Assume that one carries just enough weight to be neutral at the safety stop when the tank is near empty of air. That weight is critically important to prevent a runaway ascent, so it would generally be a very bad thing if, for whatever reason, one found themselves low on air and then also lost their weight belt due to some unpredictable accident.
Of course, losing one's weight seems like an unlikely scenario if properly configured, and even more unlikely that such an event would occur while the tank was almost empty when you really need that weight the most...but in my opinion, it's not so improbable that it's not worth having considered in advance the best way to respond should such an unlikely scenario occur.
It seems like one's options would be very limited. If the amount of weight lost is a few pounds then you could just possibly compensate for it with breath control, more and you could try inverting and trying to kick yourself down to slow the ascent, but if you had to compensate for a larger amount of weight, it seems you'd be pretty much SOL short of trying to collect rocks, or get help from a buddy who might try to help hold you down, thought this might not always be possible.
It occurred to me that if wearing a drysuit, one has an additional option: you could compensate for a significant amount of accidentally lost weight by simply emptying your suit and ascending cold, because most of the planned buoyancy that you needed weight for was buoyancy that you had planned for just to stay warm. You'd have to be careful to avoid getting too cold, hypothermic or freezing your fingers, but it seems to me that if used in moderation, this could present a safer option than shooting up into an uncontrolled ascent.
What do the more experienced divers think?
Of course, losing one's weight seems like an unlikely scenario if properly configured, and even more unlikely that such an event would occur while the tank was almost empty when you really need that weight the most...but in my opinion, it's not so improbable that it's not worth having considered in advance the best way to respond should such an unlikely scenario occur.
It seems like one's options would be very limited. If the amount of weight lost is a few pounds then you could just possibly compensate for it with breath control, more and you could try inverting and trying to kick yourself down to slow the ascent, but if you had to compensate for a larger amount of weight, it seems you'd be pretty much SOL short of trying to collect rocks, or get help from a buddy who might try to help hold you down, thought this might not always be possible.
It occurred to me that if wearing a drysuit, one has an additional option: you could compensate for a significant amount of accidentally lost weight by simply emptying your suit and ascending cold, because most of the planned buoyancy that you needed weight for was buoyancy that you had planned for just to stay warm. You'd have to be careful to avoid getting too cold, hypothermic or freezing your fingers, but it seems to me that if used in moderation, this could present a safer option than shooting up into an uncontrolled ascent.
What do the more experienced divers think?
