FAQ ScubaBoard's Dictionary for Divers

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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.

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.
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Links to Posts​

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

F & G​

H & I​

J, K, L, & M​

N, O, & P​

Q & R​

S & T​

U, V, W, X, Y, & Z​



0-9​

Reserved for new definitions

A​


AEDU
Admiralty Experimental Diving Unit in the UK​
@Akimbo

Alfa or Alpha flag
:alphaflag: 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
@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.​

AODC
Association of Offshore Diving Contractors​
@Akimbo

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

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
  • 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​


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).​

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​


CAGE
Cerebral Arterial Gas Embolism​

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.​

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

CO2
Chemical symbol for the Carbon Dioxide molecule​

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
@Akimbo

D​


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.​

Deco
Slang for Decompression​

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
@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​


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.​


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



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reserved for expansion, ScubaBoard's Dictionary for Divers




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

 
reserved for expansion, ScubaBoard's Dictionary for Divers




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

 
reserved for expansion, ScubaBoard's Dictionary for Divers




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

 
reserved for expansion, ScubaBoard's Dictionary for Divers




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

 
reserved for expansion, ScubaBoard's Dictionary for Divers




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

 
reserved for expansion, ScubaBoard's Dictionary for Divers




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

 
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