Alert Diver Category: Advanced Diving

Dark Waters

August 1, 2015  Kevin Sites

Police diving extends the reach of justice thanks to advances in scuba, sonar and other marine technologies. The divers are now more investigators and not just retrievers. Learn more about police diving.

Police diver emerges from water near surrounding crew

Altitude and Decompression Sickness

August 1, 2011  Richard Vann, Ph.D.; Photos by Franco Banfi

High altitude is linked to decompression sickness — why divers should not fly immediately after diving. But what about diving at altitude? Read more about altitude and decompression sickness.

Diver walks into mountain lake to start dive

Commercial Diving Safety

November 20, 2023  By Jim Elliott

FOUR SCUBA DIVERS BECAME TRAPPED and died while working in an offshore pipeline in 2022. This incident was a harsh reminder that commercial diving is a “hazardous occupation that presents […]

commercial divingsafety, Commercial diving operations , pneumofathometer hose, compressor failure, Hookah systems, work in the commercial diving industry, shipwreck removal , MVGolden Ray, daily job hazard analyses, underwater inflatables can be hazardous, differential pressure, uncontrolled ascents, surface-supplied diving operations, full-face masks, commercial diving does not typically use scuba, International Consensus Standards for commercial divers face additional hazards, Commercial Diving and Underwater Operations, Specialized training, Association of Diving Contractors International (ADCI), Alert Diver magazine Q4 2023

Gradient Factors

November 1, 2015  Neal W. Pollock, Ph.D.

While dive computers are helpful, they are limited in predicting decompression stress. Dive computers track dive profiles but don’t integrate in other factors. Read more about the limitations of dive computers.

Two divers holding a mooring line next to reef

Wreck Exploration

November 1, 2011  Richard Walker, M.D., M.S., and Joe Citelli; Photos by Joe Dovala

Shipwrecks are like time capsules of maritime history. Divers of all abilities can appreciate shipwrecks. Gain some great tips and ideas on how to safely dive shipwrecks.

Diver opens the door of a shipwreck

Learning to Thrive in Extreme Environments

April 11, 2024  By Adele M. Luta

My phone’s alarm filled the air, but I was already awake. It was the day I had eagerly anticipated since first learning about the Florida International University (FIU) Introduction to Saturation Diving: Aquarius Operations and Benefits to Science course — the emergency simulation.

Gray snappers and schoolmaster snappers school beneath the moon pool on Aquarius Reef Base.

Technical Diving

February 1, 2014  Karl Shreeves

Technical diving requires additional gear, training and knowledge, but once you become comfortable with tech diving, you can do a lot. Learn more about technical diving and if it is a right option for you.

A tech diver floats through a wreck

Backplate Buoyancy Systems

May 1, 2010  Pete Nawrocky

More-experienced divers prefer the backplate buoyancy system because of its rock-solid stability and simple harness system. Read more about backplate buoyancy systems.

Drysuit diver surfaces and is wearing a backplate buoyancy system

Advanced Underwater Navigation

June 3, 2024  Text by Kyle Kray; Photos by Stephen Frink

Most divers’ love of the sport stems from a drive to explore a foreign environment. With exploration must come the ability to navigate. Nowhere else on Earth can one become more lost than in a liquid, while simultaneously requiring constant individual concentration on safety techniques, breathing gas, buoyancy, horizontal trim, depth, and time.

Successful navigation depends on one’s ability to master the basic fundamental skills of diving.