LEARNING GOALS In this chapter you will: • Learn about the physical characteristics of dive sites. • Be introduced to the types of water movement and how it can affect your dive. • Learn about the different categories of marine life and how to avoid situations with them. • Be introduced to the positive impacts you can have on the underwater environment. • Learn about some of the popular diving areas throughout the world. Underwater conditions vary from one part of the world to another. Visibility, water temperature, waves, currents, and other factors are all different in each dive area. These differences influence the way you dress for a dive and the techniques you use. No matter where you dive, you will discover special requirements pertaining to diving in that area. Before you go diving someplace you have never been before, you must learn about the environmental conditions that could affect your diving and know how the local divers deal with them. You must also consider other environmental and physical variations, such as the season of the year, the weather, dive-site characteristics, and shore conditions. The continental United States is a good example of a country with some of the most varied diving conditions in the world. The underwater environments of the United States include diverse areas, such as: • Oil rigs off Louisiana and California. • Tropical waters off the coast of Florida. • Cold waters in the Great Lakes, New England, and Alaska. • Kelp forests off the coast of California. These environments are extremely different, and each requires certain specific skills, techniques, and equipment. This chapter examines ways dive site characteristics and shore conditions affect your diving techniques in different areas. It considers variations in temperature, visibility, and aquatic life. It also addresses conservation and ways you can help preserve the underwater environment. Your instructor will supplement this material by explaining the ways local conditions affect diving near your home. PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF A SITE A variety of characteristics determine the type of site and bottom conditions. The characteristics of the site will dictate how you enter and exit the water as well as how you dive. Types of Sites Divers will dive almost anywhere there is water, but they are frequently attracted to interesting underwater formations. These formations can be man-made, such as an artificial reef, oil rig, breakwater, jetty, or shipwreck (figure 8-1). Man-made sites can be as fascinating as any natural underwater formation. In particular, many divers find shipwrecks to be among the most exciting dive sites (figure 8-2). NAUI Scuba Diver 176 Diving Environment FIGURE 8-1. DIVING SITES VARY WIDELY. OIL RIGS ARE ONE EXAMPLE OF A MAN-MADE SITE THAT PROVIDES GOOD DIVING.
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