Scuba diving is a past time fast becoming mainstream. With each year, its popularity grows and it’s easy to see why; it’s peaceful, eye-opening and safe. According to estimates made by NOAA’s National Geophysical Data Center, the world’s oceans consists of 321,003,271 cubic miles of water; meaning there’s enough to go round for everyone. So if you haven’t taken the plunge yet, together with Subsea pipeline inspection specialists Tracerco, we reveal 5 IDEAL reasons to go deep sea diving.
IT’S PEACEFUL
The crab Sebastian from the Little Mermaid wasn’t wrong when he implored Ariel to stay ‘under the sea’ because things were better down there. Down below it’s so peaceful – a completely different universe from the hustle and bustle of the world above. There’s no technology, no emails to answer and rush hour or traffic jams to cope with. It’s just you and the sound of your own breathing and the vast expanse of the ocean; a mentally calming experience that has been likened to meditating. Here, you don’t have to worry about anything else but exploring and appreciating the ocean world before you.
DISCOVER NEW SPECIES
Beneath the sea’s surface, you’ll see creatures that you never know existed or have only seen in the documentaries. There are already hundreds of thousands of known species which exist in the world’s oceans. However, claims by scientists state that many more forms of marine life are yet to be discovered; just imagine, you could be one of those discoverers. On top of this, there are 4,000 species of coral reef fish to be found too, which is close to a quarter of all of the world’s marine fish species. Just be aware that a millilitre of ocean water also contains close to 1 million bacteria and 10 million viruses.
WITNESS GEOGRAPHICAL WONDERS
The ocean doesn’t solely boast amazing fish as its main event; it’s a hot bed of geographical wonders, too. The most famous of all is the Great Barrier Reef; the largest largest living structure on Earth. It measures around 2,600km and is so huge that it can be seen from the Moon. Fancy that?
Meanwhile, the Mariana Trench is the deepest known area across the ocean floor. Located in the western Pacific Ocean and to the east of the Mariana Islands, the deepest point found here measures in at an estimated 11,000 metres — or 36,000 feet. The average depth of the Earth’s oceans is also 3,720 metres — or 12,200 feet.
Then there’s the Mid-Oceanic Ridge — the world’s longest mountain range. This mountain chain stretches for more than 56,000km across and covers parts of the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. Meanwhile, Earth’s highest mountain in the ocean is the Mauna Kea. Found off the coast of Hawaii, the mountain rises for 10,203 metres (33,474 feet) from the ocean floor, with 4,170 metres (13,680 feet) viewable above sea level.
Further examples of geographic wonders which are based in our oceans include a series of underwater volcanoes that explode with mud and methane as opposed to lava, and brine pools, discoverable in the ocean close to the Gulf of Mexico. What’s more, there are also underwater hot springs found across the Earth’s oceans, where water with temperatures of 650°F shoot out, hot enough to melt lead. And if that’s not enough for you, then you don’t deserve to dive anyway.
BEHOLD ARTEFACTS, REMNANTS & TREASURE
The ocean floor is like a museum. Actually, it’s better than a museum as the number of artefacts and remnants found in every museum across the globe is much less than the number to be found in the Earth’s oceans. There is almost 20 million tons of gold within the Earth’s oceans too — if all which was suspended was mined, there would be enough to give each person on the planet around 9 pounds of gold.
The ocean floor has also gathered an estimated $60 billion in sunken treasure. On top of all of this, scientists have predicted there is as much as 50 quadrillion tons of dissolved solids contained there too. Calcium salts, magnesium salts, potassium salts and sodium salts make up the bulk of this huge figure.
TEST YOUR PHYSICAL CAPABILITIES
Scuba diving is physically challenging. It’s an activity that requires you to be proactively fit and healthy. You’ll need to be able to swim for a long time with a tank on your back – although you won’t actually feel the weight of the equipment underwater. It will push you and test your physical capabilities to the max. Remember that exploring the ocean is on everybody’s bucket list, but before you get excited about that, making sure you have insurance is very important. Check out insurance from Dive Master for more information.