This article represents the views of the authors. The article has not been fact checked by myself, the Board of Directors or any member of the USA Dive Club.

Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing.

Did You See That? The Art of Observing Marine Life

By Marty Snyderman

The fish, a spectacularly colored grouper, paused and opened its mouth. Finning only slightly to maintain its position just a foot (30 cm) or so above the reef, this brightly colored red and blue-spotted grouper waited patiently for another fish, a cleaner wrasse, to provide its services. Within only a few seconds the cleaner approached and went to work, moving from the tail toward the head along the grouper’s body. The cleaner paused every few seconds to pick at the skin of the grouper.

Like other cleaner species, cleaner wrasses help rid groupers and other host animals of irritating ectoparasites that can be found on the skin of the hosts. In doing so the cleaners gain a meal while the host benefits by getting cleaned.

My dive buddy and I followed the grouper as it slowly moved down the reef. We watched as another fish, the same general size and shape as the cleaner wrasse, appeared. Looking quite confident that additional cleaning services were about to be rendered, the grouper paused and opened its mouth. In the blink of an eye, the fish I thought was a second cleaner wrasse swam up and bit a chunk of skin out of the side of the obviously startled grouper.

Clearly, the attacker was a mimic, a species that does a good enough job of imitating a cleaner species to fool groupers and other fishes into thinking the mimic is the real deal. It’s a risky business to try to fool well-equipped predators, but if well-done, the act of deceit can provide a mimic with a meal. If done badly, no more meals will be necessary. This mimic was a tiger blenny, a fact that, like the grouper, I realized only after the daring blenny had enjoyed its success.

After the dive I excitedly asked my diving buddy what she thought of the scene we had just witnessed, and much to my surprise, her only comment was, “that big fish sure is pretty.” At first I thought she was putting me on, but I soon realized that she had missed both the cleaning and the attack. She had noticed that the grouper had its mouth open rather wide, but she wasn’t sure why. She thought the fish might have been injured.

Observing marine life is like putting puzzle pieces together. When you look at one fish, you see only one piece of the puzzle. Yet when you connect the pieces — say a fish to its habitat and to other creatures within that habitat — you begin to see the inner workings of a marine ecosystem.

But how does one go from fish watcher to underwater naturalist? First, the more you dive, the more you will begin to see various subtleties, and the better observer you will become. You’ll find that your awareness of the underwater world increases with time, the number of dives and the variety of habitats you get to explore and enjoy. Second, it helps to learn about what’s going on under the waves so you are more likely to recognize the happenings that you encounter during your dives.

For the rest of this article, please use this link.

Did You See That? The Art Of Observing Marine Life - Dive Training Magazine | Scuba Diving Skills, Gear, Education

This article represents the views of the author.  The article has not been fact checked by myself, the Board of Directors or any member of the USA Dive Club.

Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise infringing. Only Pictures, Leave At Most Bubbles? The Case for Wreck Preservation

Should artifacts be removed and recovered from shipwrecks, or should our underwater cultural heritage be left undisturbed? Regardless of what your choice is,, under which circumstances? These are the questions that Finnish CMAS instructor, and scientific diver Rupert Simon seeks to answer based on directives from UNESCO’s 2001 Convention along with several governments and training agencies.

Many years back, a fellow diver proudly showed me an amphorae (likely Roman) he had salvaged from a wreck in the Mediterranean Sea. Relatively recently, I watched a video in which a diver brings up an intact porthole from the bottom of the Baltic. Last December, I saw photos in a scuba blog that showed divers presenting their trophies—amongst them was a self-described “… avid collector of shipwreck artifacts.” These examples show that collecting artifacts from shipwrecks, which are de-facto archaeological sites of cultural heritage, is still common. I can’t help but wonder how the habit of collecting items from wrecks for personal benefit applies to the preservation goals taught throughout all main international scuba diving certification bodies. 

For the complete Indepth article use the link below.

Take Only Pictures, Leave At Most Bubbles? The Case for Wreck Preservation - InDEPTH (indepthmag.com)

This article represents the views of the author.  The article has not been fact checked by myself, the Board of Directors or any member of the USA Dive Club.

Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing.

DIVING SAFETY

How Current Are Your Rescue Skills?

By Wally Endres and Christine Tamburri. 

When was the last time you had an in-water emergency while diving where your reaction saved a life? Maybe we should ask a more critical question: was it an event or was it actually an emergency? Are you a proactive or reactive diver? 

For the full article in InDepth magazine, please use the link below.

How Current Are Your Rescue Skills? - InDEPTH (indepthmag.com)

This article represents the views of the author. The article has not been fact checked by myself, the Board of Directors or any member of the USA Dive Club

. Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing.

Understanding Oxygen Toxicity: Part 1

 Looking Back In this first of a two-part series, Diver Alert Network’s Reilly Fogarty examines the research that has led to our current working understanding of oxygen toxicity. He presents the history of oxygen toxicity research, our current toxicity models, the external risk factors we now understand, and what the future of this research will look like. Mind your PO2s!

For the entire InDEPT; article please use the link below.

Understanding Oxygen Toxicity: Part 1 – Looking Back - InDEPTH (indepthmag.com)

What to Do If You Have a Rash After Scuba Diving

This article represents the views of the author.  The article has not been fact checked by myself, the Board of Directors or any member of the USA Dive Club.

Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing.

An unexplained skin rash can mean more serious problems

By Eric Douglas 

About an hour and a half after her second dive of the day, Jan’s buddy noticed a rash on Jan’s back and hip as she pulled her wetsuit down. They immediately alerted the dive crew.

The Diver

Jan was a 55-year-old diver who learned to dive for her 50th birthday. She made 15 to 20 dives each summer and was in overall good health.

The Dives

Jan and her buddy were on a daylong charter trip with three dives planned. They did two deep dives in the morning to explore an artificial reef. They planned for a shallower dive after a surface interval.

The Accident

After noticing the red and itchy rash on her back and side, Jan removed her wetsuit and took a warm shower. Cortisone cream relieved the itchiness, but her skin remained blotchy.

She called the emergency line at Divers Alert Network (DAN) after consulting with the crew, reporting no other signs or symptoms other than the rash. She had no dizziness, lethargy or loss of her ability to walk normally.

Jan skipped the third dive of the day and went to the emergency room once the boat returned to the dock.

Related Reading: The Risks of Forgoing Drysuit Training

Analysis

A sudden rash while diving could be sea lice or another ocean irritant, but the red-bluish discoloration underneath the skin indicated a likely case of skin bends.

Skin bends is a presentation of decompression sickness (DCS). It is a buildup of nitrogen in the tissues and bloodstream.

When a rash suddenly appears after a dive, especially a deep or long dive, it could signal a bigger issue and requires a full evaluation from a doctor trained in diving medicine. Look for areas of numbness or tingling in the body, extreme tiredness, feeling unsteady on your feet or even problems urinating.

Repeated instances of subcutaneous rashes or other more serious symptoms following diving may be a sign of a patent foramen ovale (PFO)—a hole in the heart wall between the upper chambers of the heart. Under the right conditions, it can allow blood from the venous circulation to pass into the arterial circulation. Nitrogen gas bubbles in the bloodstream would normally be filtered out by the lungs, but when they move into the arterial circulation, they can cause problems. Having a PFO is not a problem in everyday life, but it does increase the risk of more serious neurological DCS symptoms with diving. A surgical procedure can repair it.

Jan’s symptoms continued to resolve as she rested and hydrated. The emergency physician prescribed Benadryl, which seemed to help, but that doesn’t exclude the possibility of skin bends. With a potential DCS case, the boat crew should have administered oxygen.

Some divers make the mistake of diving even after symptoms appear. Jan wisely chose to skip the final dive. She returned to diving a week later but switched to nitrox and dived more conservatively.

Lessons For Life

• Pay attention to your body. When unusual symptoms appear within 24 hours of diving, be aware that you may have a diving-related injury, and consult with DAN.
• Understand the signs and symptoms. Learn what to watch for when it comes to decompression sickness.
• Learn how to respond. Rescue and oxygen first-aid training prepare you to identify and respond to a suspected case of DCS in your dive buddy or yourself.

This article represents the views of the author.  The article has not been fact checked by myself, the Board of Directors or any member of the USA Dive Club.

Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing.

A “Handy” Way to Communicate: Using Hand Signals and Accessories to Communicate Underwater

COMMUNICATION IS THE act of exchanging information by signals or messages, including writing, talking and gesturing. The key word here is “exchange.” As we know, communicating clearly with someone is not always easy, even when the conversation is conducted using words spoken on dry land. For instance, if you are across a crowded, noisy room from the person you are trying to communicate with, they might not hear your message. Or if you’re speaking English to a non-English speaker, the message might not be understood even if the person is near enough for you to whisper in their ear. For solid communication to happen, your message must travel in a loop that sees it conveyed, received, understood, acknowledged and appropriately responded to. If the message gets hung up along the way, communication breaks down. This process becomes more complicated when we put a regulator in our mouth and jump into the water. For starters, having the regulator in our mouth makes talking difficult. Secondly, water makes sound waves go wonky, playing tricks on how we perceive sound underwater. This is why, as part of the Open Water Diver certification course, we all learn a variety of underwater hand signals commonly used in diving. In this article we’ll cover using hand signals and accessories for effective underwater communications.

Please use this DIVER MAGAZINE link below for the full article by  Barry & Ruth Guimbellot

Underwater Hand Signals - Dive Training Magazine (dtmag.com)

This article represents the views of the author.  The article has not been fact checked by myself, the Board of Directors or any member of the USA Dive Club.

Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing.

Does The Sport Diving Community Learn from Accidents?

by Gareth Lock

Do we learn from accidents as a diving culture and, as a result, take the actions, where needed, to improve divers’ safety? Though we might like to think that’s the case, the reality is more complicated as human factors coach Gareth Lock explains in some detail. Lock offers a broad six-point plan to help the community boost its learning chops. We gave him an A for effort. See what you think.

For the complete GUE article, please use the following link.

Does The Sport Diving Community Learn from Accidents? - InDepth (gue.com)

A Primer on Underwater Navigation Technology - InDepth (gue.com)By Gabriel Pineda.  Ocean Plan’s Navigator Pro. 

This article represents the views of the author.  The article has not been fact checked by myself, the Board of Directors or any member of the USA Dive Club.

Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing.

Underwater navigation seems like an obvious and useful extension of our dive computing capabilities. So why aren’t U/W NAV systems more prevalent? Former Shearwater director of sales and marketing Gabriel Pineda reviews the technology that exists today, discusses barriers to adoption, and offers some alternative approaches, including DIY solutions, to the problem of finding your way underwater.

For the entire GUE article please use the link below.

A Primer on Underwater Navigation Technology - InDepth (gue.com)

What to Do When You Overheat While Diving | Scuba Diving

An overheated diver catches a lucky break

By Eric Douglas 

This article represents the views of the author.  The article has not been fact checked by myself, the Board of Directors or any member of the USA Dive Club.

Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing.

The air was hot, and all Diane could think about was getting in the water. Her drysuit made it even worse. She rushed to get to the swim step, telling her dive buddy she would meet him there. And then everything went dark.

The Diver

Diane was a 45-year-old diver in good physical condition, with PADI Advanced Open Water Diver and Dry Suit Diver certifications. She’d been diving for five years and had no known health conditions.

The Dive

Diane and her buddy were diving from a local charter boat with a planned depth of 80 feet. The air temperature was mid 80s, and there wasn’t much of a breeze. Surface water temperature was 64 degrees, but at depth it dropped to the 50s.

Diane was overheating as she sat in the sun waiting on her buddy. She’d already sealed the zipper on her drysuit so she decided to get in the water to cool off. She felt lightheaded when she stood up but made her way to the entry point and put on her fins. With Diane’s “OK,” the divemaster turned away to help other divers.

Related Reading: Ask DAN: How do I shore dive safely?

The Accident

Four other divers were already underwater when they saw Diane descending face-first like a rag doll. She was unconscious, and her regulator was out of her mouth. They saw her hit the bottom hard.

Three of them raced to help while the fourth headed to the surface to alert the boat crew. All the divers were PADI Rescue Diver certified. One attempted to get Diane’s regulator in her mouth, but when that failed, they inflated her BCD and escorted her to the surface.

The boat crew got Diane on board. She was not breathing, and her lips were blue. After a few minutes of CPR they noticed her breathing shallowly. They put her on oxygen first aid while heading to shore.

Diane was airlifted to a local medical facility and almost immediately recovered. She was later given a CT scan to determine the reason for losing consciousness. None was determined. She was released the next day with a perforated ear drum and soreness but was otherwise fine.

Analysis

Diane overheated and passed out as she stood on the swim step. Dive gear is often dark or black, making it uncomfortable to sit in under bright sun, especially when air temperatures are high. In situations like this, stay in the shade, stay hydrated and don your exposure protection at the last minute to avoid overheating.

The boat crew made a mistake by not observing Diane in the water or becoming concerned when she didn’t surface to wait for her dive buddy. But the most important takeaway from this accident is the quick reaction of the divers in the water and then by the boat crew on the surface. They performed CPR and administered oxygen. They also implemented their emergency plan and got an air evacuation on the way. The quick thinking and the actions of everyone involved saved Diane’s life.

Lessons For Life

Be prepared. Take a PADI Rescue Diver course and learn to respond in an emergency.

Avoid overheating. You can overheat quickly in dive gear. Don your exposure protection last-minute, or leave your suit unzipped to maintain a comfortable body temp.

Pay attention to your body. If you’re feeling lightheaded or otherwise unwell, take a minute to figure out what’s wrong. Collapsing on the boat in full gear can hurt. Losing consciousness in the water could be worse.

Delays and Misdiagnosis

By Jon Hardy

This article represents the views of the author.  The article has not been fact checked by myself, the Board of Directors or any member of the USA Dive Club.

Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing.

Setting the Stage

A physician named George took a tropical dive vacation with his wife Eve and teenage son Todd. The family took advantage of the two boat dives per day and unlimited shore diving offered by their resort. By Friday, George and his family were 13 dives into their weeklong vacation and planned only two morning boat dives so that they would have a 24-hour surface interval before their Saturday afternoon flight home.

The Accident

When they surfaced at the stern of the dive boat after their second dive Friday morning, George and Todd let Eve board first. George started to tell Todd that he felt something was wrong when he suddenly lost consciousness.

Todd swam to his father immediately and yelled for help. The crew jumped into action and promptly got George and Todd out of the water and out of their dive gear. George regained consciousness quickly and, other than feeling out of sorts, he seemed to be all right.

While the crew secured the boat, George's symptoms worsened. Because English was not the boat crew's primary language, the family had difficulty communicating with them. No neurological exam was performed, no first aid was provided and George, the only person on hand with any medical training, was in no shape to provide a diagnosis. On the ride back to shore, the crew told the family that George must have been stung by something in the water and he would be better soon. They volunteered to arrange a ride to a local medical clinic.

When they arrived on shore, the dive guide called a cab, and George and his family went on their way. But the cab driver, seeing they were scuba divers, took them to the local hyperbaric chamber rather than the clinic. While paperwork was being completed and a medical exam was started for George, the dive guide from the boat caught up with them. The dive guide convinced George that he should go to the clinic, rather than be treated at the chamber.

After some delay, the clinic began administering oxygen, but stopped the oxygen treatment during the night when the oxygen supply was needed for another patient. The next day, with worsening symptoms, George was returned to the hyperbaric chamber and treated.

After multiple treatments at the local chamber and then back home, George was left with residual damage that precluded his continuing to perform surgery as part of his medical practice. He brought a legal action that was decided in his favor at trial.

Analysis

George likely suffered from a poorly understood form of decompression illness that appears to be caused when a minor arterial gas embolism occurs in a diver who has significant nitrogen loading. This causes a hard-to-treat form of decompression sickness, Type III DCS.

Administering oxygen promptly to an injured diver is the best first aid, and getting hyperbaric oxygen therapy without needless delays is the definitive treatment.

Lessons for Life

• If a diver suffers a lapse of consciousness upon surfacing, immediately suspect arterial gas embolism, administer first aid and get proper medical care.
• Carry dive accident insurance so there is no question about payment for treatment.
• Be assertive. Insist on medical care, and make it clear to the medical professionals that the injured person has been scuba diving.
• Contact Divers Alert Network (919-684-4326) and enlist their help to find proper medical support or to consult with local physicians for you.
• To the best of your ability, ensure that the dive boats you use have radios and oxygen, and that the crew is trained and prepared to use them. At least one crew member should be able to recognize and deal with the signs and symptoms of diving accidents. In countries where English is not the primary language, try to determine if the boat crews can function in English, even if things become difficult.