Scuba is the acronym for Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus, and it’s a sport which involves strapping a tank to your back and exploring underwater environments. It’s a popular activity for people who enjoy the challenge of exploring the ocean and its creatures, as well as those who use the practice to gain a deeper understanding of our world.

Some people enjoy the challenge of scuba diving because of the physical fitness and mental wellbeing benefits it brings, while others are intrigued by the opportunity to observe marine life up close and personal. There are also those who dive for a career, with public safety divers, marine biologists and aquanauts being just some of the professionals who rely on their scuba skills.

Scuba can be dangerous, and the most common risk for recreational divers is running out of breathing gas under water, a situation known as an out-of-air incident. This can lead to decompression sickness or nitrogen narcosis which are both potentially fatal. Divers must therefore learn and understand a series of buddy rescue procedures which aim to ensure they are always within reach of a dive partner who can provide them with oxygen, as well as carry an alternative (bailout) scuba source which does not rely on a buddy.

Jacques Cousteau and Emile Gagnan are considered the fathers of modern open-circuit scuba systems, which utilised demand regulators and high-pressure air tanks to enable divers to remain under water for long periods of time. In the 1920s, Dr Christian Lambertsen developed an underwater rebreather which didn’t require bubbles, making it ideal for submarine warfare, and by 1942 Cousteau and Gagnan had patented their Aqua-Lung rebreather system, the first commercially successful open-circuit scuba.