Deep diving - wikipedia Deep diving Underwater diving to a depth beyond the norm accepted by the associated community Scuba diver using rebreather with open circuit bailout cylinders returning from a 600 - foot ( 180 m ) dive Deep diving is underwater diving to a depth beyond the norm accepted by the associated community. In some cases this is a prescribed limit established by an authority, and in others it is associated with a level of certification or training, and it may vary depending on whether the diving is recreational, technical or commercial. Nitrogen narcosis becomes a hazard below 30 metres ( 98 ft ) and hypoxic breathing gas is required below 60 metres ( 200 ft ) to lessen the risk of oxygen toxicity. Professional divers may use an atmospheric diving suit that allows very deep dives of up to 610 metres ( 2,000 ft ). For some recreational diving agencies, Deep diving, or Deep diver may be a certification awarded to divers that have been trained to dive to a specified depth range, generally deeper than 30 metres ( 98 ft ). However, the Professional Association of Diving Instructors ( PADI ) defines anything from 18 metres ( 60 ft ) to 30 metres ( 100 ft ) as a `` deep dive '' in the context of recreational diving ( other diving organisations vary ), and considers deep diving a form of technical diving. In technical diving, a depth below about 60 metres ( 200 ft ) where hypoxic breathing gas becomes necessary to avoid oxygen toxicity may be considered a `` deep dive ''. In professional diving, a depth that requires special equipment, procedures, or advanced training may be considered a deep dive. Deep diving can mean something else in the commercial diving field. For instance early experiments carried out by Comex S.A. ( Compagnie maritime d'expertises ) using hydrox and trimix attained far greater depths than any recreational technical diving. One example being the Comex Janus IV open - sea dive to 501 metres ( 1,644 ft ) in 1977. The open - sea diving depth record was achieved in 1988 by a team of Comex divers who performed pipeline connection exercises at a depth of 534 metres ( 1,752 ft ) in the Mediterranean Sea as part of the Hydra 8 programme. These divers needed to breathe special gas mixtures because they were exposed to very high ambient pressure ( more than 50 times atmospheric pressure ). An atmospheric diving suit allows very deep dives of up to 2,000 feet ( 610 m ). These suits are capable of withstanding the pressure at great depth permitting the diver to remain at normal atmospheric pressure. This eliminates the problems associated with breathing high - pressure gases. Contents 1 Depth ranges in underwater diving 2 Particular problems associated with deep dives 3 Dealing with depth 3.1 Equipment adaptations for deeper diving 3.2 Procedural adaptations for deeper diving 4 Ultra-deep diving 4.1 Ultra deep air 5 Fatalities during depth record attempts 6 See also 7 References 8 Footnotes 9 Further reading 10 External links Depth ranges in underwater diving Depth Comments 12 metres ( 39 ft ) Recreational diving limit for divers aged under 12 years old and EN 14153 - 1 / ISO 24801 - 1 level 1 ( Supervised Diver ) standard. 18 metres ( 59 ft ) Recreational diving limit for divers with PADI Open Water certification but without greater training and experience. 20 metres ( 66 ft ) Recreational diving limit for EN 14153 - 2 / ISO 24801 - 2 level 2 `` Autonomous Diver '' standard. 30 metres ( 98 ft ) Recommended recreational diving limit for PADI divers. Average depth at which nitrogen narcosis symptoms begin to be noticeable in adults. 40 metres ( 130 ft ) Depth limit for divers specified by Recreational Scuba Training Council. Depth limit for a French level 2 diver accompanied by an instructor ( level 4 diver ), breathing air. 50 metres ( 160 ft ) Depth limit for divers breathing air specified by the British Sub-Aqua Club and Sub-Aqua Association. 55 metres ( 180 ft ) Depth at which breathing air exposes the diver to an oxygen partial pressure of 1.4 bar. 60 metres ( 200 ft ) Depth limit for a group of 2 to 3 French Level 3 recreational divers, breathing air. 66 metres ( 217 ft ) Depth at which breathing compressed air exposes the diver to an oxygen partial pressure of 1.6 bar. Greater depth is considered to expose the diver to an unacceptable risk of oxygen toxicity. 100 metres ( 330 ft ) One of the recommended technical diving limits. Maximum depth authorised for divers who have completed Trimix Diver certification with IANTD or Advanced Trimix Diver certification with TDI. 120 metres ( 390 ft ) Maurice Fargues was a volunteer in a programme to determine the maximum depth a scuba diver could reach with compressed air. He became the first diver to perish using scuba. 155 metres ( 509 ft ) Record depth claimed, but not officially recognised, for scuba dive on compressed air. 200 metres ( 660 ft ) Limit for surface light penetration sufficient for plant growth in clear water, though some visibility may be possible farther down. 332 metres ( 1,089 ft ) World record for deepest dive on SCUBA. 534 metres ( 1,752 ft ) Comex Hydra 8 experimental dives. ( 1988 ) 610 metres ( 2,000 ft ) US Navy diver in Atmospheric Diving System ( ADS ) suit. 701 metres ( 2,300 ft ) Comex Hydra X ( Hydra 10 ) simulated dive in an onshore hyperbaric chamber by Theo Mavrostomos on 20 November 1992. Particular problems associated with deep dives Deep diving has more hazards and greater risk than basic open water diving. Nitrogen narcosis, the `` narks '' or `` rapture of the deep '', starts with feelings of euphoria and over-confidence but then leads to numbness and memory impairment similar to alcohol intoxication. Decompression sickness, or the `` bends '', can happen if a diver ascends too fast, when excess inert gas leaves solution in the blood and tissues and forms bubbles. These bubbles produce mechanical and biochemical effects that lead to the condition. The onset of symptoms depends on the severity of the tissue gas loading and may develop during ascent in severe cases, but is frequently delayed until after reaching the surface. Bone degeneration ( dysbaric osteonecrosis ) is caused by the bubbles forming inside the bones ; most commonly the upper arm and the thighs. Deep diving involves a much greater danger of all of these, and presents the additional risk of oxygen toxicity, which may lead to a convulsion underwater. Very deep diving using a helium -- oxygen mixture ( heliox ) carries a risk of high - pressure nervous syndrome. Coping with the physical and physiological stresses of deep diving requires good physical conditioning. Using normal scuba equipment, breathing gas consumption is proportional to ambient pressure - so at 50 metres ( 160 ft ), where the pressure is 6 bar, a diver breathes 6 times as much as on the surface ( 1 bar ). Heavy physical exertion makes the diver breathe even more gas, and gas becomes denser requiring increased effort to breathe with depth, leading to increasing risk of hypercapnia -- an excess of carbon dioxide in the blood. The need to do decompression stops increases with depth. A diver at 6 metres ( 20 ft ) may be able to dive for many hours without needing to do decompression stops. At depths greater than 40 metres ( 130 ft ), a diver may have only a few minutes at the deepest part of the dive before decompression stops are needed. In the event of an emergency the diver can not make an immediate ascent to the surface without risking decompression sickness. All of these considerations result in the amount of breathing gas required for deep diving being much greater than for shallow open water diving. The diver needs a disciplined approach to planning and conducting dives to minimise these additional risks. Many of these problems are avoided by the use of surface supplied breathing gas, closed diving bells, and saturation diving, at the cost of logistical complexity, reduced maneuverability of the diver and greater expense. Dealing with depth Technical divers preparing for a mixed - gas decompression dive in Bohol, Philippines. Note the backplate and wing setup with side mounted stage tanks containing EAN50 ( left side ) and pure oxygen ( right side ). Both equipment and procedures can be adapted to deal with the problems of greater depth. Usually the two are combined, as the procedures must be adapted to suit the equipment, and in some cases the equipment is needed to facilitate the procedures. Equipment adaptations for deeper diving The equipment used for deep diving depends on both the depth and the type of diving. Scuba is limited to equipment that can be carried by the diver, or is easily deployed by the dive team, while surface supplied diving equipment can be more extensive, and much of it stays above the water where it is operated by the support team. Scuba divers carry larger volumes of breathing gas to compensate for the increased gas consumption and decompression stops. Rebreathers manage gas much more efficiently than open circuit scuba, but are inherently more complex than open circuit scuba. Use of helium - based breathing gases such as trimix reduces nitrogen narcosis and stays below the limits of oxygen toxicity. A diving shot, a decompression trapeze or a decompression buoy can help divers control their ascent and return to the surface at a position which can be monitored by their surface support team at the end of a dive. Decompression can be accelerated by using specially blended breathing gas mixtures containing lower proportions of inert gas. Surface supply of breathing gases reduces the risk of running out of gas. In - water decompression can be minimized by using dry bells and decompression chambers. Hot - water suits can prevent hypothermia due to the high heat loss when using helium based breathing gases. Diving bells and lockout submersibles expose the diver to the direct underwater environment for less time, and provide a relatively safe shelter that does not require decompression, with a dry environment where the diver can rest, take refreshment, and if necessary, receive first aid in an emergency. Breathing gas reclaim systems reduce the cost of using helium based breathing gases, by recovering and recycling exhaled surface supplied gas, analogous to rebreathers for scuba diving. The most radical equipment adaptation for deep diving is to isolate the diver from the direct pressure of the environment, using armoured atmospheric diving suits that allow diving to depths beyond those currently possible at ambient pressure. These rigid, articulated exoskeleton suits are sealed against water and withstand external pressure while providing life support to the diver for several hours at an internal pressure of approximately normal surface atmospheric pressure. This avoids the problems of inert gas narcosis, decompression sickness, barotrauma, oxygen toxicity, high work of breathing, compression arthralgia, high - pressure nervous syndrome and hypothermia, but at the cost of reduced mobility and dexterity, logistical problems due to the bulk and mass of the suits, and high equipment costs. Procedural adaptations for deeper diving Procedural adaptations for deep diving can be classified as those procedures for operating specialized equipment, and those that apply directly to the problems caused by exposure to high ambient pressures. The most important procedure for dealing with physiological problems of breathing at high ambient pressures associated with deep diving is decompression. This is necessary to prevent inert gas bubble formation in the body tissues of the diver, which can cause severe injury. Decompression procedures have been derived for a large range of pressure exposures, using a large range of gas mixtures. These basically entail a slow and controlled reduction in pressure during ascent by using a restricted ascent rate and decompression stops, so that the inert gases dissolved in the tissues of the diver can be eliminated harmlessly during normal respiration. Gas management procedures are necessary to ensure that the diver has access to suitable and sufficient breathing gas at all times during the dive, both for the planned dive profile and for any reasonably foreseeable contingency. Scuba gas management is logistically more complex than surface supply, as the diver must either carry all the gas, must follow a route where previously arranged gas supply depots have been set up ( stage cylinders ). or must rely on a team of support divers who will provide additional gas at pre-arranged signals or points on the planned dive. On very deep scuba dives or on occasions where long decompression times are planned, it is a common practice for support divers to meet the primary team at decompression stops to check if they need assistance, and these support divers will often carry extra gas supplies in case of need. The use of rebreathers can reduce the bulk of the gas supplies for long and deep scuba dives, at the cost of more complex equipment with more potential failure modes, requiring more complex procedures and higher procedural task loading. Surface supplied diving distributes the task loading between the divers and the support team, who remain in the relative safety and comfort of the surface control position. Gas supplies are limited only by what is available at the control position, and the diver only needs to carry sufficient bailout capacity to reach the nearest place of safety, which may be a diving bell or lockout submersible. Saturation diving is a procedure used to reduce the high risk decompression a diver is exposed to during a long series of deep underwater exposures. By keeping the diver under high pressure for the whole job, and only decompressing at the end of several days to weeks of underwater work, a single decompression can be done at a slower rate without adding much overall time to the job. During the saturation period the diver lives in a pressurized environment at the surface, and is transported under pressure to the underwater work site in a closed diving bell. Ultra-deep diving Amongst technical divers, there are divers who participate in ultra-deep diving on SCUBA below 200 metres ( 660 ft ). This practice requires high levels of training, experience, discipline, fitness and surface support. Only twelve persons are known to have ever dived below a depth of 240 metres ( 790 ft ) on self - contained breathing apparatus recreationally. That is the same number as the number of people who walked on the moon. The Holy Grail of deep scuba diving was the 300 m ( 980 ft ) mark, first achieved by John Bennett in 2001, and has only been achieved five times since. The difficulties in relation to ultra-deep diving are numerous. Although commercial and military divers often operate at those depths, or even deeper, they are surface supplied. All of the complexities of ultra-deep diving are magnified by the requirement of the diver to carry ( or provide for ) their own gas underwater. These leads to rapid descents and `` bounce dives ''. Unsurprisingly, this has led to extremely high mortality rates amongst those who practise ultra deep diving. Notable ultra deep diving fatalities include Sheck Exley, John Bennett, Dave Shaw and Guy Garman. Mark Ellyatt, Don Shirley and Pascal Bernabé were involved in serious incidents and were fortunate to survive their dives. Despite the extremely high mortality rate, the Guinness Book of World Records continues to maintain a record for scuba diving ( although in deference to the death rate it has stopped recording the record for deep diving on air ). Amongst those who do survive significant health issues are reported. Mark Ellyatt is reported to have suffered permanent lung damage ; Pascal Bernabé ( who was injured on his dive when a light on his mask imploded ) and Nuno Gomes reported short to medium term hearing loss. Serious issues which confront divers engaging in ultra-deep diving on self - contained breathing apparatus include : High - pressure nervous syndrome ( HPNS ). HPNS, brought on by breathing helium under extreme pressure causes tremors, myoclonic jerking, somnolence, EEG changes, visual disturbance, nausea, dizziness, and decreased mental performance. Symptoms of HPNS are exacerbated by rapid compression, a feature common to ultra-deep `` bounce '' dives. Decompression algorithm. There are no reliable decompression algorithms tested for such depths on the assumption of an immediate surfacing. Almost all decompression methodology for such depths is based upon saturation, and calculates ascent times in days rather than hours. Accordingly, ultra-deep dives are almost always a partly experimental basis. In addition, `` ordinary '' risks like gas reserves, hypothermia, dehydration and oxygen toxicity are compounded by extreme depth and exposure. Much technical equipment is simply not designed for the necessarily greater stresses at depths, and reports of key equipment ( including submersible pressure gauges ) imploding are not uncommon. Verified SCUBA dives below 240 metres ( 790 ft ) Name Location Depth Year I - Ahmed Gabr Red Sea 332.35 metres ( 1,090.4 ft ) 2014 Nuno Gomes Red Sea 318 metres ( 1,043 ft ) 2005 Nuno Gomes Red Sea 271 metres ( 889 ft ) Nuno Gomes South Africa 283 metres ( 928 ft ) Nuno Gomes South Africa 252 metres ( 827 ft ) 1994 Pascal Bernabé Mediterranean 266 metres ( 873 ft ) 2005 Krzysztof Starnawski Red Sea 283 metres ( 928 ft ) 2011 Krzysztof Starnawski Viroit cave Albania 278 metres ( 912 ft ) 2016 Krzysztof Starnawski Hranicka Propast 265 metres ( 869 ft ) 2015 David Shaw South Africa 271 metres ( 889 ft ) Aaron Butler Australia 279 metres ( 915 ft ) 2015 Gilberto M de Oliveira Brazil 274 metres ( 899 ft ) 2002 John Bennett Philippines 308 metres ( 1,010 ft ) 2001 John Bennett Philippines 254 metres ( 833 ft ) 2001 Jim Bowden Mexico 282 metres ( 925 ft ) 1994 Jim Bowden Mexico 251 metres ( 823 ft ) 1993 Sheck Exley South Africa 263 metres ( 863 ft ) 1993 Sheck Exley Mexico 264 metres ( 866 ft ) Don Shirley South Africa 250 metres ( 820 ft ) 2005 Mark Ellyatt Andaman Sea 313 metres ( 1,027 ft ) 2003 Scott Nally Red Sea 295 metres ( 968 ft ) 2001 Mark Ellyatt Thailand 260 metres ( 850 ft ) 2003 Dariusz Wilamowski Lake Garda 245 metres ( 804 ft ) 2009 Dariusz Wilamowski Lake Garda 264 metres ( 866 ft ) Dariusz Wilamowski Lake Garda 244 metres ( 801 ft ) 2012 Will Goodman Indonesia 290 metres ( 950 ft ) 2014 Xavier Méniscus Font Estramar 248 metres ( 814 ft ) 2014 Xavier Méniscus Font Estramar 262 metres ( 860 ft ) 2015 Michele Geraci Bordighera, Italy 253 metres ( 830 ft ) 2014 Guy Garman St. Croix, USVI 247 metres ( 810 ft ) 2015 Luca Pedrali Lake Garda 264 metres ( 866 ft ) 2017 Wacław Lejko Lake Garda 249 metres ( 817 ft ) 2017 Jordi Yherla Font Estramar 253 metres ( 830 ft ) 2014 Verna van Schaik in 2004 set the Guinness Woman 's World Record for the deepest dive with a dive to 221 metres ( 725 ft ) in Boesmansgat cave. Claudia Serpieri in 2000 reached 211 metres ( 692 ft ), the deepest sea dive by a woman. Tatiana Oparina in 2015, reached 156 m in Lake Baikal, the deepest dive in extreme cold water ( + 3C ) by a woman. Ultra deep air While extreme deep diving on air is extremely dangerous, before the popularity of Trimix attempts were made to set world record depths using conventional air. This created an extreme risk of both narcosis and oxygen toxicity in the divers and contributed to a high fatality rate amongst those attempting records. In his book, Deep Diving, Bret Gilliam chronicles the various fatal attempts to set records as well as the smaller number of successes. From the comparatively few who survived extremely deep air dives : 1947 Frédéric Dumas, a colleague of Jacques Cousteau, dived to 94 metres ( 308 ft ) on air 1947 Maurice Fargues, another colleague of Jacques Cousteau, dived to 117 metres ( 384 ft ) on air but died after losing consciousness at depth 1957 Eduard Admetlla i Lázaro descended to 100 meters on air 1959 Ennio Falco reported having reached a depth of 133 metres ( 436 ft ) on air, but had no means to record it 1965 Tom Mount and Frank Martz dive to a depth of 110 metres ( 360 ft ) on air 1967 Hal Watts and AJ Muns dive to a depth of 120 metres ( 390 ft ) on air 1968 Neil Watson and John Gruener dived to 133 metres ( 436 ft ) on air in the Bahamas. Watson reported that he had no recollection at all of what transpired at the bottom of the descent due to narcosis. 1971 Sheck Exley dived to 142 metres ( 466 ft ) on air on December 11 near Andros Island in the Bahamas. Exley was only supposed to go down to 91 metres ( 299 ft ) in his capacity as a safety diver ( although he had practised several dives to 120 metres ( 390 ft ) in preparation ), but descended to search for the dive team after they failed to return on schedule. Exley almost made it to the divers, but was forced to turn back due to heavy narcosis and nearly blacking out. 1990 Bret Gilliam dived to a depth of 138 metres ( 453 ft ) on air. Unusually, Gilliam remained largely functional at depth and was able to complete basic maths problems and answer simple questions written on a slate by his crew beforehand. 1993 Bret Gilliam extended his own world record to 145 metres ( 476 ft ), again reporting no ill effects from narcosis or oxygen toxicity. 1994 Dan Manion set the current record for a deep dive on air at 155 metres ( 509 ft ). Manion reported he was almost completely incapacitated by narcosis and has no recollection of time at depth. In deference to the high death rate, the Guinness World Records ceased to publish records on deep air dives in mid-2005. Fatalities during depth record attempts Maurice Fargues died in 1947 in an experiment to see how deep a scuba diver could go. Hope Root died December 1953 trying to break the deep diving record of 330 feet ; he was last seen passing 625 feet. Archie Forfar and Anne Gunderson died on December 11, 1971 off the coast of Andros Island, Bahamas while attempting to dive to 480 feet, which would have been the world record at the time. Their third team member, Jim Lockwood, only survived due to his use of a safety weight that dropped when he lost consciousness - causing him to start an uncontrolled ascent before being intercepted by a safety diver around 300 foot depths. As mentioned above, Sheck Exley, who was acting as another safety diver at 300 feet, inadvertently managed to set the depth record when he descended towards Forfar and Gunderson, who were both still alive at the 480 foot level, although completely incapacitated by narcosis. Exley was forced to give up his attempt at around 465 feet deep when the narcosis very nearly overcame him as well. The bodies of Forfar and Gunderson were never recovered. Sheck Exley died in 1994 in an attempt to reach the bottom of Zacatón in a dive that would have extended his own world record ( at the time ) for deep diving. Dave Shaw died in 2005 in an attempt at the deepest ever body recovery and deepest ever dive on a rebreather. Guy Garman died on August 15, 2015 in an unsuccessful attempt to dive to 1,200 feet ( 370 m ). The Virgin Island Police Department confirmed that Dr. Guy Garman 's body was recovered late Tuesday August 18, 2015. See also Underwater diving portal Decompression sickness Breathing gas Free - diving, diving without breathing Heliox Hydreliox High - pressure nervous syndrome Oxygen toxicity Trimix References ^ Jump up to : Brylske, A. ( 2006 ). Encyclopedia of Recreational Diving, 3rd edition. United States : PADI. ISBN 1 - 878663 - 01 - 1. Jump up ^ `` 1965 - 2000 -- 36 years of deep diving and submarine techniques development, from COMEX Hyperbaric Experimental Centre '' ( PDF ). Archived from the original ( PDF ) on October 13, 2007. Retrieved 2007 - 10 - 13. Jump up ^ Hydra 8 : Pre-commercial Hydrogen Diving Project ^ Jump up to : `` Extreme Environment Engineering Departement Hyperbaric Experimental Centre - History ''. Archived from the original on October 5, 2008. Retrieved 2009 - 02 - 22. Jump up ^ Staff. `` Competencies of a recreational scuba diver at level 1 `` Supervised Diver '' ``. EUF Certification International. Retrieved 29 September 2013. Jump up ^ Staff. `` Competencies of a recreational scuba diver at level 2 `` Autonomous Diver '' ``. EUF Certification International. Retrieved 29 September 2013. Jump up ^ Cole, Bob ( March 2008 ). `` Appendix 6 ''. The SAA BUhlmann DeeP - Stop System Handbook. Sub-Aqua Association. pp. vi -- 1. ISBN 0953290484. Jump up ^ `` Code du Sport, Dispositions relatives aux établissements organisant la pratique de la plongée subaquatique à l'air ''. Retrieved 15 July 2015. Jump up ^ `` Archived copy ''. Archived from the original on 2013 - 09 - 03. Retrieved 2013 - 06 - 16. Jump up ^ http://www.tdisdi.com/wpsite/tdi/get-certified/Advanced-Trimix-Diver/ Jump up ^ Matsen, Brad ( 2009 ). Jacques Cousteau : The Sea King. New York : Pantheon Books. pp. 73, 76 -- 79, 85. ISBN 978 - 0 - 375 - 42413 - 7. Jump up ^ Cousteau, J.Y. ; Dumas, Frédéric ( 1953 ). The Silent World. New York : Harper & Brothers Publishers. LCCN 52 - 5431. Jump up ^ Set by Dr Dan Marion on March 18, 1994. The record is not officially recognised anywhere, and it should be noted that Dr Marion 's second dive computer only registered a depth of 490 feet. See generally Deep Diving by Bret Gilliam, ISBN 0 - 922769 - 31 - 1, at pages 35 and following. ( 1 ) ^ Jump up to : Liang, John ( 19 September 2014 ). `` Ahmed Gabr Breaks Scuba Diving World Record ''. DeeperBlue.com. Retrieved 19 September 2014. Jump up ^ Navy diver sets world record Archived 2011 - 08 - 21 at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ `` Hydra 10 : a 701 msw onshore record dive using `` hy dreliox '' '' ( PDF ). Jump up ^ Technology : Dry run for deepest dive, New Scientist 28 November 1992 Jump up ^ Lafay V, Barthelemy P, Comet B, Frances Y, Jammes Y ( March 1995 ). `` ECG changes during the experimental human dive HYDRA 10 ( 71 atm / 7,200 kPa ) ''. Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine. 22 ( 1 ) : 51 -- 60. PMID 7742710. Retrieved 2009 - 02 - 22. Jump up ^ Egstrom GH ( 2006 ). `` Historic Perspective : Scientific Deep Diving and the Management of the Risk ''. In : Lang, MA and Smith, NE ( eds ). Proceedings of Advanced Scientific Diving Workshop. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC. Retrieved 2008 - 07 - 05. Jump up ^ Southerland, DG ( 2006 ). `` Medical Fitness at 300 FSW ''. In : Lang, MA and Smith, NE ( eds ). Proceedings of Advanced Scientific Diving Workshop. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC. Retrieved 2008 - 07 - 05. Jump up ^ Gomes, N. `` Verified dives below 200 metres ''. Retrieved 2008 - 06 - 14. Jump up ^ Scubarecords.com. `` Recorded Deep Dives Below 200 m ''. Retrieved 2008 - 06 - 14. Jump up ^ `` Profile - Pascal Bernabé '' ( PDF ). X-Ray Mag. Retrieved 8 September 2015. Jump up ^ `` Doc Deep plans 1200 ' Dive ''. scubaboard.com. 13 July 2015. Retrieved 8 September 2015. Jump up ^ Brauer, R.W. ; S. Dimov ; X. Fructus ; P. Fructus ; A. Gosset ; R. Naquet. ( 1968 ). `` Syndrome neurologique et electrographique des hautes pressions ''. Rev Neurol. Paris. 121 ( 3 ) : 264 -- 5. PMID 5378824. Jump up ^ `` Ahmed Gabr breaks record for deepest SCUBA dive at more than 1,000 feet ''. Guinness World Records. Retrieved 21 January 2015. Jump up ^ `` Deepest scuba dive in sea water ''. Guinness World Records. Retrieved 20 September 2014. Jump up ^ podroze.pl. `` Egipt. Krzysztof Starnawski zanurkował na... 283 metry ! ''. Retrieved 2015 - 08 - 23. Jump up ^ `` Polak pobił rekord świata w nurkowaniu jaskiniowym. Krzysztof Starnawski zszedł na 278 metrów ''. National Geographic Polska. Retrieved 26 July 2016. Jump up ^ `` 2016 / Albania / exploration in Viroit cave / 278m deep ''. vimeo.com. Retrieved 25 July 2016. Jump up ^ Pałahicki Maciej RMF. `` Krzysztof Starnawski ustanowił nowy rekord Polski w nurkowaniu jaskiniowy ''. Retrieved 2015 - 08 - 23. Jump up ^ `` Have These Divers Found the World 's Deepest Underwater Cave ? ''. news.nationalgeographic.com. Retrieved 25 July 2016. Jump up ^ Méniscus, X. `` Exploration de la résurgence de Font Estramar à - 248m caméra Gopro ''. Retrieved 2014 - 08 - 29. Jump up ^ Christian Goutorbe, X. `` Record du monde de plongée dans les Corbières ''. Jump up ^ gardapost. `` Luca Pedrali re degli abissi, immersione record a - 264, 8 ''. Jump up ^ biurorekordow.pl. `` Rekord Polski w nurkowaniu służb mundurowych ''. Jump up ^ Rafal Rapa. `` REKORD SŁUŻB MUNDUROWYCH WACŁAW LEJKO 249 METRÓW ''. Jump up ^ Bibliografia Espeleologia. `` Font D'estramar - 253 m De Profunditat Jordi Yherla ''. Jump up ^ Guinness World Records. `` Deepest scuba dive ( female ) ''. Guinness World Records. Retrieved January 9, 2017. Jump up ^ Deep Diving, an advanced guide to physiology, procedures and systems. Bret Gilliam. 1995 - 01 - 25. ISBN 978 - 0 - 922769 - 31 - 5. Retrieved 2009 - 11 - 19. Jump up ^ Exley, Sheck. Caverns Measureless to Man Jump up ^ Shinn, EA ( 2000 ). `` The evolution of scientific diving in Florida ''. In : Hallock and French ( eds ). Diving for Science... 2000. Proceedings of the 20th Annual Scientific Diving Symposium, American Academy of Underwater Sciences. St Pete Beach, Florida. Retrieved 2016 - 01 - 03. Jump up ^ Gilliam, Bret ( September 2013 ). `` Zacaton : The tragic death of Sheck Exley ''. Tech Diving Mag. p. 16. Retrieved 2015 - 04 - 08. Jump up ^ Mitchell SJ, Cronjé FJ, Meintjes WA, Britz HC ( February 2007 ). `` Fatal respiratory failure during a `` technical '' rebreather dive at extreme pressure ``. Aviat Space Environ Med. 78 ( 2 ) : 81 -- 6. PMID 17310877. Retrieved 2008 - 06 - 15. CS1 maint : Multiple names : authors list ( link ) Jump up ^ David Shaw. `` The Last Dive of David Shaw ''. Retrieved 2011 - 05 - 10. Jump up ^ Dumas, Daisy ( 18 August 2015 ). `` ' Doc Deep ' Guy Garman dies in attempt to break world record scuba dive ''. The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 18 August 2015. Jump up ^ Staff ( 16 August 2015 ). `` St. Croix 's ' Dr. Deep ' Guy Garman Dies in World Record Attempt ''. St Croix Source. St Croix, Virgin Islands. : V.I. Source Publications, Inc. Retrieved 18 August 2015. Jump up ^ `` Searchers find body of former Maryville Dr. killed in diving accident ''. WBIR.COM. Retrieved 19 August 2015. Footnotes Jump up ^ All depths specified for sea water. Fractionally deeper depths may apply in relation to freshwater due to its lower density Jump up ^ Oxygen toxicity depends upon a combination of partial pressure and time of exposure, individual physiology, and other factors not fully understood. NOAA recommends that divers do not expose themselves to breathing oxygen at greater than 1.6 bar p O, which occurs at 66 metres ( 217 ft ) when breathing air. Jump up ^ Assuming crystal clear water ; surface light may disappear completely at much shallower depths in murky conditions. Minimal visibility is still possible far deeper. Deep sea explorer William Beebe reported seeing blueness, not blackness, at 1400 feet ( 424 metres ). `` I peered down and again I felt the old longing to go farther, although it looked like the black pit - mouth of hell itself -- - yet still showed blue. '' ( William Beebe, `` A Round Trip to Davey Jones 's Locker, '' The National Geographic Magazine, June 1931, p. 660. ) Jump up ^ Statistics exclude military divers ( classified ), and commercial divers ( commercial diving to those depth is on scuba is not permitted by occupational health and safety legislation ). In 1989, the US Navy experimental diving unit published a paper entitled EX19 ( a type of experimental rebreather ) Performance Testing at 850 and 450 FSW that included a section on results from tests on the use of rebreathers at 850 feet. Knafelc, ME ( 1989 ). `` EX 19 Performance Testing at 850 and 450 FSW ( Feet of Seawater ) ''. US Naval Experimental Diving Unit Technical Report. NEDU - 8 - 89. Retrieved 2008 - 07 - 24. Jump up ^ In 2007 a Turkish Navy diver dived to a depth of 998 feet ( 304 m ) off the coast of Cyprus, but that dive has not been independently verified. He used a closed - circuit rebreather. His dive was aborted due to equipment failure. It was a Turkish Navy experimental dive. ^ Jump up to : Subsequently died during diving accidents. Further reading Dent, W ( 2006 ). `` AAUS Deep Diving Standards ''. In : Lang, MA and Smith, NE ( eds ). Proceedings of Advanced Scientific Diving Workshop. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC. Retrieved 2008 - 07 - 05. Gilliam, Bret ( 1995 ). Deep Diving : An Advanced Guide to Physiology, Procedures & Systems ( 2nd ed. ). Watersports Books. ISBN 0 - 922769 - 31 - 1. External links Recreational Deep Diving Underwater diving Modes Freediving Saturation diving Scuba diving Snorkeling Surface - supplied diving Atmospheric pressure diving Unmanned diving Recreational diving specialities Altitude diving Cave diving Deep diving Ice diving Gas blending for scuba diving Muck diving Open - water diving Rebreather diving Sidemount diving Solo diving Technical diving Wreck diving Underwater sports Diving equipment Atmospheric diving suit Backplate and wing Breathing gas Buoyancy control device Burst disc Decompression equipment Distance line / dive reel Dive boat Dive computer Dive light Diver down flag Diver propulsion vehicle Diver 's pump Diving air compressor Diving bell Diving chamber Diving cylinder Diving helmet Diving regulator Diving shot Diving suit Diving support vessel Diving weighting system Dry suit Fins Full face diving mask Integrated Diver Display Mask Lifting bag Line marker Mask Moon pool Pony bottle Rash vest Rebreather Scuba manifold Scuba set Snoopy loop Snorkel Snuba Subsurface ( software ) Surface marker buoy Testing and inspection of diving cylinders Towboard Vintage scuba Wetsuit Applications Clearance diver Commercial offshore diving Diver training Frogman Hazmat diving Military diving units Police diving Professional diving Public safety diving Recreational diving Scientific diving Underwater archaeology Underwater photography Underwater videography Diving safety : Hazards, risks and consequences Barotrauma Civil liability in recreational diving Decompression sickness Drowning Freediving blackout Dysbaric osteonecrosis High - pressure nervous syndrome Human factors in diving safety Hypercapnia Hypothermia Hypoxia ( medical ) Investigation of diving accidents Isobaric counterdiffusion Latent hypoxia List of diving hazards and precautions List of legislation regulating underwater diving List of signs and symptoms of diving disorders Nitrogen narcosis Oxygen toxicity Scuba diving fatalities Seasickness Silt out Task loading Procedures Ascending and descending ( diving ) Boat diving Buddy breathing Buddy diving Canoe and Kayak diving Controlled buoyant lift Controlled emergency swimming ascent Decompression ( diving ) Decompression practice Dive planning Diver communications Diver navigation Diver rescue Diver trim Dive log Drift diving Emergency ascent Finning techniques Night diving Penetration diving Pyle stop Recreational diver training diver certification Diamond Reef System Rule of thirds ( diving ) Scuba gas planning Scuba skills Solo diving Surface - supplied diving skills Underwater search and recovery Underwater searches History of underwater diving History of decompression research and development History of scuba diving Researchers in underwater diving Timeline of diving technology Categories : Diving equipment Professional diving Recreational diving Underwater diving history Underwater diving procedures Underwater diving safety Commons Glossary Indexes : dive sites divers diving Outline Portal Diving decompression General Decompression ( diving ) Decompression equipment Decompression practice Decompression theory Equivalent air depth Equivalent narcotic depth History of decompression research and development Maximum operating depth Physiology of decompression Algorithms Bühlmann decompression algorithm Haldane 's decompression model Reduced gradient bubble model Thalmann algorithm Thermodynamic model of decompression Varying Permeability Model Diving Deep diving Professional diving Recreational diving Saturation diving Scuba diving Technical diving Underwater diving Equipment Decompression buoy Decompression tables Decompression trapeze Dive computer Diving chamber Diving shot Hyperbaric stretcher Jonline Recreational Dive Planner Gases Air Breathing gas Gas blending Heliox Nitrox Oxygen Trimix Injury and treatment Decompression sickness Diving chamber Hyperbaric medicine Hyperbaric treatment schedules In - water recompression Procedures Pyle stop Ratio decompression Commons Glossary Indexes : dive sites divers diving Outline Portal Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Deep_diving&oldid=841709449 '' Categories : Underwater diving procedures Hidden categories : Webarchive template wayback links CS1 maint : Multiple names : authors list All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from April 2009 Articles with short description Articles with unsourced statements from August 2013 Articles with unsourced statements from September 2015 Articles with unsourced statements from December 2016 Articles with unsourced statements from September 2014 Articles with unsourced statements from January 2016 Articles with unsourced statements from November 2015 Articles with unsourced statements from March 2017 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Deutsch Español Français Italiano Simple English Edit links This page was last edited on 17 May 2018, at 15 : 05. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: how deep can man dive in the ocean
Answer: 300 m (980 ft)