USA (20 Oct 2004) -- Many of the world's most dramatic sights and incredible animals are found in water, which covers three times more of the planet's surface than it reveals. Recreational diving enables us to experience those underwater wonders firsthand. Nearly a half-million Americans annually earn certification as sport divers, each of them drawn to the reefs and wrecks and sea life for the same reasons today as when underwater breathing devices and airtight masks were first developed. Diving is relatively young as a form of recreation but borders on the ancient as a tool of the military and scientific communities. According to Dr. Lawrence Martin's Scuba Diving Explained, diving bells and surface air supplies date to the 16th century, and the written record of breath-hold diving is hundreds of years older. Early forms of scuba (self-contained underwater breathing apparatus) gear appeared in the 19th century, and forerunners to contemporary equipment were on the scene decades before Lloyd Bridges drew mainstream attention to diving with the classic television series Sea Hunt. Until electronics went high-tech, recreational divers had to calculate their dive and decompression times with wristwatches and universal charts usually designed for military divers. The tables were accurate for young soldiers but tended to be overly aggressive for ordinary (read: slightly overweight and in poor aerobic condition) civilians. | | Special gauges and meters used by divers now enable them to maximize their experiences in the water with minimal risk of decompression illness, an accumulation of excess nitrogen in the blood better known as "the bends." Wrist-worn computers are not guarantees against DCI, but models available today are highly accurate and reliable. Tightened purse strings and travel concerns during the past few years hit the diving industry just as they did the airline and hotel industries. A rebound is under way. Humans aren't designed to breathe or to see clearly underwater, but scuba equipment enables us do both -- and to move almost without effort through an environment unmatched in its scope, brilliant color and diversity. SOURCE - Houston Chronicle |
