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Scuba Diving and controlling buoyancy underwater [click here to return to previous page]

To dive safely, divers need to be able to control their rate of descent and ascent in the water. Ignoring other forces such as water currents and swimming, diver's overall buoyancy determines whether a diver ascends or descends. Equipment such as the diving weighting systems, diving suits (Wet, Dry & Semi-dry suits are used depending on the water temperature) and buoyancy compensators can be used to adjust the overall buoyancy. When divers want to remain at constant depth, they try to achieve neutral buoyancy. This minimizes gas consumption caused by swimming to maintain depth.  The volumes and weights of the diver and all equipment attached to the diver, contribute to the diver's overall buoyancy. Volume creates an upward force and weight creates a downward force. If the force due to volume is greater than the weight, the diver ascends. If the force due to volume is less than the weight the diver descends. Diving weighting systems can be used to reduce the diver's weight and cause an ascent in an emergency. Diving suits, mostly being made of compressible materials, reduce in volume as the diver descends and expand as the diver ascends creating unwanted buoyancy changes. The diver can inject air into some diving suits to counteract this effect and squeeze. Buoyancy compensators allow easy and fine adjustments in the diver's overall volume and therefore buoyancy. For open circuit divers, changes in the diver's lung volume can be used to adjust buoyancy.  There are a number of techniques to increase the diver's ability dive deeper and longer:

·         Technical diving - diving deeper than 130 feet and/or using mixed gases.

·         Surface supplied diving - use of umbilical gas supply and diving helmets.

·         Saturation diving - long-term use of underwater habitats under pressure and a gradual release of pressure over several days in a decompression chamber at the end of a dive. 

When the diver is navigating underwater streamlining dive gear will reduce drag and improve mobility. Personal mobility is enhanced by swimfins and (DPV) Diver Propulsion Vehicles. Other equipment to improve mobility includes diving bells and diving shots. 

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Reference material for this scuba diving related informational article: wikipedia – the free online encyclopedia, scuba diving category

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