IS Diving NITROX Increasing task loading?

[GDI]

Does diving recreatational nitrox increase your task load?

Simply put on recreatational dives I say NO

You spend maybe 5 more minutes of dive planning by verifying your mixture and depth limits. Other then that you are diving which means breathing a gas, monitoring that gas, monitoring your time and monitoring your depth. So where is the difference that causes the increased task loading? These are the same things you would (read should) be doing during any normal air dive.

 

[Walter]

Task loading means doing more tasks at the same time. You do a little extra before the dive, but no more during the dive, so there's no task loading involved.

 

[biz_nate]

I see task loading as something that occurs during all stages of the dive, including dive planning. In that sense, yes, I consider the planning to be task loading. The degree of pre-dive task loading depends on your mathematical competency and familiarity the equations/tables, of course. For some, it will be a no-brainer, for others, it may require some concentration.

Perhaps, at least in this regard, your semantics deviate slightly from those of the agencies espousing the task loading view.

But there is one other thing to consider, especially from a training perspective, and that's monitoring yourself/dive buddy(ies) for signs of tox. That process, though fairly minimal in complexity, is something performed on a dive.

Quick question, why is your focus here on rec. diving? Wouldn't the same logic occur for tech. diving? Or are you also considering gas switches and associated processing, which certainly would increase task loading?

 

[RonFrank]

I think it depends on the bottom depth. If then bottom is deeper than the mix allows, there is a bit of task loading to stay at planned depth. This is not much more than normal, however the end result of screwing this up could be fatal.

If there is a hard bottom that is above the limit of the mix, then the task loading during the dive is no more than normal.

 

[Walter]

We all already plan the max depth of the dive. That's no different for nitrox than for air.

 

[String]

A dive with nitrox offers no extra task loading at all.

Pre-dive you analyse your mix and calculate or look up its MOD on a table.
Even diving air i'd recommend analysing the fill if it came from someone that CAN fill nitrox in case someone has put nitrox in by mistake. And you should be looking at the tables to plan whether its air OR nitrox.

On the dive you monitor depth and time. Exactly as you do on air.

So, absolutely no difference diving air vs nitrox so no extra task loading.
(Whether there is any POINT diving nitrox on some profiles remains to be seen though)

 

[DA Aquamaster]

On a dive at the mid range depths where Nitrox is most beneficial, you could argue that Nitrox reduces task loading as it may place the diver in a situation where required decompression stops are not required on Nitrox where they might be on air.

So in a sense, rather than having to worry about both gas planning/gas remaining and deco status, the diver just has to worry about the remaining gas.

There is some validity in having to monitor a diver for ox tox, but the extent to which that is true depends on the max PPO2 encountered. If you are diving aggressively on nitrox to a depth where you have a PPo2 of 1.6, then maybe. If you dive less aggressively with a max PPO2 of 1.4 on bottom gas, then it is less of an issue and at 1.2 it is even less of a concern from both CNS and OTU standpoints.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

To save time i believe in:
(i) Primary donation (ii) Weight belt under crotch strap (iii) Wing not suit for buoyancy (iv)

I love your signature line - add a long hose and it is just about pefect

 

[Melicertes]

I agree - no task loading at all.

 

[String]

I love your signature line - add a long hose and it is just about pefect

Fixed..