Scuba Diving: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 18:04, 13 September 2025

Scuba diving lets you breathe underwater and explore a whole new world of coral reefs, shipwrecks, and amazing sea creatures. It's an incredible adventure, but like any adventure, it has some risks.

The good news is that diving has a strong safety culture. Through training, careful planning, and using the right gear, divers can manage these risks very effectively. This page has interactive tools to help you understand two of the key risks: Decompression Sickness (a unique risk to diving) and the overall annual risk of a fatal accident. Use the dropdown menus below to see how different factors can change the risk.

Decompression Sickness (DCS)

Decompression Sickness, or "the bends," can happen when a diver comes up to the surface too quickly. It's a serious condition, but very rare on typical recreational dives. Your choices can make a big difference.

What is your age group? [{"Age_Selector":"Under 40 years old","DCS_Age_Multiplier":"1.0","Fatality_Age_Multiplier":"1.0"},{"Age_Selector":"40-49 years old","DCS_Age_Multiplier":"1.34","Fatality_Age_Multiplier":"1.5"},{"Age_Selector":"50-59 years old","DCS_Age_Multiplier":"1.81","Fatality_Age_Multiplier":"2.5"},{"Age_Selector":"60+ years old","DCS_Age_Multiplier":"2.43","Fatality_Age_Multiplier":"4.0"}]

What is your biological sex? [{"Sex_Selector":"Female","DCS_Sex_Multiplier":"1.0"},{"Sex_Selector":"Male","DCS_Sex_Multiplier":"2.11"}]

What kind of dive profile are you planning? [{"Profile_Selector":"Stayed within No-Decompression Limits","DCS_Profile_Multiplier":"1.0"},{"Profile_Selector":"Required mandatory decompression stops","DCS_Profile_Multiplier":"10.0"}]

Annual Fatality Risk

This is the average risk of a fatal incident over a full year of diving. It's based on data from a large group of active, safety-conscious divers. Unlike the DCS risk per dive, this risk is not affected by the choices you made above.

See the data page for all of the details on how these risks are calculated.

Initially created by Gemini 1.5.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-Scuba Diving is a recreational activity that involves underwater exploration using self-contained underwater breathing apparatus. While generally safe when proper procedures are followed, it carries a small risk of fatality, often due to factors like health conditions, inexperience, or environmental hazards. This interactive calculator estimates your fatality risk based on age, sex, and selected exposure period, using data from reliable sources. The risk is calculated as an annual rate for active divers, approximated cumulatively over longer periods.
+Scuba diving lets you breathe underwater and explore a whole new world of coral reefs, shipwrecks, and amazing sea creatures. It's an incredible adventure, but like any adventure, it has some risks.
-=== Your Inputs ===
+The good news is that diving has a strong safety culture. Through training, careful planning, and using the right gear, divers can manage these risks very effectively. This page has interactive tools to help you understand two of the key risks: Decompression Sickness (a unique risk to diving) and the overall annual risk of a fatal accident. Use the dropdown menus below to see how different factors can change the risk.
-Select your age group:
-<dropdown table="FatalityRates" column="AgeGroup" default="40-49" />
-Select your sex:
+=== Decompression Sickness (DCS) ===
-<dropdown table="FatalityRates" column="Sex" default="Male" />
+Decompression Sickness, or "the bends," can happen when a diver comes up to the surface too quickly. It's a serious condition, but very rare on typical recreational dives. Your choices can make a big difference.
-Select the exposure period:
+What is your age group?
-<dropdown table="ExposureLevels" column="ExposureLabel" default="1 year" />
+<dropdown table="AgeData" />
+What is your biological sex?
+<dropdown table="SexData" default="Female" />
+What kind of dive profile are you planning?
+<dropdown table="ProfileData" default="Stayed within No-Decompression Limits" />
+<riskdisplay model="DCSRisk" />
+=== Annual Fatality Risk ===
+This is the average risk of a fatal incident over a full year of diving. It's based on data from a large group of active, safety-conscious divers. Unlike the DCS risk per dive, this risk is not affected by the choices you made above.
-=== Your Results ===
 <riskdisplay model="FatalityRisk" />
-See the [[Scuba Diving/Data|data page]] for all of the details on how these risks are calculated.
+See the [[Scuba_Diving/Data|data page]] for all of the details on how these risks are calculated.
-Initially created by Grok 4.
+Initially created by Gemini 1.5.