June 2012    Download the Entire Issue (PDF)

Vol. 27, No. 6   What's this?

Why Divers Run Low on Gas

and how one researcher found out the reasons

from the June, 2012 issue of Undercurrent  

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In 2006, I started a PhD program in diving physiology at the University of Western Australia, aiming to make a small but measurable improvement to diving safety. From the scientific literature, it was clear that running low on, or out of, gas was a common risk factor for diving injuries and deaths. It was a common theme in the annual reports that Divers Alert Network once published about North American dive incidents and fatality reports, and in the U.K. incident reports that the British Sub-Aqua Club still does publish. The Western Australian coroner's records confirmed that running out of gas was common among diving fatalities in Western Australia, too. But why do divers really run low on gas?...