 |
| Image credit: wikimedia.org |
In the early days of professional diving, air was provided to the divers from the surface using a tube. Known as surface-supplied diving, this practice remains an important aspect of the commercial diving profession because of its crucial role in saturation diving. A rather complicated and costly process, surface-supplied diving is usually found in commercial and military applications where saturation diving may be necessary over time.
Organization officials such as Phil Newsum of the Association of Diving Contractors International stress the importance of this method in saturation diving, where divers are exposed to the high pressure conditions of deep-sea diving for prolonged periods.
 |
| Image credit: grancanariadivers.com |
Surface-supplied diving has been present since the early days of the diving profession. The most recognizable form of this practice is the standard diving dress (also known as the “hard hat”), which has been in common use until relatively recently. Surface-supplied diving involves a diver to be provided air using a tube (the diver’s umbilical) that is linked to a diving compressor or a similar device.
Surface-supplied diving has many other key differences to scuba diving. Because they rarely need to float, surface-supplied divers usually wear weights. Both scuba divers and surface-supplied divers need pressurized air, which in the case of the latter is supplied through a mask or helmet linked to the umbilical.
 |
| Image credit: adc-int.org |
More information on this and other diving topics can be accessed on this blog.
