FAQ ScubaBoard's Dictionary for Divers

ScubaBoard's Dictionary for Divers​

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An ongoing project of ScubaBoard
Brief explanations of terms and jargon used by divers and mariners.
Please use "Report" to correct broken links, typos, or suggestions more definitions. ScubaBoard Staff will add new definitions and credit the member.

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scu·ba·board wi·ki​

/ˈsko͞obəbôrd wikē/​

noun​

1. a work in progress to use the collective knowledge of ScubaBoard's members to help members.
2. a website that allows collaborative editing of its content and structure by its users.

Remember

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Keyboard Shortcut Keys for your Internet browser’s "Find" function​

Microsoft Windows: Ctrl-F​

Apple Macs: Command-F​

Links to Posts​

Numerals, A, B, C, D, & E This post

F & G​

FAQ - ScubaBoard's Dictionary for Divers

ScubaBoard's Dictionary for Divers An ongoing project of ScubaBoard Brief explanations of terms and jargon used by divers and mariners. Please use "Report" to correct broken links, typos, or suggestions more definitions. ScubaBoard Staff will add new definitions and credit the member...

scubaboard.com

H & I​

FAQ - ScubaBoard's Dictionary for Divers

ScubaBoard's Dictionary for Divers An ongoing project of ScubaBoard Brief explanations of terms and jargon used by divers and mariners. Please use "Report" to correct broken links, typos, or suggestions more definitions. ScubaBoard Staff will add new definitions and credit the member...

scubaboard.com

J, K, L, & M​

FAQ - ScubaBoard's Dictionary for Divers

ScubaBoard's Dictionary for Divers An ongoing project of ScubaBoard Brief explanations of terms and jargon used by divers and mariners. Please use "Report" to correct broken links, typos, or suggestions more definitions. ScubaBoard Staff will add new definitions and credit the member...

scubaboard.com

N, O, & P​

FAQ - ScubaBoard's Dictionary for Divers

ScubaBoard's Dictionary for Divers An ongoing project of ScubaBoard Brief explanations of terms and jargon used by divers and mariners. Please use "Report" to correct broken links, typos, or suggestions more definitions. ScubaBoard Staff will add new definitions and credit the member...

scubaboard.com

Q & R​

FAQ - ScubaBoard's Dictionary for Divers

ScubaBoard's Dictionary for Divers An ongoing project of ScubaBoard Brief explanations of terms and jargon used by divers and mariners. Please use "Report" to correct broken links, typos, or suggestions more definitions. ScubaBoard Staff will add new definitions and credit the member...

scubaboard.com

S & T​

FAQ - ScubaBoard's Dictionary for Divers

ScubaBoard's Dictionary for Divers An ongoing project of ScubaBoard Brief explanations of terms and jargon used by divers and mariners. Please use "Report" to correct broken links, typos, or suggestions more definitions. ScubaBoard Staff will add new definitions and credit the member...

scubaboard.com

U, V, W, X, Y, & Z​

FAQ - ScubaBoard's Dictionary for Divers

ScubaBoard's Dictionary for Divers An ongoing project of ScubaBoard Brief explanations of terms and jargon used by divers and mariners. Please use "Report" to correct broken links, typos, or suggestions more definitions. ScubaBoard Staff will add new definitions and credit the member...

scubaboard.com

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0-9​

Reserved for new definitions

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A​

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AEDU

Admiralty Experimental Diving Unit in the UK​

— @Akimbo​

Alfa or Alpha flag

ICS standard flag meaning "I have a diver down; keep well clear at slow speed". Technically it is "Alfa", adopted by NATO phonetic alphabet​

— @Akimbo​

ADCI

Association of Diving Contractors International, merged with IMCA (International Marine Contractors Association)​

— @Akimbo​

ADS or Newtsuit

Atmospheric Diving Suit, a one-atmosphere deep submersible with mechanically articulated arms​

— @Akimbo​

AGE

Arterial Gas Embolism​

— @Akimbo​

Ambient Pressure (diving)

The pressure at the diver's current or anticipated depth​

— @Akimbo​

Anoxia (diving)

A condition of the body where no oxygen is present. Anoxia can occur if an individual stops breathing or breathes a gas mixture with no oxygen in it.​

— @Duke Dive Medicine​

AODC

Association of Offshore Diving Contractors​

— @Akimbo​

ATA

ATmospheres Absolute, a pressure measurement relative to a perfect vacuum​

— @Akimbo & @Duke Dive Medicine​

ATIS (Nautical)

Automatic Transmitter Identification System is a marine VHF radio system that sends and receives vessel identity, speed & heading, position, and other relevant data. Received data is displayed with GPS location and digital charts that include yours and surrounding vessels. Satellite-AIS (S-AIS) is used on oceangoing ships.​

— @Akimbo​

ATM

ATMosphere, a standard unit of pressure equal to:​

• 101.325 MPa
• 1.01325 Bar
• 14.6959 PSI
• 760 mmHg
• 10.06275861MSW
• 33.0142999 FSW

— @Akimbo​

AUV

Autonomous Underwater Vehicle. AUVs are most often used for acoustic and magnetic surveying of the ocean floor. They differ from ROVs because they do not have umbilicals to the support vessel or human operators.​

— @Akimbo​

B​

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Bailout Bottle

A HP cylinder used for backup breathing gas. The term is most commonly referring to umbilical supplied divers but can refer to Scuba divers.​

— @Akimbo​

Bar

The most common unit of Metric pressure used in diving. One Bar equals:​

• 14.5038 PSI
• 100 K Pascals
• 0.986923 Standard Atmospheres

— @Akimbo​

Barotrauma

An injury that results when a change in ambient pressure affects an enclosed, gas-filled space, either in the body (example: the middle ear) or adjacent to it (example: the air space in a face mask or in a drysuit).​

— @Duke Dive Medicine​

BC

Buoyancy Compensator​

— @Akimbo​

BCD

Buoyancy Compensator Device​

— @Akimbo​

Beam (Nautical)

Widest dimension of a vessel​

— @Akimbo​

Bends or Bent

A colloquial term that is in popular use for Decompression Sickness. The name originated with a popular dance when the Brooklyn Bridge was under construction, the Grecian Bend.​

— @Akimbo​

Berth (Maritime)

Bunk or bed, but can also be where a large ship docks​

— @Akimbo​

BIBS

Built-in Breathing System in decompression chambers and diving bells for emergency and treatment gasses.​

— @Akimbo​

Bilge (Nautical)

The lowest inside part of a vessel's hull where water collects​

— @Akimbo​

Binnacle (Nautical)

Waist-high stand or housing for a compass on a vessel​

— @Akimbo​

Blowdown or Blowing Down

Pressurizing a diving chamber or bell, slang in commercial diving​

— @Akimbo​

Boat hook (Nautical)

A pole with a small hook on the end to help snag things in the water (gaff hooks are sharp and for snagging fish)​

— @Akimbo​

Bow (Nautical)

Forward end of a vessel​

— @Akimbo​

Bow, stern, and spring lines (Nautical)

Ropes that tie the vessel to the dock​

— @Akimbo​

BPR

Back Pressure Regulators maintain a set pressure in the sensed line and a lower pressure on the outlet​

— @Akimbo​

BP/W

BackPlate & Wing style BCD​

— @Akimbo​

BSAC

British Sub-Aqua Club, a dive club that is heavily involved with diver training and certification.​

— @Akimbo​

BUD/S

Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL, school for US Navy SEALs​

— @Akimbo​

Bulkhead (Nautical)

Partition wall on a vessel, may or may not be watertight​

— @Akimbo​

Bunk (Nautical)

Single bed, often stacked on a vessel. Navy sailors often call them racks​

— @Akimbo​

C​

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CAGE

Cerebral Arterial Gas Embolism​

— @Duke Dive Medicine​

Caisson Gauge

Pressure gauge that measures ambient pressure relative to to one ATA (sea level), the exact opposite of normal pressure gauges. The pressure sensing mechanism is sealed at one ATA, typically the Bourdon tube or helicoid. Commonly used inside decompression chambers and calibrated in Feet or Meters of Sea Water.​

— @Akimbo​

Cal Gas

Gas of known percentages used to calibrate gas analyzers. Recreational divers will typically calibrate analyzers against air and sometimes pure Oxygen. Deep diving operations use laboratory certified gas mixtures with Oxygen and Helium in a range appropriate for their operating depth.​

— @Akimbo​

Cam Band

A webbing band used to attach the BCD and harness to a diving cylinder and tightened by a cam mechanism​

— @Akimbo​

Catenary (Nautical)

The curve or sag in a line under tension, such as an anchor line.​

— @Akimbo​

CGA

Compressed Gas Association, a US trade association for industrial and medical gas supply industries​

— @Akimbo​

Chine (Nautical)

The line along the sides of a vessel formed by the intersection of the sides and bottom. Divers often swim along the chine to and from the anchor line​

— @Akimbo​

Christo-lube

Brand name of a widely used lubricant for for oxygen service, often Christo-lube MCG111​

— @Akimbo​

CMAS

Confederation of Underwater Activities, a Scuba confederation of training agency​

— @Akimbo​

CNS

Central Nervous System, generally refers to negative effects of DCS or Oxygen Toxicity in diving. More correctly, CNS is part of the nervous system consisting of the brain and the spinal cord.​

— @Akimbo & @Duke Dive Medicine​

CO

Chemical symbol for the Carbon Monoxide molecule, not to be confused with Carbon Dioxide.​

— @Akimbo & @Duke Dive Medicine​

CO2

Chemical symbol for the Carbon Dioxide molecule​

— @Akimbo & @Duke Dive Medicine​

Color temperature

The measurement of color expressed in degrees Kelvin. Bright sunlight is in the 6,000° K range.​

— @Akimbo​

Combat Swimmer

Military combatant using diving techniques​

— @Akimbo​

Compression Arthralgia or Compression Pains

Joint pain caused by compression of cartilage in very deep diving​

— @Akimbo​

CPR

Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation​

— @Akimbo​

D​

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DAN

Diver's Alert Network is the largest diving safety organization and offers dive accident insurance through insurance companies​

— @Akimbo​

Davit (Nautical)

Rotating fixed boom with a lifting system​

— @Akimbo​

DC

Decompression Computer​

— @Akimbo​

DCI

Decompression Illness is a broad term used to capture diving disorders caused by the effects of gas bubbles in the body. DCI includes decompression sickness (DCS), arterial gas embolism (AGE), and DCS symptoms brought about by venous gas emboli (bubbles) that cross into the arterial system through a shunt in the body, e.g. a patent foramen ovale or intrapulmonary shunt.​

— @Duke Dive Medicine​

Deco

Slang for Decompression​

— @Duke Dive Medicine​

Delta-P or ΔP

Differential or change in pressure. The Greek character Δ, or "Delta", denotes “change” in science.​

— @Akimbo​

DCS

1. Decompression Sickness​

2. Other common names include:​

• DCI (Decompression Illness) which includes AGE (Arterial Gas Embolism)
• Bends or Bent, slang from the name of a popular dance when the Brooklyn Bridge was under construction, the Grecian Bend.
• Caissons Disease, because Caisson workers or Sandhogs are also subject to DCS
• Chokes (archaic)
• Divers' Disease
• Divers' Condition
• Diver's Palsy
• Decompression Disease
• Compressed Air Illness
• Dysbaric Illness
• Tunnel Disease

— @Akimbo​

Deck (Nautical)

Floor on a vessel​

— @Akimbo​

Deep Mix

Typically, HeO2 mixture used by saturation divers at their working depth.​

— @Akimbo​

DDC

Deck Decompression Chambers are primarily used for treating DCS in recreational divers and living chambers for Saturation Divers​

— @Akimbo​

Dil

Diluent - A volume makeup gas used in rebreather diving to keep the loop filled with breathable volume along with added oxygen. Up to 40m, dil can be air. Below that depth, Helium is added to decrease nitrogen content and gas density. ​

— @rsingler ​

DIN

Deutsches Institut für Normung, defines standard DIN 477 that is widely used for Scuba valves and regulators​

— @Akimbo​

DIR

Doing It Right, system of Scuba diving​

— @Akimbo​

DM

Divemaster​

— @Akimbo​

Diving Bell (closed)

A submersible pressure chamber with a bottom hatch primarily used in saturation diving​

— @Akimbo​

Diving Bell (open)

An open-bottom bell with a breathable gas bubble that is a least large enough for one or more divers to get their heads out of the water. Typically used for in-water decompression and/or an emergency sanctuary.​

— @Akimbo​

Diving Locker

Storage area for diving equipment, originating on Navy ships referring to small compartments (shipboard rooms)​

— @Akimbo​

Dive Super

Diving Supervisor or Superintendent, typically in military of commercial diving operations​

— @Akimbo​

DP (Nautical)
Dynamic Positioning

— @Akimbo​

DPV

Diver Propulsion Vehicle, typically a tubular housing containing batteries, controllers, and a motor driving a single propeller​

— @Akimbo​

Draft (Nautical)

Waterline to the bottom of the keel distance on a the vessel​

— @Akimbo​

DSLR (photography)

Digital Singe Lens Reflex camera​

— @Akimbo​

DSO

Diving Safety Officer, typically required by government and scientific diving operations​

— @Akimbo​

DSV

Diving Support Vessel, most commonly designating vessels used in commercial diving. DSV can refer to the class of vessel or precede the vessel name.​

— @Akimbo​

Dump Valve (Diving)

A large LP valve that rapidly opens to release gas, usually by pulling a lanyard. Most often found on BCs, DSMBs, and lift bags.​

— @Akimbo​

E​

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EAD

Equivalent Air Depth used in Nitrox calculations​

— @Akimbo​

EADD

Equivalent Air Density Depth​

— @Miyaru​

EAN

Enriched Air Nitrox​

— @Akimbo​

ECU

Environmental Control Unit used in decompression chambers to manage CO2, humidity, and temperature.​

— @Akimbo​

Embolism (Diving)

Popular verbal shorthand for Arterial Gas Embolism or AGE​

— @Akimbo​

EPIRB

Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon, GPS emergency beacon required on most licensed vessels​

— @Akimbo​

ETD

Eustachian Tube Dysfunction, a disorder in which the Eustachian tube (the small tube that connects the middle ear to the area behind the nasal passages) does not work properly.​

— @Duke Dive Medicine​

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Use Report to correct broken links, typos, or make suggestions.

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Continued in the next post

 

[The Mod Squad]

reserved for expansion, ScubaBoard's Dictionary for Divers

---

Use Report to correct broken links, typos, or make suggestions.

 

[The Mod Squad]

reserved for expansion, ScubaBoard's Dictionary for Divers

---

Use Report to correct broken links, typos, or make suggestions.

 

[The Mod Squad]

reserved for expansion, ScubaBoard's Dictionary for Divers

---

Use Report to correct broken links, typos, or make suggestions.

 

[The Mod Squad]

reserved for expansion, ScubaBoard's Dictionary for Divers

---

Use Report to correct broken links, typos, or make suggestions.

 

[The Mod Squad]

reserved for expansion, ScubaBoard's Dictionary for Divers

---

Use Report to correct broken links, typos, or make suggestions.

 

[The Mod Squad]

reserved for expansion, ScubaBoard's Dictionary for Divers

---

Use Report to correct broken links, typos, or make suggestions.