By Heather Creech Citizen science is not just for nature explorers. Two years ago, a group of history buffs and shipwreck divers announced that they might have found the oldest known wreck in Lake Erie: the 47-ft (14m) schooner Lake Serpent, which disappeared in 1829. They are “citizen archaeologists”—divers passionate …

By Divers Alert Network Whether you’re a dive professional or a newly certified diver, diver rescues are something you should be familiar with. Rendering aid to a panicking diver is admirable but can put you at risk. Knowing when and how to help is critical—it’s better to avoid helping …

By Margo Peyton Researching your next liveaboard dive trip? Be prepared to ask some tough questions. The tragic accidents that shook the liveaboard industry in 2019 served to remind us that there is no single set of standards that must be followed by all liveaboards around the world. Make no assumptions …

By Steve Lewis There are few simple questions more difficult to answer than “How much is a rebreather?” More so if the person asking advice is a rebreather newbie about to buy their first unit. On the face of it, all that’s required is a straight dollar amount. Let’s …

By Kirk Krack I’m often asked by students around the world if I freedive in British Columbia where I live, as most of my work and teaching is done globally and usually in more tropical destinations. This question is really about the temperature of the water and the tidal …

By Jill Heinerth The cream of the crop of the diving industry are respected for their work in exploration, science, education, and engineering. They have been bent, and so have I. Each year, members of Divers Alert Network (DAN) receive a link to review the Annual Diving Report that chronicles …

By Heather Creech Sport divers are working with marine science organizations in nearly every region of the world to document the state of our ocean ecosystems. But getting those observations is challenging. In addition to identifying local marine life, volunteer divers need to be able to manage currents and …

By Divers Alert Network With its unusual name, its connection to cardiovascular health, and its link to DCS risk, it’s easy to see why patent foramen ovale (PFO) is of particular interest to divers. The good news is that, while the condition is common, it’s typically low-risk—but it can …

By Steve Lewis I can’t recall which Charles Dickens character I am misquoting—I believe it is Ebenezer Scrooge from the novella A Christmas Carol — but the gist is this: “Income one pound; expenses 19 shillings and 11 pence; outcome bliss. Income one pound; expenses one pound and one penny; outcome misery.” Which …

By Kirk Krack If you’ve taken a diving course, be it scuba or freediving, you would have been taught the process of equalization. You equalize to ensure that your ears, sinuses, and mask are equal to the water or ambient pressure surrounding you at your depth. Most scuba courses …

Words by William Nadeau Specialized in technical, commercial, public safety diving, and underwater investigavite procedures, the RCMP’s Underwater Recovery Team always gets their man In 1959 a Conservation Officer and his pilot were flying to La Loche, Saskatchewan in a Cessna 180 when something went wrong. The plane crashed …

Words by Lorie Laroche and Dr. Neal W Pollock Health is a state of overall physical, mental, and social wellness. Good mental health involves the ability to live to one’s full potential, to face normal life stressors, to work productively, and to be able to contribute to the community. …

Words by Michael Menduno DIVER sits down with an industry pioneer to talk the origins of modern freediving, nine-foot tall blue aliens, Tom Cruise, and the evolution of mixed gas freediving Kirk Krack is one of the most prolific and innovative trailblazers in sport diving, yet ironically, most divers …

By Divers Alert Network Decompression sickness (DCS) is a tricky condition. On one hand, we know a lot about who gets it and when—and even how to prevent it, but we do not have a definitive understanding of the mechanisms of bubble formation or injury. Decades worth of research …

By Heather Creech One gorgeous spring weekend in May, the residents of two small islands in British Columbia got together for something more than coffee. Loaded up with cameras, notebooks, and sample bags, adults and school kids on Mayne and Galiano Islands spread out in order to document all …

Divers Alert Network and Rolex are pleased to announce that Richard Moon, M.D., has been selected as the 2021 DAN/Rolex Diver of the Year. The award was presented at a virtual event on June 5.  Dr. Moon is a professor of anesthesiology at Duke University and the medical director of …

By Kirk Krack and Mandy Rae Krack Being water people, it was always a given that our child would grow up in and around the water. But would she grow to love it and be as comfortable in it as we are? So far, she does. What a relief! …

By Jean-Michel Cousteau and Holly Lohuis Twenty years ago my team and I had the vision of creating a marine conservation organization, Ocean Futures Society, with the mission to explore our global ocean, inspiring and educating people throughout the world to act responsibly for its protection. Since 1999 we …

Text by Ian Stalker Lionfish that venture into Dominica waters may end up on a journey that transforms them from predators to prey to pendants. Lionfish are native to the Indian and Pacific Oceans but were introduced into Caribbean waters inadvertently or otherwise and have become a major problem …

Coral Guardian, a major force in coral reef conservation around the world, now offers a unique Christmas gift through it’s Adopt a Coral program, Coral Guardian. So spoil your loved ones, or yourself, while contributing to the protection of the ocean. Click here to adopt!  Each coral adopted comes …

For 40 years, DAN has played a critical role in the dive industry, championing diver safety, research and emergency preparedness. At this year’s DEMA show, DAN will be reaching out to dive pros around the world with important messages about keeping divers safe in a series of timely webinars …

The Our World-Underwater Scholarship Society (OWUSS) and Divers Alert Network have announced two new internships for 2021. Applications are now being accepted for the Dr. Glen H. Egstrom DAN Diver’s Health and Safety Internship and the DAN Diver’s Safety Internship. The Dr. Glen H. Egstrom DAN Diver’s Health and …

By Chris Adair, with Kirk Krack The process of harvesting, fishing, and gathering your meal from the ocean and bringing it back to share at the table with friends and family is something that has been passed from generation to generation, and something we hope to continue to pass …

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is conducting a study of licensed anglers to learn more about fishing, shellfishing, and diving participation and preferences so that they can better manage specific fisheries and opportunities. Your answers are very important to the Department, and the survey will only take approximately …

Words by Lorie Laroche and Dr. Neal W Pollock Health is a state of overall physical, mental, and social wellness. Good mental health involves the ability to live to one’s full potential, to face normal life stressors, to work productively, and to be able to contribute to the community. …

Aging divers and divers with physical limitations could find freedom within their gear configuration… Words by: W. H. “Hank” Halliday Recent issues of DIVER have featured sidemount diving: one focused on the need to practice skills and the other related to cave diving. I suggest a third, covering a …

By Jean-Michel Cousteau and Holly Lohuis I have written extensively about my fascination, respect, and love for orcas. I believe they are our counterparts in the sea. Orcas are intelligent, they live in culturally rich families known as pods, speak different languages and dialects, and express feelings of empathy …

By Heather Creech Dan is a South Australian freediver who loves to snorkel the Port River estuary – a site near Adelaide’s marine shipping terminals not often visited by divers. One day last year, Dan spotted something in the shallows he didn’t recognize: an unusual bivalve. So he took …

By Divers Alert Network Cases of decompression sickness (DCS) with neurological symptoms are thankfully rare, but when they do occur they must be responded to rapidly and effectively. Do not let worrying about the “worst-case scenario” make your diving less enjoyable, but do take measures to learn how to …

It is with great sadness that Divers Alert Network announces the passing of its former vice president of research, Richard D. Vann, Ph.D. Dr. Vann was an esteemed researcher whose work focused on the physiology of breathing and exercise in special environments and the epidemiology of pressure-change-related injuries. His …

By Steve Lewis A few years back I wrote a book called “The Six Skills…” One of the skills mentioned in it was Situational Awareness. At the time, Situational Awareness (SA) seemed like a neat catch-all phrase, and it still sounds good as far as it goes. I wanted …

As most of us are aware, COVID-19 can be contracted by coming into contact with droplets of bodily fluid from an infected person. Performing chest compressions as part of CPR can mobilize droplets, much like coughing can. Since even asymptomatic people can carry and spread the virus, it is …

Words By Steve Lewis Even if you’re a cold-water diver, there’s a strong case to be made for doing your next advanced diver training in warm water (read tropical or sub-tropical temperatures). Let me explain. When we think about what we expect to get out of technical diving classes, …

Some divers have asked DAN about using their personal oxygen units to treat people with COVID-19. Divers’ eagerness to help during this crisis is truly admirable. However, DAN does not support the use of these emergency oxygen units for indications other than scuba diving injuries and cases of nonfatal …

RAID training agency have just launched their FREE e-learning platform. All courses, all free. Permanently. ‘FREe-Learning’ is a unique innovation that provides free access to over 120 courses to anyone interested in – or about to participate in—diving. Non-divers, divers, divemasters, instructors, instructor trainers, and dive centers, no matter …

In light of the recent outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), questions have arisen in the dive community about disease transmission when using rental equipment, especially regulators. With the threat of coronavirus on everyone’s minds, divers want to know what precautions are being taken against the spread of disease. …