Diving deeper: Life in a saturation chamber

Saturation diving requires divers to remain in a pressurized chamber for days on end to allow their bodies a considerable amount of time to become adapted to the high-pressure environments of the deep. This has the advantage of allowing them to decompress at a much shorter span of time than if they were to make repeated dives at great depths.

Image source: Best Diving

Saturation chambers called deep diving systems (DDS) allow divers to remain in an underwater setting for multiple days, even weeks at a time. These serve as a pressurized temporary home for the divers, and contain all the necessary facilities to keep the divers alive and comfortable throughout their stay, including toilets, sleeping quarters, a built-in breathing system, a medical facility, tables, and chairs. Food and water are sent down through the system by vault.

Image source: The Underwater Centre

Divers go in and out of the DDS through a personal transport with a pressure similar both to the outside and inside the DDS. Each of the personnel in the transport take turns accomplishing a task.

Image source: Oceangate

A team of six divers can live continuously in the DDS for a month, with at least one diver in active duty at any given time. This is far more time-saving than conventional diving apparatuses due to the amount of decompression time that has been condensed.


Phil Newsum is with the Association of Diving Contractors International, a regulatory organization committed to upholding safety practices in commercial diving. Get updates on the Twitter.