Diving at atmospheric
pressure from the surface
Saturation diving from
the hyperbaric laboratory
To explore the first 50m beneath the surface, divers can enter the water through:
• SeaOrbiter’s external lift which takes them directly to -12m to dive in the vessel’s immediate surroundings.
• Inflatables which can be used to seek out marine creatures within a radius of several miles around SeaOrbiter.
Divers have the use of open-circuit scuba diving gear or rebreathers operating with a mixture of air or gas.
To carry out unrestricted dives at depths between 10m and 100m without the inconvenience of decompression stops, aquanauts stay in the hyperbaric laboratory, a pressurized chamber which keeps them at the same pressure as the surrounding underwater environment. They can then stay on extended dives among the marine creatures, especially during the night, a critical period when unknown animals rise to the surface from the deep.
Aquanauts can work close to SeaOrbiter by breathing gas supplied through an umbilical or using rebreathers for scuba diving.
For the safety of all divers, SeaOrbiter is equipped with a fixed hyperbaric chamber and also portable inflatable chambers.