • International Association of Nitrox and Technical Divers (IANTD) – Recreational and technical scuba training and certification agency
    • National Association for Cave Diving (NACD) – American non-profit organization for improving cave diving safety
    • Scottish Sub Aqua Club (ScotSAC) – Scottish recreational diver training and certification agency
    • United Diving Instructors (UDI) – Recreational diver training and certification agency
    • Unified Team Diving (UTD) – a recreational diver training and certification agency
    • WRSTC and RSTC members
      • American Canadian Underwater Certifications (ACUC) – Recreational diver training and certification agency
      • International Diving Educators Association (IDEA) – Recreational scuba training and certification agency
      • National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI) – Non-profit training and certification agency association of scuba instructors
      • Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) – Recreational diver training and certification agency
      • Professional Diving Instructors Corporation (PDIC) – Recreational diver training and certification agency
      • Professional Technical and Recreational Diving – Diver certification agency}}
      • Rebreather Association of International Divers (RAID) – Recreational diver training and certification agency
      • Scuba Diving International (SDI) – Recreational diver training and certification agency
      • Scuba Schools International (SSI) – Recreational scuba and freediving training and certification agency
    • YMCA SCUBA Program – Defunct recreational diver training and certification agency.
  • Technical diver certification agencies
    • Cave diving certification agencies
      • Cave Divers Association of Australia (CDAA) – Association to represent cave divers and administrate and support cave diving in Australia
      • Cave Diving Group (CDG) – UK based cave diver training and certification agency
      • National Association for Cave Diving (NACD) – American non-profit organization for improving cave diving safety
    • American Nitrox Divers International (ANDI) – Recreational diver training and certification agency
    • British Sub-Aqua Club (BSAC) – Recreational diving club, training and certification agency based in the UK
    • Diving Science and Technology (DSAT) – PADI affiliate and developer of recreational decompression planning tools
    • Federazione Italiana Attività Subacquee (FIAS) – Italian non-profit recreational diver training organisation affiliated to CMAS
    • Global Underwater Explorers (GUE) – Recreational/technical scuba training and certification agency
    • International Association of Nitrox and Technical Divers (IANTD) – Recreational and technical scuba training and certification agency
    • National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI) – Non-profit training and certification agency association of scuba instructors
    • Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) – Recreational diver training and certification agency
    • Professional Diving Instructors Corporation (PDIC) – Recreational diver training and certification agency
    • Professional Technical and Recreational Diving – Diver certification agency
      • Rebreather Association of International Divers (RAID) – Recreational diver training and certification agency
    • Technical Diving International (TDI) – Technical diver training and certification agency
    • Trimix Scuba Association (TSA) – Recreational technical scuba training and certification agency
    • Technical Extended Range (TXR) – Recreational scuba and freediving training and certification agency
    • Unified Team Diving (UTD) – A recreational and technical diver training and certification agency
• Scientific diver certification authorities
  • American Academy of Underwater Sciences (AAUS) – American diving standards organisation
  • CMAS Scientific Committee – International organisation for underwater activities
  • South African Department of Employment and Labour – Department of the South African government responsible for matters related to employment

Organisations setting international standards and codes of practice for diving and diver training

• Association of Diving Contractors International (ADCI) – Non-profit organization for promoting standards and knowledge for commercial diving
• European Underwater Federation (EUF) – Umbrella organisation representing scuba diver training organisations in Europe
• International Diving Regulators and Certifiers Forum (IDRCF) – International forum of professional diver accreditation organisations
• International Diving Schools Association (IDSA) – Organisation to develop common standards for commercial diver training
• International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) – International trade association for the marine contracting industry
• International Organization for Standardization (ISO) – International standards development organization
• Rebreather Training Council (RTC)
• World Recreational Scuba Training Council (WRSTC) – Scuba diving standards body
• Scientific diving standards organizations
  • American Academy of Underwater Sciences (AAUS) – American diving standards organisation
  • European Scientific Diving Panel – A panel of the European Network of Marine Research Institutes and Stations

Commercial diving schools

• Divers Academy International – Technical educational institution in New Jersey that offers training in commercial diving

Diver membership organisations

Diver membership organisations

• Freediver federations
  • AIDA International (AIDA) – Worldwide rule- and record-keeping body for competitive breath-hold events
  • AIDA Hellas – National representative of AIDA International in Greece
  • British Freediving Association (BFA) – British affiliate to AIDA International
  • Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques (CMAS) – International organisation for underwater activities
• Recreational and technical scuba clubs and associations
  • British Sub-Aqua Club (BSAC) – Recreational diving club, training and certification agency based in the UK
  • Cave Divers Association of Australia (CDAA) – Association to represent cave divers and administrate and support cave diving in Australia
  • Cave Diving Group (CDG) – UK based cave diver training and certification agency
  • International Association for Handicapped Divers (IAHD) – Non-profit organisation based in the Netherlands
  • National Association for Cave Diving (NACD) – American non-profit organization for improving cave diving safety
  • Woodville Karst Plain Project (WKPP) – Project and organization to map the underwater cave systems of the Woodville Karst Plain
  • Military services recreational diving organisations
    • Naval Air Command Sub Aqua Club – British organization within the Royal Navy
• Scientific, archaeological and historical diving organisations
  • Historical Diving Society
  • Nautical Archaeology Society (NAS) – British organisation to further research in nautical archaeology for the public benefit
  • Save Ontario Shipwrecks (SOS) – A provincial heritage NGO in Ontario, Canada
  • Sea Research Society – American nonprofit for marine research
• National underwater-sports federations
  • Australian Underwater Federation (AUF) – Governing body for underwater sports in Australia
  • British Octopush Association (BOA) – National body for underwater hockey in the United Kingdom
  • British Underwater Sports Association (BUSA) – British affiliate to the world underwater federation sports committee.
  • Comhairle Fo-Thuinn (CFT) – Governing body for recreational diving and underwater hockey in Ireland
  • Federación Española de Actividades Subacuáticas (FEDAS) – Spanish national federation for underwater activities, affiliated to CMAS
  • Fédération Française d'Études et de Sports Sous-Marins (FFESSM) – French diver training and certification agency
  • South African Underwater Sports Federation (SAUSF) – Official World Underwater Federation representative body in the Republic of South Africa
  • Türkiye Sualtı Sporları Federasyonu (TSSF) – Turkish national governing body for underwater sport and lifesaving
  • Underwater Society of America (USOA) – American national representative organization for underwater sport.
• International underwater-sports federations
  • AIDA International (AIDA) – Worldwide rule- and record-keeping body for competitive breath-hold events
  • Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques (CMAS) – International organisation for underwater activities

Diver nature conservation organisations

• Artificial Reef Society of British Columbia (ARSBC) – Canadian non-profit to create artificial reefs for habitat enhancement and recreation
• Green Fins – Organisation in South East Asia for preservation of coral reefs by improving diver behavior
• National Speleological Society – Cave Diving Section (NSS-CDS) – Organization for exploration, conservation, and study of caves in the United States

Diving industry trade associations

• Diving Equipment and Marketing Association (DEMA)

Underwater environmental research organisations

• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) – United States government scientific agency
• Reef Life Survey (RLS) – Marine life monitoring programme based in Hobart, Tasmania
• South African Environmental Observation Network (SAEON) – A network to perform long-term ecological research in South Africa and surrounding waters

Diving medical research organisations

• Aerospace Medical Association – Professional organization in aviation, space, hyperbaric and environmental medicine
• Divers Alert Network (DAN) – International group of not-for-profit organizations for improving diving safety
• Diving Diseases Research Centre (DDRC) – British hyperbaric medical organisationPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
• Diving Medical Advisory Council (DMAC) – Independent organisation of diving medical specialists from Northern Europe
• European Diving Technology Committee (EDTC) – International organisation for improving professional diver safety
• European Underwater and Baromedical Society (EUBS) – Source of information for diving and hyperbaric medicine
• National Board of Diving and Hyperbaric Medical Technology – Non-profit organization for education and certification in diving and hyperbaric medicine
• Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory – U.S. Navy research unit for submarine and diving medicine
• Royal Australian Navy School of Underwater Medicine – Unit based in Sydney, Australia.
• Rubicon Foundation – Non-profit organization for promoting research and information access for underwater diving
• South Pacific Underwater Medicine Society (SPUMS) – Publisher for diving and hyperbaric medicine and physiology
• Southern African Underwater and Hyperbaric Medical Association (SAUHMA) – Special interest group of the Council of the South African Medical Association
• Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS) – US based organisation for research and education in hyperbaric physiology and medicine.
• United States Navy Experimental Diving Unit (NEDU) – The primary source of diving and hyperbaric operational guidance for the US Navy

Books and manuals

• The Darkness Beckons – History of UK cave diving by Martyn Farr
• Goldfinder – Autobiography of British diver and treasure hunter Keith Jessop
• The Last Dive – Non-fiction book by Bernie Chowdhury about a double wreck diving fatality
• Shadow Divers – Book by Robert Kurson recounting the discovery of a World War II German U-boat wreck
• The Silent World: A Story of Undersea Discovery and Adventure – Book by Jacques-Yves Cousteau and Frédéric Dumas
• Basic Cave Diving: A Blueprint for Survival – Book on cave diving safety by Sheck Exley
• Exploration and Mixed Gas Diving Encyclopedia
• Deep diving: an advanced guide to physiology, procedures and systems
• Diving manual A document providing extensive general information on the equipment, procedures and theoretical basis of underwater diving.
  • NOAA Diving Manual – Training and operations manual for scientific diving Scientific diving manual published by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration
  • Professional Diver's Handbook John Bevan Ed. A manual of offshore diving
  • U.S. Navy Diving Manual – Training and operations handbook
• Diving Medicine for Scuba Divers
• Bennett and Elliott's physiology and medicine of diving
• The Underwater Handbook: A Guide to Physiology and Performance for the Engineer

Legislation

• Diving at Work Regulations 1997

Codes of practice

(National or international codes of practice for diving)

• Code of practice – Set of written rules which specifies how people working in a particular occupation should behave
• IMCA Code of Practice for Offshore Diving A voluntary code of industry best practice followed by members of the International Marine Contractors Association.
• Code of Practice for Scientific Diving: Principles for the Safe Practice of Scientific Diving in Different Environments

Standards

(National or international standards relating to diving equipment or practices)

Breathing apparatus

• EN 14143-2003 Respiratory equipment - Self-contained re-breathing diving apparatus
• BS EN 1802:2002 Transportable gas cylinders. Periodic inspection and testing of seamless aluminium alloy gas cylinders
• BS EN 1968:2002 Transportable gas cylinders. Periodic inspection and testing of seamless steel gas cylinders

Swim fins

Swim fin sole showing compliance with German standard DIN 7876:1980

• MIL-S-82258:1965 Military specification. Swim fins, rubber.
• GOST 22469:1977 Ласты резиновые для плавания. Общие технические условия. Swimming rubber flippers. General specifications.
• DIN 7876:1980 Tauchzubehör. Schwimmflossen. Maße, Anforderungen und Prüfung. Diving accessories for skin divers. Flippers. Dimensions, requirements and testing.
• BN-82/8444-17.02 Gumowy sprzęt pływacki - Płetwy pływackie (Rubber swimming equipment - Swimming fins).
• MS 974:1985 Specification for rubber swimming fins.
• ÖNORM S 4224:1988 Tauch-Zubehör; Schwimmflossen; Abmessungen, sicherheitstechnische Anforderungen, Prüfung, Normkennzeichnung. Diving accessories; fins; dimensions, safety requirements, testing, marking of conformity.
• MS 974:2002 Specification for rubber swimming fins. First revision.
• EN 16804:2015 Diving equipment. Diving open heel fins. Requirements and test methods.

GOST 20568:1975 compliant Russian and Ukrainian diving masks

Diving masks

A range of 1970s snorkels made to British Standard BS 4532:1969

• BS 4532:1969 Specification for snorkels and face masks. Amended 1977.
• GOST 20568:1975 Маски резиновые для плавания под водой. Общие технические условие. Rubber masks for submarine swimming. General specifications.
• DIN 7877:1980 Tauch-Zubehör. Tauchbrillen. Sicherheitstechnische Anforderungen und Prüfung. Diving accessories for skin divers. Diver's masks. Requirements and testing.
• BN-82/8444-17.01 Gumowy sprzęt pływacki - Maski pływackie (Rubber swimming equipment - Swimming masks).
• ANSI Z87.11:1985 Underwater Safety. Recreational Skin and Scuba Diving. Lenses for Masks.
• ÖNORM S 4225 Tauch-Zubehör; Tauchmasken (Tauchbrillen); Sicherheitstechnische Anforderungen, Prüfung, Normkennzeichnung. Diving accessories; divers’ masks; safety requirements, testing, marking of conformity.
• CNS 12497:1989 潛水鏡. Diving mask.
• CNS 12498:1989 潛水鏡檢驗法. Method of test for diving mask.
• EN 16805:2015 Diving equipment. Diving mask. Requirements and test methods.

Snorkels

• BS 4532:1969 Specification for snorkels and face masks. Amended 1977.
• DIN 7878:1980 Tauch-Zubehör; Schnorchel; Maße, Anforderungen, Prüfung. Diving accessories for skin divers. Snorkel. Technical requirements of safety, testing.
• ÖNORM S 4223:1988 Tauch-Zubehör; Schnorchel; Abmessungen, sicherheitstechnische Anforderungen, Prüfung, Normkennzeichnung. Diving accessories; snorkels; dimensions, safety requirements, testing, marking of conformity.
• DIN 7878:1991 Tauch-Zubehör; Schnorchel; Sicherheitstechnische Anforderungen und Prüfung. Diving accessories for skin divers. Snorkel. Safety requirements and testing.
• EN 1972:1997 Diving accessories. Snorkels. Safety requirements.
• EN 1972:2015 Diving equipment. Snorkels. Requirements and test methods.

Buoyancy compensators

• EN 1809:1998 Diving accessories. Buoyancy compensators. Functional and safety requirements, test methods.
• EN 1809:2014+A1:2016 Diving equipment. Buoyancy compensators. Functional and safety requirements, test methods.

Wet suits

• CNS 11251:1985 濕式潛水衣. Diving Wet Suit.
• EN 14225-1:2005 Diving suits. Wet suits. Requirements and test methods.
• EN 14225-1:2017 Diving suits. Wet suits. Requirements and test methods.

Dry suits

• EN 14225-2:2002 Diving suits. Dry suits. Requirements and test methods.
• EN 14225-2:2017 Diving suits. Dry suits. Requirements and test methods.

Depth gauges

• EN 13319:2000 Diving accessories. Depth gauges and combined depth and time measuring devices. Functional and safety requirements, test methods.

Diver training

• ISO 24801 Recreational diving services – Requirements for the training of recreational scuba divers
• ISO 21417 Recreational diving services – Requirements for training on environmental awareness for recreational divers

Recreational diving practices

• ISO 21416 Recreational diving services – Requirements and guidance on environmentally sustainable practices in recreational diving

Journals and magazines

• AquaCorps Magazine on technical diving, founded and edited by Michael Menduno
• Alert Diver Quarterly magazine of DAN om diving safety and recreational diving matters
• South Pacific Underwater Medical Society Journal
• Journal of Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine

Repositories

• Rubicon Research Repository – Online database of environmental reports

Recreational dive site guides

Notable dive site guides with Wikipedia article.

• Index of recreational dive sites – Alphabetical listing of articles on porular places for recreational diving

Authors of publications about diving

Bob Halstead

Authors of general non-fiction works on diving topics who are the subjects of Wikipedia articles.

• Michael C. Barnette – American underwater diver, author and founder of the Association of Underwater Explorers
• Victor Berge – Swedish diving pioneer and author
• Philippe Diolé – French author and undersea explorer
• Gary Gentile – American author and pioneering technical diver
• Bob Halstead – Underwater photographer, author, journalist and commentator on the recreational diving industry.
• Jarrod Jablonski – Pioneer American cave diver, author and previous cave diving record holder
• Trevor Jackson (diver) – Australian technical diver and author
• Richie Kohler – American technical diver and shipwreck historian
• Steve Lewis (diver) – Technical scuba diver and author
• John Mattera – American wreck diver and author
• Tom Mount – Pioneering technical and cave diver (1939–2022)

Documentaries

Documentary movies focused on underwater diving.

• World Without Sun – 1964 film by Jacques Cousteau
• Voyage to the Edge of the World – 1976 French nature documentary

Pioneers of diving

Jacques Cousteau

• James F. Cahill – American scuba diving pioneer
• Alphonse and Théodore Carmagnolle – French inventors of the first anthropomorphic armoured diving suit
• Charles Condert – Inventor of an unsuccessful early scuba system
• Jacques Cousteau – Inventor of scuba-diving apparatus and film-maker
• Charles Anthony Deane – Pioneering diving engineer and inventor of a surface supplied diving helmet
• John Deane – Joint inventor of the diving helmet
• Louis de Corlieu – French naval officer and inventor of the swimfin
• Guglielmo de Lorena – Italian inventor of a diving bell used for archaeological work on the Roman ships of lake Nemi
• Auguste Denayrouze – French inventor of a demand air supply regulator for underwater diving
• Frédéric Dumas – French pioneer of scuba diving
• Ted Eldred – Australian inventor of the single hose diving regulator
• Maurice Fernez – French inventor and pioneer in underwater breathing apparatus
• Émile Gagnan – French engineer and co-inventor of the open circuit demand scuba regulator
• Bret Gilliam – Pioneering technical diver and author.
• Edmond Halley – English astronomer, geophysicist, mathematician, meteorologist, and physicist
• Hans Hass – Austrian biologist, film-maker, and underwater diving pioneer
• Stig Insulán – Inventor of an adjustable automatic exhaust valve for variable volume dry suits
• Jim Jarret – Diver who test dived the first successful atmospheric diving suits
• Yves Le Prieur – French naval officer and inventor of a free-flow scuba system
• John Lethbridge – English wool merchant who invented a diving machine in 1715
• William Hogarth Main – Cave diver and scuba configuration experimentalist
• Phil Nuytten – Canadian deep-ocean explorer, scientist, and inventor of the Newtsuit
• Joseph Salim Peress – pioneering British diving engineer
• Benoît Rouquayrol – French inventor of an early diving demand regulator
• Dick Rutkowski – American pioneer in hyperbaric and diving medicine and use of mixed breathing gases for diving
• Joe Savoie – Inventor of the neck dam for lightweight helmets
• Augustus Siebe – German-born British engineer mostly known for his contributions to diving equipment
• Charles Spalding – Scottish confectioner and amateur diving bell designer
• Robert Sténuit – Belgian journalist, writer, underwater archeologist and the first aquanaut.
• Arne Zetterström – Diver involved in experimental work with Hydrox breathing gas

Underwater art and artists

Christ of the Abyss at San Fruttuoso, Liguria

• Jason deCaires Taylor – British sculptor and creator of the world's first underwater sculpture park
• Christ of the Abyss – Submerged statue of Jesus Christ

Awards and events

• Hans Hass Award – Award in recognition of contribution made to the advancement of our knowledge of the ocean
• International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame – Annual event recognizing recreational scuba industry contributors
• London Diving Chamber Dive Lectures – Series of public lectures that have been hosted at the Royal Geographical Society in London
• NOGI Awards – Annual awards by Academy of Underwater Arts and Sciences.
• Women Divers Hall of Fame – International honor society.