Underwater Diver Communications

In recreational diving people communicate through a variety of hand signals. Most of the time you can completely understand what the other person is trying to communicate. You may want to tell your diving buddy any number of things like “look at the shark,” “my ears are not good,” “okay,” or “low on air.” It is essential to learn the basic hand signals. They are a universal language that crosses language barriers and brings underwater explorers together.

In today’s technological world, advancements are being made in underwater communications. While it may not be necessary for simple recreational diving, it is a great step forward for scientific diving teams. The ocean is a vast place that needs to be explored and scientific divers may need to travel long distances underwater to follow a turtle or explore a coral reef.

New technology allows dive teams to keep track of each other underwater and to transmit their observations to other team members on the surface or underwater. Acoustical signals have been the most popular way to communicate underwater because they travel through the water better than radio waves. It’s like when you hear the high pitch of a dolphin when you are diving, but may never see it. The pitch travels well through the water. Scientific divers can carry devices that transmit tones and each tone means something different. It is a good system, but not a perfect system of communication and many variables can affect the message over long distances.

Technology is always advancing. And it is quickly moving away from the classic acoustical signals. A company called Divelink is using cell phone signals for underwater communication. By wearing a full-face mask divers can speak to other members of the team just as they would on the surface. The technology eliminates bulky extra equipment by incorporating the technology in the full facemask. The divers can speak with surface personnel, dive partners, and even people back on the mainland. It has an underwater range of 2000 meters and is completely hands free.

This new technology is positively changing the way divers communicate. It allows dive teams to work together to make observations and share information underwater - a luxury that once had to wait until the divers surfaced. This ability is helping scientists gather data more quickly and efficiently.

Effective underwater communications truly makes science diving easier. Being able to discuss and point out your observations as you see them underwater is helpful to the scientific process and makes for trouble-free collaboration between scientific divers and surface crews.