Diving chamber

Hyperbaric pressure vessel for human occupancy used in diving operations

"Hyperbaric chamber" redirects here; not to be confused with hypobaric chamber or hyperbaric medicine.

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Diving chamber

The decompression chamber at the Neutral Buoyancy Lab

Acronym| DDC
Other names|

* Decompression chamber
* Deck decompression chamber
* Recompression chamber
* Hyperbaric chamber
* Saturation chamber

Uses|

* Diver training
* Therapeutic recompression
* Surface decompression
* Saturation diving
* Diving physiology research

A diving chamber is a vessel for human occupation, which may have an entrance that can be sealed to hold an internal pressure significantly higher than ambient pressure, a pressurised gas system to control the internal pressure, and a supply of breathing gas for the occupants.[1]

There are two main functions for diving chambers:

* as a simple form of submersible vessel to transport divers underwater and to provide a temporary base and retrieval system in the depths;[1]
* as a land, ship or offshore platform-based hyperbaric chamber or system, to artificially reproduce the hyperbaric conditions under the sea. Internal pressures above normal atmospheric pressure are provided for diving-related applications such as saturation diving and diver decompression, and non-diving medical applications such as hyperbaric medicine. Also known as a Pressure vessel for human occupancy, or PVHO. The engineering safety design code is ASME PVHO-1.[2]

## Basic types of diving chambers

[edit]

There are two basic types of submersible diving chambers, differentiated by the way in which the pressure in the diving chamber is produced and controlled.

### Open diving bell

[edit]

Further information: Diving bell § Wet bell

The historically older open diving chamber, known as an open diving bell or wet bell, is in effect a compartment with an open bottom that contains a gas space above a free water surface, which allows divers to breathe underwater.[3] The compartment may be large enough to fully accommodate the divers above the water, or may be smaller, and just accommodate head and shoulders. Internal air pressure is at the pressure of the free water surface, and varies accordingly with depth. The breathing gas supply for the open bell may be self-contained, or more usually, supplied from the surface via flexible hose, which may be combined with other hoses and cables as a bell umbilical. An open bell may also contain a breathing gas distribution panel with divers' umbilicals to supply divers with breathing gas during excursions from the bell, and an on-board emergency gas supply in high-pressure storage cylinders. This type of diving chamber can only be used underwater, as the internal gas pressure is directly proportional to the depth underwater, and raising or lowering the chamber is the only way to adjust the pressure.[4]

### Hyperbaric chamber

[edit]

A sealable diving chamber, closed bell or dry bell is a pressure vessel with hatches large enough for people to enter and exit, and a compressed breathing gas supply which may be used to raise the internal pressure. Such chambers provide a supply of breathing gas for the user, and are usually called hyperbaric chambers, whether used underwater, at the water surface or on land. The term submersible chamber may be used to refer to those used underwater and hyperbaric chamber for those used out of water. There are two related terms that reflect particular usages rather than technically different types:

* Decompression chamber, a hyperbaric chamber used to decompress surface-supplied divers
* Recompression chamber, a hyperbaric chamber used to treat or prevent decompression sickness.

When used underwater there are two ways to prevent water flooding in when the submersible hyperbaric chamber's hatch is opened. The hatch could open into a moon pool chamber, and then its internal pressure must first be equalised to that of the moon pool chamber. More generally the hatch opens into an underwater airlock, in which case the main chamber's pressure can stay constant, while it is the airlock pressure that is equalised with the exterior. This design is called a lock-out chamber, and is also used in submarines, submersibles, and underwater habitats.[5]

When used underwater all types of diving chambers are deployed from a diving support vessel suspended by a cable for raising and lowering and an umbilical cable delivering, at a minimum, compressed breathing gas, power, and communications. They may need ballast weights to overcome their buoyancy.[6]

### Related equipment

[edit]

In addition to the diving bell and hyperbaric chamber, related Pressure Vessels for Human Occupancy (PVHOs) includes the following:[2]

* Underwater habitat: consists of compartments operating under the same principles as diving bells and diving chambers, but placed in a fixed position on the sea floor for long-term use.
* Submersibles and submarines differ in being able to move under their own power. The interiors are usually maintained at surface pressure, but some examples include air locks and internal hyperbaric chambers.
* There is also other deep diving equipment that has atmospheric internal pressure, including:
* Bathysphere: name given to an experimental deep-sea diving chamber of the 1920s and 1930s.
* Benthoscope: a successor to the bathysphere built to go to greater depths.
* Bathyscaphe: a self-propelled submersible vessel able to adjust its own buoyancy for exploring extreme depths.
* Atmospheric diving suit: a roughly anthropomorphic submersible for a single occupant, which maintains an internal pressure close to normal sea level atmospheric pressure
* Decompression chamber: a pressure vessel used to treat a diver with controlled atmosphere and pressure to prevent related injuries. Medical hyperbaric chambers can be used to decompress divers as well as treat injuries.
* Pressurized tunnel boring machines: just as the original term for "the bends" or "decompression sickness" came from using air pressure in mining and construction, pressurized tunnel boring machines use air pressure to force water out of the tunnel, requiring the operators to do "dry diving" where they go through the same pressurization and decompression routines as divers
* Altitude chambers: PVHOs used to reduce pressure for training and evaluating pilots, astronauts, and related fields for high altitude conditions

## Underwater use

[edit]

As well as transporting divers, a diving chamber carries tools and equipment, high pressure storage cylinders for emergency breathing gas supply, and communications and emergency equipment. It provides a temporary dry air environment during extended dives for rest, eating meals, carrying out tasks that cannot be done underwater, and for emergencies. Diving chambers also function as an underwater base for surface supplied diving operations, with the divers' excursion umbilicals (air supply, etc.) attached to the diving chamber rather than to the diving support vessel.[citation needed]

### Diving bells

[edit]

Main article: Diving bell

Diving bells and open diving chambers of the same principle were more common in the past owing to their simplicity, since they do not necessarily need to monitor, control and mechanically adjust the internal pressure. Since internal air pressure and external water pressure on the bell wall are almost balanced, the chamber does not have to be as strong as a pressurised diving chamber (dry bell). The air inside an open bell is at the same pressure as the water at the air-water interface surface. This pressure is constant and the pressure difference on the bell shell can be higher than the external pressure to the extent of the height of the air space in the bell.[citation needed]

A wet diving bell or open diving chamber must be raised slowly to the surface with decompression stops appropriate to the dive profile so that the occupants can avoid decompression sickness. This may take hours, and so limits its use.

### Submersible hyperbaric chambers

[edit]

Submersible hyperbaric chambers known as closed bells or personnel transfer capsules can be brought to the surface without delay by maintaining the internal pressure and either decompressing the divers in the chamber on board the support vessel, or transferring them under pressure to a more spacious decompression chamber or to a saturation system, where they remain under pressure throughout the tour of duty, working shifts under approximately constant pressure, and are only decompressed once at the end. The ability to return to the surface without in-water decompression reduces the risk to the divers if the weather or compromised dynamic positioning forces the support vessel off station.[7][8]

A diving chamber based on a pressure vessel is more expensive to construct since it has to withstand high pressure differentials. These may be bursting pressures as is the case for a dry bell used for saturation diving, where the internal pressure is matched to the water pressure at the working depth,[9] or crushing pressures when the chamber is lowered into the sea and the internal pressure is less than ambient water pressure, such as may be used for submarine rescue.[10][11]

Rescue bells are specialized diving chambers or submersibles able to retrieve divers or occupants of submarines, diving chambers or underwater habitats in an emergency and to keep them under the required pressure. They have airlocks for underwater entry or to form a watertight seal with hatches on the target structure to effect a dry transfer of personnel. Rescuing occupants of submarines or submersibles with internal air pressure of one atmosphere requires being able to withstand the huge pressure differential to effect a dry transfer, and has the advantage of not requiring decompression measures on returning to the surface, allowing a more rapid turnaround to continue the rescue effort.[10][11]

### Lockout trunk

[edit]

A lockout trunk or lockout chamber is a compartment on a submarine or submersible which can have the internal pressure equalised with exterior ambient pressure, allowing occupants to lock out of or into a vessel with internal pressure different to ambient pressure. If the hatch is at the bottom, it can retain gas and be pressurised with gas. it the hatch is on top, gas under the hatch will escape when it is opened, and it is likely to be pressurised by allowing water in through a flooding valve. The escape trunking on a submarine usually uses this hatch on top architecture.[5]

## Out of water use

[edit]

Hyperbaric chambers are also used on land and above the water:

* to take surface supplied divers who have been brought up from underwater through their remaining decompression as surface decompression either after an ambient pressure ascent or after transfer under pressure from a dry bell. (decompression chambers)[9]
* to train divers to adapt to hyperbaric conditions and decompression routines and test their performance under pressure.
* to treat divers for decompression sickness (recompression chambers)[9]
* to treat people using raised oxygen partial pressure in hyperbaric oxygen therapy for conditions unrelated to diving.[12]
* in saturation diving accommodation systems[9]
* in scientific research requiring elevated gas pressures.

Hyperbaric chambers designed only for use out of water do not have to resist crushing forces, only bursting forces. Those for medical applications typically only operate up to two or three atmospheres absolute,[13] while those for diving applications may go to 30 atmospheres or more.[14][15]

Lightweight portable hyperbaric chambers that can be lifted by helicopter are used by military or commercial diving operators and rescue services to carry one or two divers requiring recompression treatment to a suitable facility.[9][citation needed]

### Decompression chamber

[edit]

A decompression chamber, or deck decompression chamber, is a pressure vessel for human occupancy used in surface supplied diving to allow the divers to complete their decompression stops at the end of a dive as the surface decompression rather than underwater. This eliminates many of the risks of long decompressions underwater, in cold or dangerous conditions. A decompression chamber may be used with a closed bell for decompression after bounce dives, following a transfer under pressure, or the divers may surface before completing decompression and be recompressed in the chamber following stringent protocols to minimise the risk of developing symptoms of decompression sickness in the short period allowed before returning to pressure.[16][17]

* Two United States Navy sailors inside a decompression chamber about to undergo training

* One person chamber

* Control panel of a basic deck decompression chamber

* The medical lock of a basic deck decompression chamber with the door closed

* Exterior view of a basic deck decompression chamber

* Transportable decompression chamber

* Divers breathing oxygen during surface decompression

* Operating a chamber from the control panel

### Hyperbaric treatment chamber

[edit]

See also: Hyperbaric treatment schedules

A hyperbaric treatment chamber is a hyperbaric chamber intended for, or put into service for, medical treatment at pressures above the local atmospheric pressure.

#### Hyperbaric oxygen therapy chamber

[edit]

Monoplace chamber for clinical hyperbaric oxygen treatment Internal view of a multiplace chamber for hyperbaric oxygen therapy, showing the airtight door leading to the entry lock. Pressure release valve and pressure gauge inside a flexible low pressure hyperbaric oxygen therapy chamber Inside of a flexible low pressure hyperbaric oxygen therapy chamber

A hyperbaric oxygen therapy chamber is used to treat patients, including divers, whose condition might improve through hyperbaric oxygen treatment.[18] Some illnesses and injuries occur, and may linger, at the cellular or tissue level. In cases such as circulatory problems, non-healing wounds, and strokes, adequate oxygen cannot reach the damaged area and the body's healing process is unable to function properly. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy increases oxygen transport via dissolved oxygen in serum, and is most efficacious where the haemoglobin is compromised (e.g. carbon monoxide poisoning) or where the extra oxygen in solution can diffuse through tissues past embolisms that are blocking the blood supply as in decompression illness.[19][18] Hyperbaric chambers capable of admitting more than one patient (multiplace) and an inside attendant have advantages for the treatment of decompression sickness (DCS) if the patient requires other treatment for serious complications or injury while in the chamber, but in most cases monoplace chambers can be successfully used for treating decompression sickness.[20] Rigid chambers are capable of greater depth of recompression than soft chambers that are unsuitable for treating DCS.

#### Recompression chamber

[edit]

Further information: Decompression sickness § Treatment

Recompression chamber

A recompression chamber is a hyperbaric treatment chamber used to treat divers suffering from certain diving disorders such as decompression sickness.[21]

Treatment is ordered by the treating physician (medical diving officer), and generally follows one of the standard hyperbaric treatment schedules such as the US Navy treatment Tables 5 or 6.[22]

When hyperbaric oxygen is used it is generally administered by built-in breathing systems (BIBS), which reduce contamination of the chamber gas by excessive oxygen.[17]

##### Test of pressure

[edit]

See also: Decompression sickness § Test of pressure

If the diagnosis of decompression illness is considered questionable, the diving officer may order a test of pressure.[23] This typically consists of a recompression to 60 feet (18 m) for up to 20 minutes.[citation needed] If the diver notes significant improvement in symptoms, or the attendant can detect changes in a physical examination, a treatment table is followed.[24]

##### Representative treatment tables

[edit]

Further information: Hyperbaric treatment schedules

U.S. Navy Table 6 consists of compression to the depth of 60 feet (18 m) with the patient on oxygen. The diver is later decompressed to 30 feet (9.1 m) on oxygen, then slowly returned to surface pressure. This table typically takes 4 hours 45 minutes. It may be extended further. It is the most common treatment for type 2 decompression illness.[9]

U.S. Navy Table 5 is similar to Table 6 above, but is shorter in duration. It may be used in divers with less severe complaints (type 1 decompression illness).[9]

U.S. Navy Table 9 consists of compression to 45 feet (14 m) with the patient on oxygen, with later decompression to surface pressure. This table may be used by lower-pressure monoplace hyperbaric chambers, or as a follow-up treatment in multiplace chambers.[9]

### Saturation diving life support systems

[edit]

Main article: Saturation diving

Schematic plan of a simple saturation system showing the main pressure vessels for human occupation
DDC - Living chamber
DTC - Transfer chamber
PTC - Personnel transfer chamber (bell)
RC - Recompression chamber
SL - Supply lock Personnel transfer capsule A small hyperbaric escape module Interior of a large hyperbaric lifeboat

A hyperbaric environment on the surface comprising a set of linked pressure chambers is used in saturation diving to house divers under pressure for the duration of the project or several days to weeks, as appropriate. The occupants are decompressed to surface pressure only once, at the end of their tour of duty. This is usually done in a decompression chamber, which is part of the saturation system. The risk of decompression sickness is significantly reduced by minimizing the number of decompressions, and by decompressing at a very conservative rate.[25]

The saturation system typically comprises a complex made up of a living chamber, transfer chamber and submersible decompression chamber,[26] which is commonly referred to in commercial diving and military diving as the diving bell,[27] PTC (personnel transfer capsule) or SDC (submersible decompression chamber).[17] The system can be permanently installed on a ship or ocean platform, but is usually capable of being transferred between vessels. The system is managed from a control room, where depth, chamber atmosphere and other system parameters are monitored and controlled. The diving bell is used to transfer divers from the system to the work site. Typically, it is mated to the system utilizing a removable clamp and is separated from the system by a trunking space, through which the divers transfer to and from the bell.[28][29]: Ch45

The bell is fed via a large, multi-part umbilical that supplies breathing gas, electricity, communications and hot water. The bell also is fitted with exterior mounted breathing gas cylinders for emergency use. The divers operate from the bell using surface supplied umbilical diving equipment.[29]: 129

A hyperbaric lifeboat, hyperbaric escape module or rescue chamber may be provided for emergency evacuation of saturation divers from a saturation system.[26] This would be used if the platform is at immediate risk due to fire or sinking to get the occupants clear of the immediate danger. A hyperbaric lifeboat is self-contained and self-sufficient for several days at sea.

### Transfer under pressure

[edit]

The process of transferring personnel from one hyperbaric system to another is called transfer under pressure (TUP). This is used to transfer personnel from portable recompression chambers to multi-person chambers for treatment, and between saturation life support systems and personnel transfer capsules (closed bells) for transport to and from the worksite, and for evacuation of saturation divers to a hyperbaric lifeboat.[30]

### Wet pot

[edit]

Diver training and experimental work requiring exposure to relatively high ambient pressure under controllable and reproducible conditions may be done in a water-filled or partially water-filled hyperbaric chamber, referred to as a wet pot, usually accessed via a dry hyperbaric chamber at the same pressure, with airlock access to the outside. This allows convenient monitoring and instrumentation, and facilities for immediate assistance. A wet pot allows decompression algorithm validation with the divers immersed and working at specified rates while their metabolic rates are monitored.

## Hyperbaric transport

[edit]

It is sometimes necessary to transport a diver with severe symptoms of decompression illness to a more suitable facility for treatment, or to evacuate people in a hyperbaric environment which is threatened by a high risk hazard. A hyperbaric stretcher may be useful to transport a single person, a portable chamber is intended for use transporting a casualty with a chamber attendant, and hyperbaric rescue and escape systems are used to transfer groups of people. Occasionally a closed bell may be used to transfer a small number (up to about 3) of divers between one hyperbaric facility and another when the necessary infrastructure is available.

### Hyperbaric stretcher

[edit]

Main article: Hyperbaric stretcher

Heavy duty (10 bar) hyperbaric stretcher with hatch removed, showing locking rings for hatch and for connecting to full size chambers

A hyperbaric stretcher is a lightweight pressure vessel for human occupancy (PVHO) designed to accommodate one person undergoing initial hyperbaric treatment during or while awaiting transport or transfer to a treatment chamber.[31]

### Transportable recompression chamber

[edit]

Transportable recompression chamber Inside a transportable recompression chamber

A transportable decompression chamber is a relatively small chamber in which a diver and an inside attendant can be transported under pressure by land, sea or air at a pressure suitable for hyperbaric treatment. The chamber is designed for transfer under pressure to a full-side decompression chamber at the destination, either directly or via a transfer chamber The US Navy Transportable Recompression Chamber System (TRCS) is an example of this type. TRCS Mod0 comprises a conical chamber called the Transportable Recompression Chamber (TRC) and a cylindrical Transfer Lock (TL), which can be connected by a NATO flange coupling, and is provided with a compressed air and oxygen supply system. The component chambers are mounted on wheeled trolleys and have a design pressure of 110 pounds per square inch (7.6 bar) gauge which is suitable for most of the US Navy treatment schedules that are relevant for bounce dives. At 1,268 pounds (575 kg) It is not truly portable by manpower in most circumstances, but the wheels make it fairly easy to move around on a horizontal surface.[19][9]

This section needs expansion with: other portable chambers?. You can help by adding to it. (September 2022)

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### Hyperbaric rescue and escape systems

[edit]

See also: Saturation diving § Hyperbaric rescue and escape systems

Hyperbaric escape module

A saturated diver who needs to be evacuated should preferably be transported without a significant change in ambient pressure. Hyperbaric evacuation requires pressurised transportation equipment, and could be required in a range of situations:[32]

* The support vessel at risk of capsize or sinking.
* Unacceptable fire or explosion hazard.
* Failure of the hyperbaric life support system.
* A medical problem which cannot be dealt with on site.

A hyperbaric lifeboat or rescue chamber may be provided for emergency evacuation of saturation divers from a saturation system.[26] This would be used if the platform is at immediate risk due to fire or sinking, and allows the divers under saturation to get clear of the immediate danger. A hyperbaric lifeboat is self-contained and can be operated by a surface pressure crew while the chamber occupants are under pressure. It must be self-sufficient for several days at sea, in case of a delay in rescue due to sea conditions. It is possible to start decompression after launching if the occupants are medically stable, but seasickness and dehydration may delay the decompression until the module has been recovered.[33]: Ch. 2

The rescue chamber or hyperbaric lifeboat will generally be recovered for completion of decompression due to the limited onboard life support and facilities. The recovery plan will include a standby vessel to perform the recovery.[34]

### Closed bell rescue and escape

[edit]

Bell to bell transfer may be used to rescue divers from a lost or entrapped bell. A "lost" bell is a bell which has been broken free of lifting cables and umbilical; the actual position of the bell is usually still known with considerable accuracy. This will generally occur at or near the bottom, and the divers transfer between bells at ambient pressure.[32] It is also possible in some circumstances to use a bell as a rescue chamber to transport divers from one saturation system to another. This may require temporary modifications to the bell, and is only possible if the mating flanges of the systems are compatible.[32]

## History

[edit]

See also: Diving bell § History, and Hyperbaric medicine § History

Early decompression (recompression) chamber in the park at Broome, Western Australia. The chamber is now located in the Broome Museum.

Experimental compression chambers have been used since about 1860.[35]

In 1904, submarine engineers Siebe and Gorman, together with physiologist Leonard Hill, designed a device to allow a diver to enter a closed chamber at depth, then have the chamber – still pressurised – raised and brought aboard a boat. The chamber pressure was then reduced gradually. This preventative measure allowed divers to safely work at greater depths for longer times without developing decompression sickness.[36]

In 1906, Hill and another English scientist M Greenwood subjected themselves to high pressure environments, in a pressure chamber built by Siebe and Gorman, to investigate the effects. Their conclusions were that an adult could safely endure seven atmospheres, provided that decompression was sufficiently gradual.[37]

A recompression chamber intended for treatment of divers with decompression sickness was built by CE Heinke and company in 1913, for delivery to Broome, Western Australia, in 1914,[38] where it was successfully used to treat a diver in 1915.[39] That chamber is now in the Broome Historical Museum.[40]

## Structure and layout

[edit]

See also: Human factors in diving equipment design § Diving chambers

Medical lock on decompression chamber. Used to transfer medical supplies and food into and out of the chamber while it is under pressure. The door is locked by a 45 degree rotation. A safety interlock that prevents any rotation of the door while the lock is pressurised can be seen in the disengaged position, showing that it is safe to open the outer door. The gauge also shows that the pressure has been released.

The construction and layout of a hyperbaric diving chamber depends on its intended use, but there are several features common to most chambers.

There will be a pressure vessel with a chamber pressurisation and depressurisation system, access arrangements, monitoring and control systems, viewports, and often a built in breathing system for supply of alternative breathing gases.[41]

### Pressure vessel

[edit]

See also: Pressure vessel and Pressure vessel for human occupancy

The pressure vessel is the main structural component, and includes the shell of the main chamber, and if present, the shells of fore-chamber and medical or supply lock. A forechamber or entry lock may be present to provide personnel access to the main chamber while it is under pressure. A medical or stores lock may be present to provide access to the main chamber for small items while under pressure. The small volume allows quick and economical transfer of small items, as the gas lost has relatively small volume compared to the forechamber.[41]

In the United States, the engineering safety standards is the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Pressure Vessels for Human Occupancy (PVHO). There is a design code (PVHO-1) and a post-construction, or maintenance & operations, code (PVHO-1). The pressure vessel as a whole is generally to the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, Section VIII. These PVHO safety codes focus on the systems aspect of the chambers such as life support requirements as well as the acrylic windows. The PVHO code addresses hyperbaric medical systems, commercial diving systems, submarines, and pressurized tunnel boring machines.[42] [2]

### Access doors

[edit]

An access door or hatch is normally hinged inward and held closed by the pressure differential, but it may also be dogged for a better seal at low pressure. There is a door or hatch at the access opening to the forechamber, the main chamber, both ends of a medical or stores lock, and at any trunking to connect multiple chambers. A closed bell has a similar hatch at the bottom for use underwater and may have a side hatch for transfer under pressure to a saturation system, or may use the bottom hatch for this purpose. The external door to the medical lock is unusual in that it opens outward and is not held closed by the internal pressure, so it needs a safety interlock system to make it impossible to open when the lock is pressurised.[41]

### Viewports

[edit]

Viewports are generally provided to allow the operating personnel to visually monitor the occupants, and can be used for hand signalling as an auxiliary emergency communications method. The major components are the window (transparent acrylic), the window seat (holds the acrylic window), and retaining ring. Interior lighting can be provided by mounting lights outside the viewports. These are a pressure vessel feature specific to PVHOs due to the need to see the people inside and evaluate their health. Section 2 of the engineering safety code ASME PVHO-1 is used internationally for designing viewports.[2] This includes medical chambers, commercial diving chambers, decompression chambers, and pressurized tunnel boring machines. Non-military submarines use acrylic viewports for seeing their surroundings and operating any attached equipment. Other material have been attempted, such as glass or synthetic saphhire, but they would consistently fail to maintain their seal at high pressures and cracks would progress rapidly to catastrphophic failure. Acrylic is more likely to have small cracks the operators can see and have time to take mitigation steps instead of failing catastrophically.[43]

### Furniture

[edit]

See also: Saturation diving

Furniture is usually provided for the comfort of the occupants. Usually there are seats and/or bed facilities. Saturation systems also have tables and sanitary facilities for the occupants.[44]

### Pressure system

[edit]

The internal pressure system includes a primary and reserve chamber gas supply, and the valves and piping to control it to pressurise and depressurise the main chamber and auxiliary compartments, and a pressure relief valve to prevent pressurisation beyond the design maximum working pressure. Valves are generally duplicated inside and outside and are labelled to avoid confusion. It is usually possible to operate a multiple occupant chamber from inside in an emergency. The monitoring equipment will vary depending on the purpose of the chamber, but will include pressure gauges for supply gas, and an accurately calibrated pressure gauge for the internal pressure of all human occupied compartments.[41]

A clearly visible dedicated pressure gauge and vent valve must be provided for all hyperbaric trunking and locks that may be closed at both ends, so that outside support staff can be sure that the internal space is depressurised before attempting to disconnect joints.

### Communications

[edit]

There will also be a voice communications system between the operator and occupants. This is usually push to talk on the outside, and constantly transmitting from the inside, so that the operator can better monitor the condition of the occupants. There may also be a backup communications system.[41]

### Safety

[edit]

Firefighting equipment is necessary as a chamber fire is extremely dangerous to the occupants. Either fire extinguishers specially made for hyperbaric environment with non-toxic contents, or a pressurised internal water spray system can be used. Water buckets are often provided as additional equipment.[41]

Oxygen Monitor for Hyperbaric Chamber, 1969

A caisson gauge is a high precision (typically 0.25% to 1% of full gauge scale) pressure gauge fitted to measure pressure of the interior of a chamber relative to ambient atmospheric pressure, and pressure differences between compartments of a sealed habitat separated by airlock hatches or doors, originally in the main pressurised compartment of a hyperbaric caisson, and a required instrument on diving chambers.[45][46][47] A caisson gauge is also the type used on a pneumofathometer to monitor diver depth, and is commonly calibrated in msw or fsw for convenient reference to decompression tables.

Accurate monitoring of the pressure in the chamber and associated airlocks is essential for the safety of the occupants and for safe and effective decompression. It is also necessary for safe operation of locks and disconnection of trunking in saturation habitats and after transfer under pressure. Mechanical interlocks that prevent opening airlocks or disconnecting trunking when there is a pressure differential may also be required by law or code of practice.

### Life support

[edit]

Life support systems for saturation systems can be fairly complex, as the occupants must remain under pressure continuously for several day to weeks. Oxygen content of the chamber gas is constantly monitored and fresh oxygen added when necessary to maintain the nominal value. Chamber gas may be simply vented and flushed if it is air, but helium mixtures are expensive and over long periods very large volumes would be needed, so the chamber gas of a saturation system is recycled by passing it through a carbon dioxide scrubber and other filters to remove odours and excess moisture. Multiplace chambers that may be used for treatment usually contain a built-in breathing system (BIBS) for supply of breathing gas different from the pressurisation gas, and closed bells contain an analogous system to supply gas to the divers' umbilicals. Chambers with BIBS will generally have an oxygen monitor. BIBS are also used as an emergency breathing gas supply if the chamber gas is contaminated.[41]

### Sanitation

[edit]

See also: Saturation diving § Sanitation system

Sanitation systems for washing and waste removal are required. Discharge is simple because of the pressure gradient, but must be controlled to avoid undesired chamber pressure loss or fluctuations. Catering is generally provided by preparing the food and drink outside and transferring it into the chamber through the stores lock, which is also used to transfer used utensils, laundry and other supplies.[48]

### Construction

[edit]

Non-portable chambers are generally constructed from steel,[41] as it is inexpensive, strong and fire resistant. Portable chambers have been constructed from steel, aluminium alloy,[41] and fibre reinforced composites. In some cases the composite material structure is flexible when depressurised.[49][50]

## Operation

[edit]

Diving barocomplex Savior of the Pacific Fleet of Russia

Details will vary depending on the application. A generalised sequence for a stand-alone chamber is described. The operator of a commercial diving decompression chamber is generally called a chamber operator, and the operator of a saturation system is called a life support technician (LST).[51]

* Pre-use checks will be conducted on the system to ensure that it is safe to operate.
* The intended occupants will be checked and authorised for compression, and will enter the chamber.
* The pressure door will be closed, communications established with the occupants, and pressurisation, also known as blowdown,[52] started.
* The operator will monitor and control the rate of pressurisation and monitor the condition of the occupants.
* Once pressurised, the operator will monitor the pressure, the run time, the chamber gas and if applicable, the independent breathing gas supply. The chamber gas quality may be controlled by carbon dioxide scrubber systems, filters and air conditioner systems and addition of oxygen as required, or by periodic or continuous ventilation by adding fresh compressed air while simultaneously releasing some of the chamber air.
* When decompression is started, the operator will notify the occupants and release chamber gas to the atmosphere or to scavenge pumps if it to be recycled. The rate of pressure reduction is controlled to follow the specified decompression schedule within tolerance.
* Compression and decompression may be interrupted if the occupants experience problems caused by the pressure change, such as ear or sinus squeezes, or symptoms of decompression illness.
* When decompression is completed, chamber pressure is equalised with ambient pressure and the doors may be opened. Occupants may exit, and will usually be checked for absence of ill-effects.
* The chamber will receive post-operation service as required to be ready for the next operation or for storage as applicable.

### Working pressure

[edit]

A large range of working pressures are used, depending on the application of the chamber. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is usually done at pressures not exceeding 18 msw, or an absolute internal pressure of 2.8 bar. Decompression chambers are usually rated for depths similar to the depths that the divers will encounter during planned operations. Chambers using air as the chamber atmosphere are frequently rated to depths in the range of 50 to 90 msw, and chambers, closed bells and other components of saturation systems must be rated for at least the planned operational depth. The US Navy has Heliox saturation decompression schedules for depths up to 480 msw (1600 fsw).[17] Experimental chambers may be rated for deeper depths. An experimental dive has been done to 701 msw (2300 fsw), so at least one chamber has been rated to at least this depth.[14]

## Inspection, maintenance and testing

[edit]

There are three grades of safety inspection required for windows and viewports:[53]

* Operational inspection of the inner and outer surfaces is included in the checks before first pressurisation of the day by a competent chamber operator, and ensures that the surfaces have not been damaged since the last use.
* Maintenance inspection is done at specified intervals by a qualified maintenance inspector. This inspection is more thorough and may require removal of the window from the mounting to check for damage that is not visible when installed. This grade of inspection is generally also required for re-commissioning a chamber that has been out of service for longer than a specified period.
* Seat and seal inspection is done whenever a window has been removed for inspection or repair or a new window installed.

The window is examined to detect crazing, cracks, blisters, discolouration, scratches or pits.[53]

This section needs expansion with: Pressure and leak testing. You can help by adding to it. (November 2024)

|

## See also

[edit]

* Byford Dolphin (decompression accident)
* Decompression sickness – Disorder caused by dissolved gases forming bubbles in tissues
* Diving bell – Chamber for transporting divers vertically through the water
* Glossary of underwater diving terminology
* Hyperbaric medicine – Medical treatment at raised ambient pressure
* Hyperbaric stretcher – Portable pressure vessel to transport a person under pressure.
* Moon pool – Opening in the base of a hull, platform, or chamber giving access to the water below
* Saturation diving – Diving mode and decompression technique
* Surface-supplied diving – Underwater diving breathing gas supplied from the surface

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "How Do Diving Decompression Chambers Work". www.smp-ltd.com. Submarine Manufacturing and Products Ltd. 22 June 2023.
2. ^ a b c d "Safety Standard for Pressure Vessels for Human Occupancy". Codes and Standards. American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
3. ^ "Open bell". www.wartsila.com. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
4. ^ "The Use of a Diving Wet Bell Launch and Recovery System". www.smp-ltd.com. 1 July 2024. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
5. ^ a b Brown, Daniel (12 December 2017). "This is how Navy SEALs swim out of a submerged submarine". www.businessinsider.com. Business Insider. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
6. ^ "Bell Ballast Release System Bushings". www.comanex.fr. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
7. ^ "13 – Closed bell diving". Guidance for diving supervisors IMCA D 022 (Revision 1 ed.). London, UK: International Marine Contractors Association. August 2016. pp. 13–3.
8. ^ Compression and excursion parameters for saturation dives 0-250 msw (PDF). 2023-69 (Report) (Revision 1 ed.). NUI. 22 January 2024. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 January 2025. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
9. ^ a b c d e f g h i "18: Recompression chamber operation". U.S. Navy Diving Manual SS521-AG-PRO-010 0910-LP-115-1921 (PDF). Vol. 5 Diving Medicine & Recompression Chamber Operations (Revision 7 ed.).
10. ^ a b "Submarine rescue bell". www.jfdglobal.com. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
11. ^ a b Hu, Y. (2019). "Rescue Bell". In Cui, W.; Fu, S.; Hu, Z. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Ocean Engineering. Singapore: Springer. pp. 1–4\. doi:10.1007/978-981-10-6963-5_53-1. ISBN 978-981-10-6963-5.
12. ^ Zamboni, W. A.; Riseman, J. A.; Kucan, J. O. (1990). "Management of Fournier's Gangrene and the role of Hyperbaric Oxygen". Journal of Hyperbaric Medicine. 5 (3): 177–186.
13. ^ Jones, Mark W.; Brett, Kaighley; Han, Nathaniel; Cooper, Jeffrey S.; Wyatt., H Alan (31 January 2024). "Hyperbaric Physics". StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island, FL: StatPearls Publishing.
14. ^ a b "Technology: Dry run for deepest dive". New Scientist. No. 1849\. 28 November 1992. Retrieved 22 February 2009.
15. ^ "Saturation diving". Retrieved 29 June 2025.
16. ^ US Navy (2006). "9-3". US Navy Diving Manual, 6th revision. United States: US Naval Sea Systems Command. p. 63, Air Decompression definitions. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
17. ^ a b c d US Navy Diving Manual, 6th revision. United States: US Naval Sea Systems Command. 2006. Archived from the original on 2 May 2008. Retrieved 24 April 2008.
18. ^ a b "Hyperbaric oxygen therapy - Mayo Clinic". www.mayoclinic.org. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
19. ^ a b US Navy (2006). "20". US Navy Diving Manual, 6th revision. United States: US Naval Sea Systems Command. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
20. ^ Kindwall, E. P.; Goldmann, R. W.; Thombs, P. A. (1988). "Use of the Monoplace vs. Multiplace Chamber in the Treatment of Diving Diseases". Journal of Hyperbaric Medicine. 3 (1). Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society, Inc.: 5–10.
21. ^ "NOAA Ocean Explorer: Monitor Expedition 2002: decompression chamber". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 2002. Retrieved 3 July 2010.
22. ^ "Ocean Engineering, Supervisor of Salvage and Diving (SUPSALV)".
23. ^ Rudge, F. W.; Stone, J. A. (March 1991). "The use of the pressure cuff test in the diagnosis of decompression sickness". Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine. 62 (3): 266–7\. PMID 2012577.
24. ^ Pulley, Stephen A (5 March 2019). Alcock, Joe (ed.). "Decompression Sickness Workup". Medscape.
25. ^ Beyerstein, G. (2006). Lang, M. A.; Smith, N. E. (eds.). Commercial Diving: Surface-Mixed Gas, Sur-D-O2, Bell Bounce, Saturation. Proceedings of Advanced Scientific Diving Workshop. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC.
26. ^ a b c Lettnin, Heinz (1999). International textbook of Mixed Gas Diving. Flag, Arizona: Best Publishing. ISBN 0941332500.
27. ^ Bevan, J. (1999). "Diving bells through the centuries". South Pacific Underwater Medicine Society Journal. 29 (1). ISSN 0813-1988. OCLC 16986801.
28. ^ Chapter 52 – Diving Systems (PDF) (Report). Istanbul: Türk Loydu. January 2020. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
29. ^ a b Rules for Building and Classing Underwater Vehicles, Systems and Hyperbaric facilities - 2018 (PDF). Spring TX: American Bureau of Shipping. 2017.
30. ^ Torboli, Massimo. "TUP: Transfer Under Pressure". Retrieved 29 June 2025.
31. ^ "Operation and Maintenance Manual for the Emergency Evacuation Hyperbaric Stretcher (EEHS)" (PDF). Washington, DC: Direction of Commander, Naval Sea Systems Command. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 May 2006. Retrieved 3 March 2010.
32. ^ a b c Bevan, John, ed. (2005). "Section 13.2". The Professional Divers's Handbook (second ed.). Gosport, Hampshire: Submex Ltd. p. 321\. ISBN 978-0950824260.
33. ^ Guidance on Hyperbaric Evacuation Systems IMCA D052 (PDF). London, UK: International Marine Contractors Association. May 2013.
34. ^ "Thrust Hyperbaric Offshore Recovery (THOR) Systems". Thrust Maritime. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
35. ^ Hyperbaric chamber, Encyclopædia Britannica, retrieved 2 March 2015
36. ^ "Ocean Treasure". The Daily News. Perth, Western Australia. 25 July 1904. p. 6. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
37. ^ "The Dangers to Divers. Scientists' pressure test". The World's News. 2 June 1906. p. 21. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
38. ^ "untitled". Sunday Times. Perth, West Australia. 1 March 1914. p. 23. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
39. ^ "Divers' paralysis. Interesting case at Broome. Success of the recompression method". The West Australian. 15 March 1915. p. 8. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
40. ^ Jones, Natalie (1 March 2015). "Pearling industry marks 100 years of treating the bends". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
41. ^ a b c d e f g h i US Navy (2006). "21". US Navy Diving Manual, 6th revision. Washington, DC: US Naval Sea Systems Command. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
42. ^ Workman, Tom. "The Use of Pressure Vessels for Human Occupancy in Clinical Hyberbaric Medicine". National Board of Boiler and Pressure Vessel Inspectors. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
43. ^ Kemper, Bart; Cross, Linda (September 2020). "Developing "Design by Analysis" Methodology for Windows for Pressure Vessels for Human Occupancy". ASCE-ASME Journal of Risk and Uncertainty in Engineering Systems, Part B: Mechanical Engineering. 6 (3). doi:10.1115/1.4046742.
44. ^ Crawford, J. (2016). "8.5.1 Helium recovery systems". Offshore Installation Practice (revised ed.). Butterworth-Heinemann. pp. 150–155\. ISBN 9781483163192.
45. ^ "Caisson Gauges". www.perma-cal.com. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
46. ^ "Divex caisson gauge". www.jfdglobal.com/. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
47. ^ "Caisson gauges". stiko.com/. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
48. ^ Torboli, Massimo. "Sanitation system in Saturation diving habitats". JP Technology Magazine. Archived from the original on 12 June 2025. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
49. ^ "Emergency Evacuation Hyperbaric Stretcher System". PCCI, Inc. 2005. Archived from the original on 22 October 2006. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
50. ^ Latson, G. W.; Flynn, E. T. (1999). Use of Emergency Evacuation Hyperbaric Stretcher (EEHS) in Submarine Escape and Rescue. Technical Report No 4-99 (Report). Navy Experimental Diving Unit.
51. ^ "Diving Regulations 2009". Occupational Health and Safety Act 85 of 1993 – Regulations and Notices – Government Notice R41. Pretoria: Government Printer. Archived from the original on 4 November 2016. Retrieved 3 November 2016 - via Southern African Legal Information Institute.
52. ^ Imbert, Jean-Pierre; Matity, Lyubisa; Massimelli, Jean-Yves; Bryson, Philip (31 March 2024). "Review of saturation decompression procedures used in commercial diving". Diving Hyperb Med. 54 (1): 23–38\. doi:10.28920/dhm54.1.23-38. PMC 11065503. PMID 38507907.
53. ^ a b Mackey, Jaclyn (11 October 2023). "Design Life & Inspection of PVHO Windows and Viewports". woundeducationpartners.com. Retrieved 28 November 2024.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Decompression chambers.

* "Divers Go to Greater Depths With Aid of Chamber" Popular Mechanics, December 1930 first use of diving chamber by British Royal Navy divers—detail drawings on subject
* Decompression Chamber in detail
* The short film Hyperbaric Chamber (1979) is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive.

* v
* t
* e

Underwater diving

* Diving activities
* Diving modes
* Atmospheric pressure diving
* Freediving
* Saturation diving
* Scuba diving
* Snorkeling
* Surface oriented diving
* Surface-supplied diving
* Unmanned diving

Diving equipment

* Cleaning and disinfection of personal diving equipment
* Human factors in diving equipment design
* List of diving equipment manufacturers

| Basic equipment|

* Diving mask
* Snorkel
* Swimfin

|

Breathing gas|

* Bailout gas
* Bottom gas
* Breathing air
* Decompression gas
* Emergency gas supply
* Heliox
* Hydreliox
* Hydrox
* Nitrox
* Oxygen
* Travel gas
* Trimix

Buoyancy and
trim equipment|

* Avelo diving system
* Buoyancy compensator
* Power inflator
* Dump valve
* Variable buoyancy pressure vessel
* Diving weighting system
* Ankle weights
* Integrated weights
* Trim weights
* Weight belt

Decompression
equipment|

* Decompression buoy
* Decompression chamber
* Decompression cylinder
* Decompression trapeze
* Dive computer
* Diving bell
* Diving shot
* Diving stage
* Jersey upline
* Jonline

Diving suit|

* Atmospheric diving suit
* JIM suit
* Newtsuit
* Dry suit
* Sladen suit
* Standard diving suit
* Rash vest
* Wetsuit
* Dive skins
* Hot-water suit

Helmets
and masks|

* Anti-fog
* Diving helmet
* Free-flow helmet
* Lightweight demand helmet
* Orinasal mask
* Reclaim helmet
* Shallow water helmet
* Standard diving helmet
* Diving mask
* Band mask
* Full-face mask
* Half mask

Instrumentation|

* Bottom timer
* Depth gauge
* Dive computer
* Dive timer
* Diving watch
* Helium release valve
* Electro-galvanic oxygen sensor
* Pneumofathometer
* Submersible pressure gauge

Mobility
equipment|

* Diver propulsion vehicle
* Human torpedo
* Wet sub
* Diving bell
* Closed bell
* Wet bell
* Diving stage
* Swimfin
* Monofin
* PowerSwim
* Towboard

Safety
equipment|

* Alternative air source
* Octopus regulator
* Pony bottle
* Bolt snap
* Buddy line
* Dive light
* Diver's cutting tool
* Diver's knife
* Diver's telephone
* Through-water communications
* Underwater acoustic communication
* Diving bell
* Diving safety harness
* Emergency gas supply
* Bailout block
* Bailout bottle
* Lifeline
* Screw gate carabiner
* Emergency locator beacon
* Rescue tether
* Safety helmet
* Shark-proof cage
* Snoopy loop
* Navigation equipment
* Distance line
* Diving compass
* Dive reel
* Line marker
* Surface marker buoy
* Silt screw

Underwater
breathing
apparatus|

* Atmospheric diving suit
* Diving cylinder
* Burst disc
* Scuba cylinder valve
* Diving helmet
* Reclaim helmet
* Diving regulator
* Mechanism of diving regulators
* Regulator malfunction
* Regulator freeze
* Single-hose regulator
* Twin-hose regulator
* Full-face diving mask

| Open-circuit
scuba|

* Scuba set
* Bailout bottle
* Decompression cylinder
* Independent doubles
* Manifolded twin set
* Scuba manifold
* Pony bottle
* Scuba configuration
* Sidemount
* Sling cylinder

|

Diving rebreathers|

* Carbon dioxide scrubber
* Carleton CDBA
* Clearance Divers Life Support Equipment
* Cryogenic rebreather
* CUMA
* DSEA
* Dolphin
* Halcyon PVR-BASC
* Halcyon RB80
* IDA71
* Interspiro DCSC
* LAR-5
* LAR-6
* LAR-V
* LARU
* Mark IV Amphibian
* Porpoise
* Ray
* Siebe Gorman CDBA
* Salvus
* Siva

Surface-supplied
diving equipment|

* Air line
* Diver's umbilical
* Diving air compressor
* Gas panel
* Hookah
* Scuba replacement
* Snuba
* Standard diving dress

Diving
equipment
manufacturers|

* AP Diving
* Apeks
* Aqua Lung America
* Aqua Lung/La Spirotechnique
* Beuchat
* René Cavalero
* Cis-Lunar
* Cressi-Sub
* Dacor
* DESCO
* Dive Xtras
* Divex
* Diving Unlimited International
* Drägerwerk
* Faber
* Fenzy
* Maurice Fernez
* Technisub
* Oscar Gugen
* Heinke
* HeinrichsWeikamp
* Johnson Outdoors
* Mares
* Morse Diving
* Nemrod
* Oceanic Worldwide
* Porpoise
* Shearwater Research
* Siebe Gorman
* Submarine Products
* Suunto

Diving support equipment

| Access equipment|

* Boarding stirrup
* Diver lift
* Diving bell
* Diving ladder
* Diving platform (scuba)
* Diving stage
* Downline
* Jackstay
* Launch and recovery system
* Messenger line
* Moon pool

|

Breathing gas
handling|

* Air filtration
* Activated carbon
* Hopcalite
* Molecular sieve
* Silica gel
* Booster pump
* Carbon dioxide scrubber
* Cascade filling system
* Diver's pump
* Diving air compressor
* Diving air filter
* Water separator
* High pressure breathing air compressor
* Low pressure breathing air compressor
* Gas blending
* Gas blending for scuba diving
* Gas panel
* Gas reclaim system
* Gas storage bank
* Gas storage quad
* Gas storage tube
* Helium analyzer
* Nitrox production
* Membrane gas separation
* Pressure swing adsorption
* Oxygen analyser
* Electro-galvanic oxygen sensor
* Oxygen compatibility

Decompression
equipment|

* Air-lock
* Built-in breathing system
* Decompression tables
* Diving bell
* Bell cursor
* Closed bell
* Clump weight
* Launch and recovery system
* Wet bell
* Diving chamber
* Diving stage
* Recreational Dive Planner
* Saturation system

Platforms|

* Dive boat
* Canoe and kayak diving
* Combat rubber raiding craft
* Liveaboard
* Subskimmer
* Diving support vessel
* HMS Challenger (K07)

| Underwater
habitat|

* Aquarius Reef Base
* Continental Shelf Station Two
* Helgoland Habitat
* Scott Carpenter Space Analog Station
* SEALAB
* Tektite habitat

|

Remotely operated
underwater vehicles|

* 8A4-class ROUV
* ABISMO
* Atlantis ROV Team
* COTSBot
* CURV
* Deep Drone
* Épaulard
* Global Explorer ROV
* Goldfish-class ROUV
* Kaikō ROV
* Kaşif ROUV
* Long-Term Mine Reconnaissance System
* Mini Rover ROV
* OpenROV
* ROV KIEL 6000
* ROV PHOCA
* Scorpio ROV
* Sea Dragon-class ROV
* Seabed tractor
* Seafox drone
* SeaPerch
* SJT-class ROUV
* T1200 Trenching Unit
* VideoRay UROVs

Safety equipment|

* Diver down flag
* Diving shot
* ENOS Rescue-System
* Hyperbaric lifeboat
* Hyperbaric stretcher
* Jackstay
* Jonline
* Reserve gas supply

General|

* Diving spread
* Air spread
* Saturation spread
* Hot water system
* Sonar
* Underwater acoustic positioning system
* Underwater acoustic communication

Freediving

| Activities|

* Aquathlon
* Apnoea finswimming
* Freediving
* Haenyeo
* Pearl hunting
* Ama
* Snorkeling
* Spearfishing
* Underwater football
* Underwater hockey
* Underwater rugby
* Underwater target shooting

|

Competitions|

* Nordic Deep
* Vertical Blue
* Disciplines
* Constant weight (CWT)
* Constant weight bi-fins (CWTB)
* Constant weight without fins (CNF)
* Dynamic apnea (DYN)
* Dynamic apnea without fins (DNF)
* Free immersion (FIM)
* No-limits apnea (NLT)
* Static apnea (STA)
* Skandalopetra diving
* Variable weight apnea (VWT)
* Variable weight apnea without fins

Equipment|

* Diving mask
* Diving suit
* Hawaiian sling
* Polespear
* Snorkel (swimming)
* Speargun
* Swimfins
* Monofin
* Water polo cap

Freedivers|

* Deborah Andollo
* Simone Arrigoni
* Peppo Biscarini
* Michael Board
* Sara Campbell
* Derya Can Göçen
* Goran Čolak
* Carlos Coste
* Robert Croft
* Mandy-Rae Cruickshank
* Yasemin Dalkılıç
* Leonardo D'Imporzano
* Flavia Eberhard
* Şahika Ercümen
* Emma Farrell
* Francisco Ferreras
* Pierre Frolla
* Flavia Eberhard
* Mehgan Heaney-Grier
* Elisabeth Kristoffersen
* Andriy Yevhenovych Khvetkevych
* Loïc Leferme
* Enzo Maiorca
* Jacques Mayol
* Audrey Mestre
* Karol Meyer
* Kate Middleton
* Stéphane Mifsud
* Alexey Molchanov
* Natalia Molchanova
* Dave Mullins
* Patrick Musimu
* Guillaume Néry
* Herbert Nitsch
* Umberto Pelizzari
* Liv Philip
* Annelie Pompe
* Stig Severinsen
* Tom Sietas
* Martin Štěpánek
* Walter Steyn
* Tanya Streeter
* William Trubridge
* Devrim Cenk Ulusoy
* Fatma Uruk
* Danai Varveri
* Alessia Zecchini
* Nataliia Zharkova
* Kateryna Sadurska

Hazards|

* Barotrauma
* Drowning
* Freediving blackout
* Deep-water blackout
* Shallow-water blackout
* Hypercapnia
* Hypothermia

Historical|

* Ama
* Octopus wrestling
* Swimming at the 1900 Summer Olympics – Men's underwater swimming

Organisations|

* AIDA International
* Scuba Schools International
* Australian Underwater Federation
* British Freediving Association
* Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques
* Fédération Française d'Études et de Sports Sous-Marins
* Performance Freediving International

Professional diving

| Occupations|

* Ama
* Commercial diver
* Commercial offshore diver
* Hazmat diver
* Divemaster
* Diving instructor
* Diving safety officer
* Diving superintendent
* Diving supervisor
* Haenyeo
* Media diver
* Police diver
* Public safety diver
* Scientific diver
* Underwater archaeologist

| Military
diving|

* Army engineer diver
* Canadian Armed Forces Divers
* Clearance diver
* Frogman
* Minentaucher
* Royal Navy ships diver
* United States military divers
* U.S. Navy diver
* U.S.Navy master diver

| Military
diving
units|

* 7th Marine Brigade
* Clearance Diving Branch (RAN)
* Commando Hubert
* Combat Divers Service (Lithuania)
* Comando Raggruppamento Subacquei e Incursori Teseo Tesei
* Decima Flottiglia MAS
* Frogman Corps (Denmark)
* Fuerzas Especiales
* Fukuryu
* GRUMEC
* Grup Gerak Khas
* Jagdkommando
* JW Formoza
* JW GROM
* JW Komandosów
* Kommando Spezialkräfte Marine
* KOPASKA
* MARCOS
* Marine Commandos
* Marinejegerkommandoen
* Marine Raider Regiment
* Minedykkerkommandoen
* Namibian Marine Corps Operational Diving Unit
* Naval Diving Unit (Singapore)
* Naval Service Diving Section
* Naval Special Operations Command
* Operational Diving Division (SA Navy)
* Royal Engineers
* Russian commando frogmen
* Sappers Divers Group
* Shayetet 13
* Special Air Service
* Special Air Service Regiment
* Special Actions Detachment
* Special Boat Service
* Special Boat Squadron (Sri Lanka)
* Special Forces Command (Turkey)
* Special Forces Group (Belgium)
* Special Operations Battalion (Croatia)
* Special Service Group (Navy)
* Special Warfare Diving and Salvage
* Tactical Divers Group
* US Marine Corps Force Reconnaissance
* US Marine Corps Reconnaissance Battalions
* US Navy SEALs
* Underwater Construction Teams
* Underwater Demolition Command
* Underwater Demolition Team
* Underwater Offence (Turkish Armed Forces)
* UNGERIN

|

Underwater
work|

* Commercial offshore diving
* Dive leader
* Diver training
* Recreational diver training
* Hazmat diving
* Hyperbaric welding
* Marine construction
* Offshore construction
* Underwater construction
* Media diving
* Pearl hunting
* Police diving
* Potable water diving
* Public safety diving
* Scientific diving
* Ships husbandry
* Sponge diving
* Submarine pipeline
* Underwater archaeology
* Archaeology of shipwrecks
* Underwater cutting and welding
* Underwater demolition
* Underwater inspection
* Nondestructive testing
* Underwater logging
* Underwater photography
* Underwater search and recovery
* Underwater searches
* Underwater videography
* Underwater survey

| Salvage diving|

* SS Egypt
* Kronan
* La Belle
* SS Laurentic
* RMS Lusitania
* Mars
* Mary Rose
* USS Monitor
* HMS Royal George
* Vasa

|

Diving
contractors|

* COMEX
* Helix Energy Solutions Group
* International Marine Contractors Association

Tools and
equipment|

* Abrasive waterjet
* Airlift
* Baited remote underwater video
* In-water surface cleaning
* Brush cart
* Cavitation cleaning
* Pressure washing
* Pigging
* Hot stab
* Lifting bag
* Remotely operated underwater vehicle
* Thermal lance
* Tremie
* Water jetting

Underwater
weapons|

* Limpet mine
* Speargun
* Hawaiian sling
* Polespear

| Underwater
firearm|

* Gyrojet
* Mk 1 Underwater Defense Gun
* Powerhead
* Underwater pistols
* Heckler & Koch P11
* SPP-1 underwater pistol
* Underwater revolvers
* AAI underwater revolver
* Underwater rifles
* ADS amphibious rifle
* APS underwater rifle
* ASM-DT amphibious rifle
* QBS-06

|

Recreational diving

* Recreational dive sites
* Index of recreational dive sites
* List of wreck diving sites
* Outline of recreational dive sites

| Specialties|

* Altitude diving
* Cave diving
* Deep diving
* Ice diving
* Muck diving
* Open-water diving
* Rebreather diving
* Sidemount diving
* Solo diving
* Technical diving
* Underwater photography
* Wreck diving

|

Diver
organisations|

* British Sub-Aqua Club (BSAC)
* Cave Divers Association of Australia (CDAA)
* Cave Diving Group (CDG)
* Comhairle Fo-Thuinn (CFT)
* Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques (CMAS)
* Federación Española de Actividades Subacuáticas (FEDAS)
* Fédération Française d'Études et de Sports Sous-Marins (FFESSM)
* International Association for Handicapped Divers (IAHD)
* Quintana Roo Speleological Survey (QRSS)
* Woodville Karst Plain Project (WKPP)

Diving tourism
industry|

* Dive center
* Diving in Timor-Leste
* Diving in the Maldives
* Environmental impact of recreational diving
* Scuba diving tourism
* Scuba diving in the Cayman Islands
* Shark tourism
* Sinking ships for wreck diving sites
* Underwater diving in Guam

Diving events
and festivals|

* Diversnight
* Underwater Bike Race

Diving safety

* Human factors in diving equipment design
* Human factors in diving safety
* Life-support system
* Safety-critical system
* Scuba diving fatalities
* Underwater diving emergency
* Water safety
* Water surface searches

| Diving
hazards|

* List of diving hazards and precautions
* Environmental
* Current
* Delta-P
* Entanglement hazard
* Overhead
* Silt out
* Wave action
* Equipment
* Freeflow
* Use of breathing equipment in an underwater environment
* Failure of diving equipment other than breathing apparatus
* Single point of failure
* Physiological
* Cold shock response
* Decompression
* Nitrogen narcosis
* Oxygen toxicity
* Seasickness
* Uncontrolled decompression
* Diver behaviour and competence
* Incompetence
* Overconfidence effect
* Panic
* Task loading
* Trait anxiety
* Willful violation

| Consequences|

* Barotrauma
* Decompression sickness
* Drowning
* Hypothermia
* Hypoxia
* Hypercapnia
* Hyperthermia
* Non-freezing cold injury

|

Diving
procedures|

* Ascending and descending
* Emergency ascent
* Boat diving
* Canoe and kayak diving
* Buddy diving
* buddy check
* Decompression
* Decompression practice
* Pyle stop
* Ratio decompression
* Dive briefing
* Dive log
* Dive planning
* Rule of thirds
* Scuba gas planning
* Diver communications
* Diver rescue
* Diver training
* Doing It Right
* Drift diving
* Gas blending for scuba diving
* Night diving
* Rebreather diving
* Scuba gas management
* Solo diving
* Wall diving

Risk
management|

* Checklist
* Hazard identification and risk assessment
* Hazard analysis
* Job safety analysis
* Risk assessment
* Hyperbaric evacuation and rescue
* Risk control
* Hierarchy of hazard controls
* Incident pit
* Lockout–tagout
* Permit To Work
* Redundancy
* Safety data sheet
* Situation awareness

| Diving team|

* Bellman
* Chamber operator
* Diver medical technician
* Diver's attendant
* Diving supervisor
* Diving systems technician
* Gas man
* Life support technician
* Stand-by diver

|

Equipment
safety|

* Breathing gas quality
* Testing and inspection of diving cylinders
* Hydrostatic test
* Sustained load cracking
* Diving regulator
* Breathing performance of regulators

Occupational
safety and
health|

* Association of Diving Contractors International
* International Marine Contractors Association
* Code of practice
* Contingency plan
* Diving regulations
* Emergency response plan
* Diving safety officer
* Diving superintendent
* Diving supervisor
* Operations manual
* Standard operating procedure

Diving medicine

| Diving
disorders|

* List of signs and symptoms of diving disorders
* Cramp
* Motion sickness
* Surfer's ear

| Pressure
related|

* Alternobaric vertigo
* Barostriction
* Barotrauma
* Air embolism
* Aerosinusitis
* Barodontalgia
* Dental barotrauma
* Middle ear barotrauma
* Pulmonary barotrauma
* Compression arthralgia
* Decompression illness
* Dysbarism

| Oxygen|

* Freediving blackout
* Hyperoxia
* Hypoxia
* Oxygen toxicity

|

Inert gases|

* Avascular necrosis
* Decompression sickness
* Dysbaric osteonecrosis
* Inner ear decompression sickness
* Isobaric counterdiffusion
* Taravana
* High-pressure nervous syndrome
* Hydrogen narcosis
* Nitrogen narcosis

Carbon dioxide|

* Hypercapnia
* Hypocapnia

Breathing gas
contaminants|

* Carbon monoxide poisoning

Immersion
related|

* Asphyxia
* Drowning
* Hypothermia
* Immersion diuresis
* Instinctive drowning response
* Laryngospasm
* Salt water aspiration syndrome
* Swimming-induced pulmonary edema

Treatment|

* Demand valve oxygen therapy
* First aid
* Hyperbaric medicine
* Hyperbaric treatment schedules
* In-water recompression
* Oxygen therapy
* Therapeutic recompression

Personnel|

* Diving Medical Examiner
* Diving Medical Practitioner
* Diving Medical Technician
* Hyperbaric nursing

Screening|

* Atrial septal defect
* Effects of drugs on fitness to dive
* Fitness to dive
* Psychological fitness to dive

Research|

| Researchers in
diving physiology
and medicine|

* Arthur J. Bachrach
* Albert R. Behnke
* Peter B. Bennett
* Paul Bert
* George F. Bond
* Robert Boyle
* Alf O. Brubakk
* Albert A. Bühlmann
* John R. Clarke
* Guybon Chesney Castell Damant
* Kenneth William Donald
* William Paul Fife
* John Scott Haldane
* Robert William Hamilton Jr.
* Henry Valence Hempleman
* Leonard Erskine Hill
* Brian Andrew Hills
* Felix Hoppe-Seyler
* Christian J. Lambertsen
* Simon Mitchell
* Charles Momsen
* Neal W. Pollock
* John Rawlins
* Charles Wesley Shilling
* Edward D. Thalmann
* Jacques Triger

|

Diving medical
research
organisations|

* Aerospace Medical Association
* Divers Alert Network (DAN)
* Diving Diseases Research Centre (DDRC)
* Diving Medical Advisory Council (DMAC)
* European Diving Technology Committee (EDTC)
* European Underwater and Baromedical Society (EUBS)
* National Board of Diving and Hyperbaric Medical Technology
* Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory
* Royal Australian Navy School of Underwater Medicine
* Rubicon Foundation
* South Pacific Underwater Medicine Society (SPUMS)
* Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS)
* United States Navy Experimental Diving Unit (NEDU)

Law

* Civil liability in recreational diving
* Diving regulations
* Duty of care
* List of legislation regulating underwater diving
* Investigation of diving accidents
* Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage

History of underwater diving

* History of decompression research and development
* History of dive computers
* History of Diving Museum
* History of scuba diving
* List of researchers in underwater diving
* Lyons Maritime Museum
* Man in the Sea Museum
* Timeline of atmospheric diving suits
* Timeline of diving technology
* Pearling in Western Australia
* US Navy decompression models and tables

| Archeological
sites|

* SS Commodore
* USS Monitor
* Queen Anne's Revenge
* Whydah Gally

|

Underwater art
and artists|

* The Diver
* Jason deCaires Taylor

Engineers
and inventors|

* Jerónimo de Ayanz y Beaumont
* William Beebe
* Georges Beuchat
* Giovanni Alfonso Borelli
* Joseph-Martin Cabirol
* John R. Clarke
* Jacques Cousteau
* Charles Anthony Deane
* John Deane
* Louis de Corlieu
* Auguste Denayrouze
* Ted Eldred
* Henry Fleuss
* Émile Gagnan
* Karl Heinrich Klingert
* Peter Kreeft
* Christian J. Lambertsen
* Yves Le Prieur
* John Lethbridge
* Ernest William Moir
* Joseph Salim Peress
* Auguste Piccard
* Joe Savoie
* Willard Franklyn Searle
* Gordon Smith
* Augustus Siebe
* Pierre-Marie Touboulic
* Jacques Triger

Historical
equipment|

* Aqua-Lung
* RV Calypso
* SP-350 Denise
* Magnesium torch
* Nikonos
* Porpoise regulator
* Standard diving dress
* Sub Marine Explorer
* Vintage scuba

| Diver
propulsion
vehicles|

* Advanced SEAL Delivery System
* Cosmos CE2F series
* Dry Combat Submersible
* Human torpedo
* Motorised Submersible Canoe
* Necker Nymph
* R-2 Mala-class swimmer delivery vehicle
* SEAL Delivery Vehicle
* Shallow Water Combat Submersible
* Siluro San Bartolomeo
* Welfreighter
* Wet Nellie

|

Military and
covert operations|

* Raid on Alexandria (1941)
* Sinking of the Rainbow Warrior

Scientific projects|

* 1992 cageless shark-diving expedition
* Mission 31

Awards and events|

* Hans Hass Award
* International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame
* London Diving Chamber Dive Lectures
* NOGI Awards
* Women Divers Hall of Fame

Incidents|

| Dive boat incidents|

* Sinking of MV Conception

|

Diver rescues|

* Alpazat cave rescue
* Tham Luang cave rescue

Early diving|

* John Day (carpenter)
* Charles Spalding
* Ebenezer Watson

Freediving fatalities|

* Stephen Keenan
* Loïc Leferme
* Audrey Mestre
* Nicholas Mevoli
* Natalia Molchanova

Offshore
diving incidents|

* Byford Dolphin diving bell accident
* Drill Master diving accident
* Star Canopus diving accident
* Stena Seaspread diving accident
* Venture One diving accident
* Waage Drill II diving accident
* Wildrake diving accident

Professional
diving fatalities|

* Roger Baldwin
* John Bennett
* Victor F. Guiel Jr.
* Francis P. Hammerberg
* Craig M. Hoffman
* Peter Henry Michael Holmes
* Johnson Sea Link accident
* Edwin Clayton Link
* Gerard Anthony Prangley
* Per Skipnes
* Robert John Smyth
* Albert D. Stover
* Richard A. Walker
* Lothar Michael Ward
* Joachim Wendler
* Bradley Westell
* Arne Zetterström

Scuba diving
fatalities|

* 1973 Mount Gambier cave diving accident
* Ricardo Armbruster
* Allan Bridge
* David Bright
* Berry L. Cannon
* Cotton Coulson
* Cláudio Coutinho
* E. Yale Dawson
* Deon Dreyer
* Milan Dufek
* Sheck Exley
* Maurice Fargues
* Fernando Garfella Palmer
* Guy Garman
* Steve Irwin
* death
* Jim Jones
* Henry Way Kendall
* Artur Kozłowski
* Yuri Lipski
* Kirsty MacColl
* Linnea Mills
* Agnes Milowka
* François de Roubaix
* Chris and Chrissy Rouse
* Dave Shaw
* Wesley C. Skiles
* Dewey Smith
* Rob Stewart
* Esbjörn Svensson
* Josef Velek

Publications

| Manuals|

* NOAA Diving Manual
* U.S. Navy Diving Manual
* Basic Cave Diving: A Blueprint for Survival
* Underwater Handbook
* Bennett and Elliott's physiology and medicine of diving
* Encyclopedia of Recreational Diving
* The new science of skin and scuba diving
* Professional Diver's Handbook
* Basic Scuba

|

Standards and
Codes of Practice|

* Code of Practice for Scientific Diving (UNESCO)
* DIN 7876
* IMCA Code of Practice for Offshore Diving
* ISO 24801 Recreational diving services — Requirements for the training of recreational scuba divers

General non-fiction|

* The Darkness Beckons
* Goldfinder
* The Last Dive
* Shadow Divers
* The Silent World: A Story of Undersea Discovery and Adventure

Research|

* List of Divers Alert Network publications

Dive guides|

Training and registration

| Diver
training|

* Competence and assessment
* Competency-based learning
* Refresher training
* Skill assessment
* Diver training standard
* Diving instructor
* Diving school
* Occupational diver training
* Commercial diver training
* Military diver training
* Public safety diver training
* Scientific diver training
* Recreational diver training
* Introductory diving
* ISO training standards
* Teaching method
* Muscle memory
* Overlearning
* Stress exposure training

| Skills|

* Combat sidestroke
* Diver navigation
* Diver trim
* Ear clearing
* Frenzel maneuver
* Valsalva maneuver
* Finning techniques
* Scuba skills
* Buddy breathing
* Low impact diving
* Diamond Reef System
* Surface-supplied diving skills
* Underwater searches

|

Recreational
scuba
certification
levels|

| Core diving skills|

* Advanced Open Water Diver
* Autonomous diver
* CMAS* scuba diver
* CMAS** scuba diver
* Introductory diving
* Low Impact Diver
* Master Scuba Diver
* Open Water Diver
* Supervised diver

|

Leadership skills|

* Dive leader
* Divemaster
* Diving instructor
* Master Instructor

Specialist skills|

* Rescue Diver
* Solo diver

Diver training
certification
and registration
organisations|

* European Underwater Federation (EUF)
* International Diving Regulators and Certifiers Forum (IDRCF)
* International Diving Schools Association (IDSA)
* International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA)
* List of diver certification organizations
* National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
* Nautical Archaeology Society
* Recreational diver course referral
* World Recreational Scuba Training Council (WRSTC)

| Commercial diver
certification
authorities|

* Australian Diver Accreditation Scheme (ADAS)
* Commercial diver registration in South Africa
* Divers Institute of Technology
* Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
* Department of Employment and Labour

|

Commercial diving
schools|

* Divers Academy International
* Norwegian diver school

Free-diving
certification
agencies|

* AIDA International (AIDA)
* Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques (CMAS)
* Performance Freediving International (PI)
* Scuba Schools International (SSI)

Recreational
scuba
certification
agencies|

* American Canadian Underwater Certifications (ACUC)
* American Nitrox Divers International (ANDI)
* Association nationale des moniteurs de plongée (ANMP)
* British Sub-Aqua Club (BSAC)
* Comhairle Fo-Thuinn (CFT)
* Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques (CMAS)
* Federación Española de Actividades Subacuáticas (FEDAS)
* Fédération Française d'Études et de Sports Sous-Marins (FFESSM)
* Federazione Italiana Attività Subacquee (FIAS)
* Global Underwater Explorers (GUE)
* International Association for Handicapped Divers (IAHD)
* International Association of Nitrox and Technical Divers (IANTD)
* International Life Saving Federation (ILS)
* Israeli Diving Federation (TIDF)
* National Academy of Scuba Educators (NASE)
* National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI)
* Nederlandse Onderwatersport Bond (NOB)
* Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI)
* Professional Diving Instructors Corporation (PDIC)
* Professional Technical and Recreational Diving (ProTec)
* Rebreather Association of International Divers (RAID)
* Sub-Aqua Association (SAA)
* Scuba Diving International (SDI)
* Scuba Educators International (SEI)
* Scuba Schools International (SSI)
* Türkiye Sualtı Sporları Federasyonu (TSSF)
* United Diving Instructors (UDI)
* YMCA SCUBA Program

Scientific diver
certification
authorities|

* American Academy of Underwater Sciences (AAUS)
* CMAS Scientific Committee

Technical diver
certification
agencies|

* American Nitrox Divers International (ANDI)
* British Sub-Aqua Club (BSAC)
* Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques (CMAS)
* Diving Science and Technology (DSAT)
* Federazione Italiana Attività Subacquee (FIAS)
* International Association of Nitrox and Technical Divers (IANTD)
* Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI)
* Professional Diving Instructors Corporation (PDIC)
* Professional Technical and Recreational Diving (ProTec)
* Rebreather Association of International Divers (RAID)
* Trimix Scuba Association (TSA)
* Technical Extended Range (TXR)

| Cave
diving|

* Cave Divers Association of Australia (CDAA)
* Cave Diving Group (CDG)
* Global Underwater Explorers (GUE)
* National Speleological Society#Cave Diving Group (CDG)
* National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI)
* Technical Diving International (TDI)

|

Military diver
training centres|

* Defence Diving School
* Navy Diving Salvage and Training Center
* Underwater Escape Training Unit

Military diver
training courses|

* United States Marine Corps Combatant Diver Course

Underwater sports

| Surface snorkeling|

* Finswimming

|

Snorkeling/breath-hold|

* Spearfishing
* Underwater football
* Underwater hockey
* Australia
* Turkey
* Underwater rugby
* Colombia
* United States
* Underwater target shooting

Breath-hold|

* Aquathlon
* Apnoea finswimming
* Freediving

Open Circuit Scuba|

* Immersion finswimming
* Sport diving
* Underwater cycling
* Underwater orienteering
* Underwater photography

Rebreather|

* Underwater photography

Sports governing
organisations
and federations|

* International
* AIDA International
* Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques)
* National
* AIDA Hellas
* Australian Underwater Federation
* British Freediving Association
* British Octopush Association
* British Underwater Sports Association
* Comhairle Fo-Thuinn
* Federación Española de Actividades Subacuáticas
* Fédération Française d'Études et de Sports Sous-Marins
* South African Underwater Sports Federation
* Türkiye Sualtı Sporları Federasyonu
* Underwater Society of America)

Competitions|

* 14th CMAS Underwater Photography World Championship
* Underwater Hockey World Championships
* Underwater Orienteering World Championships
* Underwater Rugby World Championships

Underwater divers

| Pioneers
of diving|

* Eduard Admetlla i Lázaro
* Aquanaut
* Mary Bonnin
* Amelia Behrens-Furniss
* James F. Cahill
* Jacques Cousteau
* Billy Deans
* Dottie Frazier
* Trevor Hampton
* Hans Hass
* Hannes Keller
* Dick Rutkowski
* Teseo Tesei
* Arne Zetterström

|

Underwater
scientists
archaeologists and
environmentalists|

* Michael Arbuthnot
* Robert Ballard
* George Bass
* Mensun Bound
* Louis Boutan
* Jeffrey Bozanic
* Hugh Bradner
* Cathy Church
* Eugenie Clark
* James P. Delgado
* Sylvia Earle
* John Christopher Fine
* George R. Fischer
* Anders Franzén
* Honor Frost
* Fernando Garfella Palmer
* David Gibbins
* Graham Jessop
* Swietenia Puspa Lestari
* Pilar Luna
* Robert F. Marx
* Anna Marguerite McCann
* Innes McCartney
* Charles T. Meide
* Mark M. Newell
* Lyuba Ognenova-Marinova
* John Peter Oleson
* Mendel L. Peterson
* Richard Pyle
* Andreas Rechnitzer
* William R. Royal
* Margaret Rule
* Gunter Schöbel
* Stephanie Schwabe
* Myriam Seco
* E. Lee Spence
* Robert Sténuit
* Peter Throckmorton
* Cristina Zenato

Scuba record
holders|

* Pascal Bernabé
* Jim Bowden
* Mark Ellyatt
* Sheck Exley
* Nuno Gomes
* Claudia Serpieri
* Krzysztof Starnawski

Underwater
filmmakers
and presenters|

* Samir Alhafith
* David Attenborough
* Ramón Bravo
* Jean-Michel Cousteau
* Richie Kohler
* Paul Rose
* Andy Torbet
* Ivan Tors
* Andrew Wight
* James Cameron

Underwater
photographers|

* Doug Allan
* Tamara Benitez
* Georges Beuchat
* Adrian Biddle
* Jonathan Bird
* Eric Cheng
* Neville Coleman
* Jacques Cousteau
* John D. Craig
* Ben Cropp
* Bernard Delemotte
* David Doubilet
* Candice Farmer
* John Christopher Fine
* Rodney Fox
* Ric Frazier
* Stephen Frink
* Peter Gimbel
* Monty Halls
* Hans Hass
* Henry Way Kendall
* Rudie Kuiter
* Joseph B. MacInnis
* Luis Marden
* Agnes Milowka
* Noel Monkman
* Pete Oxford
* Steve Parish
* Zale Parry
* Pierre Petit
* Leni Riefenstahl
* Peter Scoones
* Brian Skerry
* Wesley C. Skiles
* E. Lee Spence
* Philippe Tailliez
* Ron Taylor
* Valerie Taylor
* Albert Tillman
* John Veltri
* Stan Waterman
* Michele Westmorland
* John Ernest Williamson
* J. Lamar Worzel

Underwater
explorers|

* Caves
* Graham Balcombe
* Sheck Exley
* Martyn Farr
* Jochen Hasenmayer
* Jill Heinerth
* Jarrod Jablonski
* Brian Kakuk
* William Hogarth Main
* Tom Mount
* Jack Sheppard
* Bill Stone
* Reefs
* Arthur C. Clarke
* Wrecks
* Leigh Bishop
* John Chatterton
* Clive Cussler
* Bill Nagle
* Valerie van Heest
* Aristotelis Zervoudis

Aquanauts|

* Andrew Abercromby
* Joseph M. Acaba
* Clayton Anderson
* Richard R. Arnold
* Serena Auñón-Chancellor
* Michael Barratt (astronaut)
* Robert A. Barth
* Robert L. Behnken
* Randolph Bresnik
* Timothy J. Broderick
* Justin Brown
* Berry L. Cannon
* Scott Carpenter
* Gregory Chamitoff
* Steve Chappell
* Catherine Coleman
* Robin Cook
* Craig B. Cooper
* Fabien Cousteau
* Philippe Cousteau
* Timothy Creamer
* Jonathan Dory
* Pedro Duque
* Sylvia Earle
* Jeanette Epps
* Sheck Exley
* Albert Falco
* Andrew J. Feustel
* Michael Fincke
* Satoshi Furukawa
* Ronald J. Garan Jr.
* Michael L. Gernhardt
* Christopher E. Gerty
* David Gruber
* Chris Hadfield
* Jeremy Hansen
* José M. Hernández
* John Herrington
* Paul Hill
* Akihiko Hoshide
* Mark Hulsbeck
* Emma Hwang
* Norishige Kanai
* Les Kaufman
* Scott Kelly
* Karen Kohanowich
* Timothy Kopra
* Dominic Landucci
* Jon Lindbergh
* Kjell N. Lindgren
* Michael López-Alegría
* Joseph B. MacInnis
* Sandra Magnus
* Thomas Marshburn
* Matthias Maurer
* K. Megan McArthur
* Craig McKinley
* Jessica Meir
* Simone Melchior
* Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger
* Andreas Mogensen
* Karen Nyberg
* John D. Olivas
* Takuya Onishi
* Luca Parmitano
* Nicholas Patrick
* Tim Peake
* Thomas Pesquet
* Marc Reagan
* Garrett Reisman
* Kathleen Rubins
* Dick Rutkowski
* Tara Ruttley
* David Saint-Jacques
* Josef Schmid
* Robert Sheats
* Dewey Smith
* Steve Squyres
* Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper
* Robert Sténuit
* Hervé Stevenin
* Nicole Stott
* James Talacek
* Daniel M. Tani
* Robert Thirsk
* Bill Todd
* Mark T. Vande Hei
* Koichi Wakata
* Rex J. Walheim
* Shannon Walker
* John Morgan Wells
* Joachim Wendler
* Douglas H. Wheelock
* Peggy Whitson
* Dafydd Williams
* Jeffrey Williams
* Sunita Williams
* Reid Wiseman
* Kimiya Yui

Writers and journalists|

* Michael C. Barnette
* Victor Berge
* Philippe Diolé
* Gary Gentile
* Bret Gilliam
* Bob Halstead
* Hillary Hauser
* Trevor Jackson
* Steve Lewis
* John Mattera

Rescuers|

* Craig Challen
* Richard Harris
* Rick Stanton
* John Volanthen

Frogmen|

* Lionel Crabb
* Ian Edward Fraser
* Sydney Knowles
* James Joseph Magennis

Commercial salvors|

* Keith Jessop

Science of underwater diving

* List of researchers in underwater diving

| Diving
physics|

* Metre sea water
* Neutral buoyancy
* Underwater acoustics
* Modulated ultrasound
* Underwater vision
* Underwater computer vision

|

Diving
physiology|

* Blood shift
* Cold shock response
* Diving reflex
* Equivalent narcotic depth
* Maximum operating depth
* Physiological response to water immersion
* Thermal balance of the underwater diver
* Underwater vision
* Work of breathing

| Decompression
theory|

* Decompression models:
* Bühlmann decompression algorithm
* Haldane's decompression model
* Reduced gradient bubble model
* Thalmann algorithm
* Thermodynamic model of decompression
* Varying Permeability Model
* Equivalent air depth
* Oxygen window
* Physiology of decompression

|

Diving
environments|

* Underwater exploration
* Deep-sea exploration

| Classification|

* List of diving environments by type
* Altitude diving
* Benign water diving
* Confined water diving
* Deep diving
* Inland diving
* Inshore diving
* Muck diving
* Night diving
* Open-water diving
* Black-water diving
* Blue-water diving
* Penetration diving
* Cave diving
* Torricellian chamber
* Ice diving
* Wreck diving
* Recreational dive sites
* Underwater environment
* Underwater diving environment

|

Impact|

* Environmental impact of recreational diving
* Low impact diving

Other

* Bathysphere
* Defense against swimmer incursions
* Diver detection sonar
* Offshore survey
* Rugged compact camera
* Underwater domain awareness
* Underwater vehicle

| Deep-submergence
vehicle|

* Aluminaut
* DSV Alvin
* American submarine NR-1
* Bathyscaphe
* Archimède
* FNRS-2
* FNRS-3
* Harmony class bathyscaphe
* Sea Pole-class bathyscaphe
* Trieste II
* Deepsea Challenger
* Ictineu 3
* JAGO
* Jiaolong
* Konsul-class submersible
* Limiting Factor
* Russian submarine Losharik
* Mir
* Nautile
* Pisces-class deep submergence vehicle
* DSV Sea Cliff
* DSV Shinkai
* DSV Shinkai 2000
* DSV Shinkai 6500
* DSV Turtle
* DSV-5 Nemo

|

Submarine rescue|

* International Submarine Escape and Rescue Liaison Office
* Submarine Escape and Rescue system (Royal Swedish Navy)
* McCann Rescue Chamber
* Submarine rescue ship

| Deep-submergence
rescue vehicle|

* LR5
* LR7
* MSM-1
* Mystic-class deep-submergence rescue vehicle
* DSRV-1 Mystic
* DSRV-2 Avalon
* NATO Submarine Rescue System
* Priz-class deep-submergence rescue vehicle
* Russian deep submergence rescue vehicle AS-28
* Russian submarine AS-34
* ASRV Remora
* SRV-300
* Submarine Rescue Diving Recompression System
* Type 7103 DSRV
* URF (Swedish Navy)

|

Submarine escape|

* Escape trunk
* Submarine escape training facility
* Submarine Escape Training Facility (Australia)

| Escape set|

* Davis Submerged Escape Apparatus
* Momsen lung
* Steinke hood
* Submarine Escape Immersion Equipment

|

Special
interest
groups|

* Artificial Reef Society of British Columbia
* CMAS Europe
* Coral Reef Alliance
* Divers Alert Network
* Green Fins
* Finger Lakes Underwater Preserve Association
* Karst Underwater Research
* Nautical Archaeology Program
* Nautical Archaeology Society
* Naval Air Command Sub Aqua Club
* PADI AWARE
* Reef Check
* Reef Life Survey
* Rubicon Foundation
* Save Ontario Shipwrecks
* SeaKeys
* Sea Research Society
* Society for Underwater Historical Research
* Society for Underwater Technology
* Underwater Archaeology Branch, Naval History & Heritage Command

Neutral buoyancy
facilities for
Astronaut training|

* Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory
* Neutral buoyancy pool
* Neutral buoyancy simulation as a training aid
* Neutral Buoyancy Simulator
* Space Systems Laboratory
* Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center

Other|

* Nautilus Productions
* Helicopter Aircrew Breathing Device
* Scuba diving therapy
* Seabed mining

* Category
* Commons
* Glossary
* Indexes: Dive sites
* Divers
* Diving
* Outline
* Portal

* v
* t
* e

Tests and procedures involving the respiratory system

Surgery|

| Upper RT|

nose

Rhinoplasty
Septoplasty
Somnoplasty
Alarplasty
Rhinectomy
Rhinomanometry
Acoustic rhinometry

sinus

Sinusotomy

larynx

Laryngoscopy
Laryngectomy
Laryngotomy

Thyrotomy
Laryngotracheal reconstruction

|

Lower RT|

trachea

Cricothyrotomy
Tracheoesophageal puncture
Tracheotomy

bronchus

Bronchoscopy

lung

Pneumonectomy
Lobectomy
Wedge resection
Transplantation
Decortication
Heart–lung transplant

Chest wall, pleura,
mediastinum,
and diaphragm|

pleura/pleural cavity

Thoracentesis
Pleurodesis
Thoracoscopy
Thoracotomy
Chest tube

mediastinum

Mediastinoscopy

Nuss procedure

Tests|

| Medical imaging|

* Bronchography
* CT pulmonary angiogram
* High-resolution computed tomography
* Spiral CT
* Ventilation/perfusion scan

|

Clinical prediction rule|

* Pneumonia severity index
* CURB-65

Lung function test|

* Body plethysmography
* Spirometry
* Bronchial challenge test
* Capnography
* Diffusion capacity
* Impulse oscillometry

Cytology|

* Bronchoalveolar lavage
* Nasopharyngeal swab
* Sputum culture

Other|

* Blood gas test
* Pneumography

Other procedures|

| Oxygen therapy|

* Intubation
* Surgical airway management
* Mechanical ventilation
* Negative pressure ventilator
* Positive pressure ventilation

|

Respiratory therapy|

* Artificial respiration
* CPR
* Hyperbaric medicine
* Decompression chamber
* Heliox
* Nebulizer
* Postural drainage
* Hyperinflation therapy
* Pulmonary hygiene
* Pulmonary rehabilitation

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