Decompression (diving)

Common card · No. 440571

The decompression of a diver is the reduction in ambient pressure experienced during ascent from depth or depressurisation of a diving chamber. It is also the process of elimination of dissolved metabolically inert gases from the diver's body tissues which accumulated during the dive. Gas elimination also occurs during pauses in the ascent known as decompression stops, where the pressure is held constant, and after surfacing, until the gas concentrations reach equilibrium. Divers breathing gas at ambient pressure need to ascend at a rate determined by their recent exposure to pressure and the breathing gas in use. A diver who only breathes gas at atmospheric pressure when free-diving or snorkelling will not usually need to decompress. Divers using an atmospheric diving suit do not need to decompress as they are never exposed to high ambient pressure. When an ambient pressure diver descends in the water, the hydrostatic pressure, and therefore the ambient pressure, rises. Because breathing...

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