Index of underwater diving: S

The following index is provided as an overview of and topical guide to underwater diving: Links to articles and redirects to sections of articles which provide information on each topic are listed with a short description of the topic. When there is more than one article with information on a topic, the most relevant is usually listed, and it may be cross-linked to further information from the linked page or section.

Underwater diving can be described as all of the following:

A human activity – intentional, purposive, conscious and subjectively meaningful sequence of actions. Underwater diving is practiced as part of an occupation, or for recreation, where the practitioner submerges below the surface of the water or other liquid for a period which may range between seconds to order of a day at a time, either exposed to the ambient pressure or isolated by a pressure resistant suit, to interact with the underwater environment for pleasure, competitive sport, or as a means to reach a work site for profit or in the pursuit of knowledge, and may use no equipment at all, or a wide range of equipment which may include breathing apparatus, environmental protective clothing, aids to vision, communication, propulsion, maneuverability, buoyancy control and safety equipment, and tools for the task at hand.

There are seven sub-indexes, listed here. The tables of content should link between them automatically:

S

Contents: Top	0–9	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H	I	J	K	L	M	N	O	P	Q	R	S	T	U	V	W	X	Y	Z

Subsection: Top, Sa–Sb, Sc–Sd, Se, Sh, Si–Sj, Sk, Sl, Sm, Sn, So, Sp–Sr, St, Su, Sw, Sy

Sa–Sb

Safety culture – Risk-averse attitudes
Safety data sheet, also known as Material safety data sheet – Sheet listing work-related hazards
Safety sausage – Inflatable buoy used by a diver at the surface to indicate position to the dive boat
Safety stop – Optional decompression stop to reduce decompression stress
Salt spray aspiration – Inhalation of salt water droplets
Salt water aspiration syndrome – Rare diving disorder caused by inhaling a mist of seawater
Salvage diving – Diving work associated with the recovery of vehicles, cargo and structures
Salvage of the SS Egypt's gold – Recovery of bullion from wreck using an atmospheric pressure observation bell
Salvage operations on HMS Royal George – Early salvage operations using bells and surface supplied divers
Sappers Divers Group – Portuguese Navy's diving unit
Saturation diver – Diver registered as competent for saturation diving
Saturation diving – Diving decompression technique
Saturation diving skills – Surface-supplied diving skills specific to saturation operations
Saturation diving system – Facility for supporting saturation diving projects
Saturation diving team – Personnel supporting a saturation diving operation
Saturation spread – The topside base for saturation diving operations
Saturation system – Diving decompression system
Save Ontario Shipwrecks (SOS) – A provincial heritage NGO in Ontario, Canada
Savoie, Joe – Diver and inventor of diving helmets
Saw-tooth dive profile – Dive with several ascents and descents
S-BRUV – Stereoscopic baited remote underwater video

Sc–Sd

Science of underwater diving – Scientific concepts that are closely associated with underwater diving
Scientific diver training – Training divers who will be doing scientific work underwater
Scientific diving – Use of diving techniques in the pursuit of scientific knowledge
SCMBA – British military rebreather
Scorpio ROV – Work class remotely operated underwater vehicle
Scottish Sub Aqua Club (ScotSAC) – Scottish recreational diver training and certification agency
Screw gate carabiner – Carabiner snap hook with screw lock gate
Scrubber breakthrough – Failure mode in rebreathers when the carbon dioxide scrubber is exhausted
Scrubber endurance – The duration that a rebreather scrubber can adequately remove carbon dioxide
Scuba configuration – The arrangement of self contained breathing apparatus carried by a diver
Scuba contents gauge – Submersible pressure gauge for scuba cylinders
Scuba cylinder valve – Valve controlling flow of breathing gas into and out of a scuba cylinder
Scuba diving – Swimming underwater, breathing gas carried by the diver
Scuba diving equipment – Equipment needed for scuba diving
Scuba diving fatalities – Deaths occurring while scuba diving or as a consequence of scuba diving
Scuba diving in the Cayman Islands – Recreational diving tourism destination
Scuba Diving International (SDI) – Recreational diver training and certification agency
Scuba diving quarry – Disused and flooded quarry repurposed for underwater diving
Scuba diving skills – The skills required to dive safely using self-contained underwater breathing apparatus
Scuba diving therapy – Treatment using scuba diving activities
Scuba diving tourism – Industry based on recreational diver travel
Scuba Educators International (SEI) – Recreational diver training and certification agency
Scuba emergency procedures, also known as Scuba emergency skills – Standard procedures for use in common scuba diving emergencies
Scuba equipment – Equipment needed for scuba diving
Scuba fatalities – Deaths occurring while scuba diving or as a consequence of scuba diving
Scuba finswimming – Underwater sport discipline
Scuba gas blender – Person competent to blend breathing gases for scuba diving
Scuba gas consumption – Breathing gas used while scuba diving
Scuba gas management – Logistical aspects of scuba breathing gas
Scuba gas planning – Estimation of breathing gas mixtures and quantities required for a planned dive profile
Scuba gas reserve – Breathing gas reserved for contingencies
Scuba gear – The equipment used by a scuba diver for diving
Scuba harness – Equipment for supporting a scuba set on a diver
Scuba isolation manifold – Component used to functionally connect and disconnect scuba cylinders
Scuba manifold – Scuba component used to functionally connect diving cylinders
Scuba mouthpiece – Bite grip breathing interface on demand valve
Scuba orienteering – Underwater compass navigation and speed competition on scuba.
Scuba procedures – Standardised methods for scuba diving activities
Scuba refresher course – Coaching to restore skills and knowledge
Scuba regulator – Mechanism that controls the pressure of a breathing gas supply for scuba diving
Scuba replacement – Surface-supplied diving mode using only gas supplied from high pressure cylinders
Scuba reserve valve – Scuba gas supply valve which is opened to release the gas held in reserve
Scuba Schools International (SSI) – Recreational scuba and freediving training and certification agency
Scuba set – Self-contained underwater breathing apparatus
Scuba skills – The skills required to dive safely using a self-contained underwater breathing apparatus.
Scubapro – Brand of scuba diving equipment
SDBA – Special duty oxygen breathing apparatus, a military rebreather.

Se

Seabed mining – Mineral recovery from the bottom of the sea
Seabed tractor – Special purpose class of remotely operated underwater vehicle
Sea Dragon-class ROV – Chinese deep diving work class remotely operated underwater vehicle
Seafox drone – Remotely operated anti-mine marine drone
Seaglider – Deep diving autonomous underwater vehicle for long term missions
SeaKeys – Collaborative marine biodiversity project in South Africa
SEALAB – Experimental underwater habitats developed by the United States Navy
SEAL Delivery Vehicle – Manned wet submersible for deploying naval special forces
Sea level atmospheric pressure – Static pressure exerted by the weight of the atmosphere at sea level
SeaPerch – Remotely operated underwater vehicle educational program
Sea Pole-class bathyscaphe – Chinese bathyscaphe class
Sea Research Society – American nonprofit for marine research
SEAL Delivery Vehicle (SDV) – Manned wet submersible for deploying naval special forces
Search and recovery diver – Diver certified as trained in underwater search and recovery
Willard Franklyn Searle – US Navy ocean engineer and developer of diving and salvage equipment and systems
Seasickness, also known as Motion sickness – Motion sickness occurring at sea
Secondary regulator second stage – Second demand valve on a scuba regulator first stage
Self-propelled hyperbaric lifeboat (SPHL) – Powered hyperbaric evacuation unit
Self-reliant diver – Recreational diving certification
Self-reliant diving – Philosophy and practice of diving that does not rely on assistance
Self-rescue diver – Recreational diving certification
Self-sufficient diver – Recreational diving certification
Self-sufficient diving – Scuba diving with skill and equipment to manage most contingencies without assistance
Semi-submersible platform – Marine vessel used in offshore roles with good stability and seakeeping
Sentry (AUV) – Autonomous underwater vehicle made by Woods Hole Oceanographic institution
Sewer diving – Diving for maintenance work in sewers

Sh

Shadow Divers – Book by Robert Kurson recounting the discovery of a World War II German U-boat wreck
Shallow-water blackout, also known as shallow water blackout – Loss of consciousness at a shallow depth during a dive
Shallow Water Combat Submersible – Manned submersible and a type of swimmer delivery vehicle
Shallow-water diving helmet, also known as shallow water helmet – Open-bottom diving helmet held on by weight
Shark baiting – Attracting sharks by chumming the water
Shark cage diving – Diving inside a protective cage to observe sharks in the wild
Shark-proof cage – A metal structure to protect divers and snorkellers from potentially dangerous sharks
Shark River Reef – Artificial reef off New Jersey
Shark tourism – Tourism industry based on viewing wild sharks
Shayetet 13 – Special operations unit of the Israeli Navy
Shearwater Research – Canadian manufacturer of dive computers and rebreather electronics.
Shilling, Charles Wesley – U.S. Navy physician, researcher, and educator
Ships husbandry – Maintenance and upkeep of ships
Ships husbandry diving – Diving related to the maintenance and upkeep of ships
Shot-line, also known as shot line or shotline – Substantial weighted near-vertical line with buoy

Si–Sj

Sidemount – Diving equipment configuration where scuba sets are clipped to the diver's sides
Sidemount diver – Scuba certification for using scuba sets clipped to the sides of the harness
Sidemount diving – Diving using equipment configuration where scuba sets are clipped to the diver's sides
Side-mount scuba – Scuba sets carried clipped to the sides of the diver's harness
Side-slung bailout set – Bailout cylinder clipped to the side of the diver's back-mount cylinder harness
Siebe, Augustus – British engineer mostly known for his contributions to diving equipment
Siebe Gorman – British manufacturer of diving equipment and salvage contractor
Siebe Gorman CDBA – Type of diving rebreather used by the Royal Navy
Siebe Gorman Salvus – Industrial rescue and shallow water oxygen rebreather
Signal tube – Inflatable buoy used by a diver at the surface to indicate position to the dive boat
List of signs and symptoms of diving disorders – Evidence of physiological disorders resulting from underwater diving
Silt out, also known as siltout, or silt-out – Reduction of underwater visibility by disturbing silt deposits
Silt screw – A peg for insertion into soft sediment to locate a distance line
Single atmosphere diving suit – Articulated pressure resistant anthropomorphic housing for an underwater diver
Single-hose diving regulator, also known as single hose – Regulator with two stages connected by a low-ressure hose
Single point of failure – A part whose failure will disrupt the entire system
The Silent World: A Story of Undersea Discovery and Adventure – Book by Jacques-Yves Cousteau and Frédéric Dumas
Siluro San Bartolomeo – Italian manned torpedo design of late WWII
Single point of failure – A part whose failure will disrupt the entire system
Sinking of MV Conception – 2019 maritime disaster
Sinking of the Rainbow Warrior – 1985 covert attack by French foreign intelligence service on a Greenpeace ship
Sinking ships for wreck diving sites – Scuttling old ships to produce artificial reefs
Sinus squeeze – Barotrauma of the sinuses
Sistema Huautla – Cave system in Oaxaca, Mexico
Sistema Nohoch Nah Chich – Flooded cave system in Mexico
Sistema Ox Bel Ha – Flooded cave system in Quintana Roo, Mexico
Situation awareness – Adequate perception of environmental elements and external events
Siva (rebreather) – Range of military rebreathers
SJT-class ROUV – Series of Chinese remotely operated underwater vehicles

Sk

Skandalopetra diving – Freediving using a stone weight at the end of a rope to the surface
Skin bend – Decompression symptoms in superficial tissues
Skindiving (disambiguation)

Sl

Sladen Suit – Early British military drysuit
Sling (rigging) – Rope, webbing, wire or chain used to support a load for lifting
Sling cylinder – An independent scuba set carried clipped to the side of a scuba diver's harness
Slingshot valve – Dual outlet scuba cylinder valve with Y-shape body

Sm

Smith, Gordon – Inventor of KISS diving rebreather, born 1950

Sn

Snag-line search – Use of a taut line towed across the search area to catch on the target
Snell's law, also known as Law of refraction – Formula for refraction angles
Snoopy loop, also known as ranger band – Rubber band made from inner tube
Snorkel – Tube for breathing face down at the surface of the water
Snorkel mask – Breathing apparatus for surface swimming
Snorkeling – Swimming while inhaling through a snorkel
Snorkeling vest, also known as snorkelling vest – Personal buoyancy aid for use while snorkeling
Snuba – Limited depth airline breathing apparatus towed by the diver

So

Society for Underwater Historical Research – Amateur maritime archaeology organisation in South Australia
Solo diver – Recreational diver diving without a dive buddy
Solo Diver – SDI recreational diver self-sufficiency certification
Solo diving – Recreational diving without a dive buddy
Solo diving skills – Additional scuba skills of self-reliance
Solubility – Capacity of a substance to dissolve in a homogeneous way
Solution – Homogeneous mixture of a solute and a solvent
Sonar – Acoustic sensing method
Sonar imaging – Constructing digital images from sonar data
Sonic orifice – Orifice undergoing choked flow of a compressible medium
South African Association for Marine Biological Research (SAAMBR) – Non profit conservation research organisation based in Durban, SA
South African Department of Employment and Labour – Department of the South African government responsible for matters related to employment
South African Environmental Observation Network (SAEON) – A network to perform long-term ecological research in South Africa and surrounding waters
South African Underwater Sports Federation (SAUSF) – Official World Underwater Federation representative body in the Republic of South Africa
South Pacific Underwater Medicine Society (SPUMS) – Publisher for diving and hyperbaric medicine and physiology
South Pacific Underwater Medical Society Journal – Journal covering underwater and hyperbaric medicine and physiology
Southern African Underwater and Hyperbaric Medical Association (SAUHMA) – Special interest group of the Council of the South African Medical Association

Sp–Sr

SP-350 Denise – French two-person submarine
Spearfisherman (company) – American diving equipment manufacturer
Spearfishing – Hunting for fish using a spear
Speargun – Underwater fishing implement
Special Actions Detachment – Special operations maritime unit of the Portuguese Navy
Special Air Service – Special forces of the British Army
Special Air Service Regiment – Special forces unit of the Australian Army
Special Boat Service – Special forces unit of the Royal Navy
Special Duties Unit – Hong Kong Police tactical unit
Special Forces Command (Turkey) – Turkish special forces group
Special Forces Group (Belgium) – Special forces unit in the Belgian Armed Forces
Special Operations Battalion (Croatia) – Special forces military unit
Special Service Group (Navy) – The special operations force of the Pakistan Navy
Special Warfare Diving and Salvage – Bangladesh Navy special operations force
Speleonaut – Diver propulsion vehicle designed for cave exploration by a disabled diver
Spindle (vehicle) – Ice penetrating two-stage autonomous underwater vehicle
Spiral box search – Search pattern expanding stepwise outward from datum
Spitcock – Valve on diving helmet to provide water for the diver to spit on inside of viewport
Sponge diving – Diving to gather natural sponges
Sport (shipwreck) – Tugboat wrecked in Lake Huron
Sport diving (sport) – Underwater sport using recreational open circuit scuba equipment in a swimming pool
SPP-1 underwater pistol – Soviet four-barreled underwater dart pistol
SPUMS – Publisher for diving and hyperbaric medicine and physiology
SPURV – Self propelled underwater research vehicle built in 1957 for the US Navy
SPURV II – Special purpose underwater research vessel built to srudy submarine wakes
Squeeze (diving) – Barotrauma of descent
SRV-300 – Deep-submergence rescue vehicle

St

Stabilizer jacket – Configuration of diving buoyancy compensator
Stage cylinder – Diving cylinder intended to be collected for use on the return part of a scuba dive
Staged deccompression, also known as stage decompression – Decompression with stops at specific depths
Stage drop, also known as stage-drop – Placing a scuba cylinder at the distance line for planned later use.
Stage rigging (scuba) – Clips, cords and straps on a scuba cylinder to attach it to a diver
Stage set (scuba) – Scuba set to be used during a stage of a dive
Standard diving dress – Copper helmet with rubberised canvas diving suit and weighted boots
Standard diving equipment – Copper helmet with rubberised canvas diving suit and weighted boots
Standard diving helmet – Copper free-flow helmet system used with Standard Diving Dress
Standard helmet – Helmet of standard diving dress
Standard operating procedure – Set of detailed instructions to assist in workplace safety
Standard procedure – A recommend way to do something that is known to be effective and safe
Standby diver, also known as stand-by diver – Diver who is ready to go to the assistance of the working diver
Standard diving dress – Copper helmet with rubberised canvas diving suit and weighted boots
Standard operating procedure – Set of detailed instructions to assist in workplace safety
Star Canopus diving accident – Fatal offshore diving bell accident in 1978
Static apnea – Stationary diving discipline of holding breath underwater
Stena Seaspread diving accident – Saturation diving bell incident with successful rescue in the North Sea in 1981
Stratification – Layering of a body of water due to density variations
Stress exposure training – Training in a deliberately distracting environment
Striver (bathyscaphe), also known as Struggler (bathyscaphe) – Chinese deep submergence vehicle

Su

Sub-Aqua Association (SAA) – British recreational diver training and certification organisation
Submarine emergency gas supply – Breathing gas system installed in submarine for emergency use
Submarine Escape Immersion Equipment – Whole-body exposure suit that allows submariners to escape from a sunken submarine
Submarine escape set – Self contained breathing apparatus providing gas to escape from a submerged submarine
Submarine escape training facility – Facility used for training submariners in methods of escape from a sunken submarine
Submarine Escape Training Facility (Australia) – Shore facility of the Royal Australian Navy
Sub Marine Explorer – Early submarine craft
Submarine pipeline – Pipeline that is laid on the seabed or below it inside a trench
Submarine Products – Former British diving equipment manufacturer and distributor.
Submarine rescue – Rescue of personnel from a disabled submarine
Submarine Rescue Diving Recompression System – Remotely operated vehicle for rescue of personnel from sunken submarines
Submarine rescue ship – Support ship for submarine rescue and deep-sea salvage operations
Submersible pressure gauge – Pressure measuring instrument for underwater service
Subskimmer – Submersible diver propulsion vehicle with inflatable buoyancy for surface use
Subsurface (software) – Open source software for logging and planning scuba dives
Suit squeeze – Barotrauma caused by the folds of a diving suit piching the skin
Superoxide scrubber – Breathing gas scrubber that adds oxygen and removes carbon dioxide
Supersaturation – State of a solution that contains more solute than can be dissolved at equilibrium
Supervised diver – Minimum requirements for a recreational diver to dive in open water under direct supervision
Supply lock – Small airlock to transfer supplies between areas of different pressure
Support diver – Recreational diving equivalent of a stand-by diver
Surface blackout – Loss of consciuosness immediately following surfacing of a freediver
Surface decompression – Decompression in a diving chamber out of the water
Surface decompression on oxygen – Staged decompression obligation done in a decompression chamber
Surface interval – The time spent out of the water between dives
Surface marker buoy – Buoy towed by a scuba diver to indicate the diver's position
Surface oriented diving – Underwater diving in which the diver starts and finishes at surface pressure
Surface stand-by diver procedures – Functions of member of a professional diving team
Surface-supplied air diver – Person competent to dive with surface-supplied breathing apparatus
Surface-supplied breathing apparatus – Equipment to supply a diver with breathing gas at ambient pressure from the surface
Surface-supplied diver, also known as surface supplied diver – Underwater diver breathing gas supplied from the surface
Surface-supplied diving – Underwater diving breathing gas supplied from the surface
Surface-supplied diving emergency procedure, also known as surface-supplied diving emergency skill – Standard procedures for use in common surface-supplied diving emergencies
Surface-supplied diving equipment – Equipment used specifically for surface supplied diving
Surface-supplied diving procedures – Procedures used in the safe operation and use of surface-supplied diving equipment
Surface-supplied diving skills, also known as surface supplied diving skills – Skills and procedures required for the safe operation and use of surface-supplied diving equipment
Surface-supplied gas management – Provision of breathing gas to surface-supplied divers
Surface-supplied mixed gas diver – Person competent to dive with mixed gas from a closed bell
Surface tension – Tendency of a liquid surface to shrink to reduce surface area
Surface water searches – Procedures to find objects or persons lost at the surface of a body of water
Surface tension – Tendency of a liquid surface to shrink to reduce surface area
Surfactant – Substance that lowers the surface tension between a liquid and another material
Surfer's ear – Common name for an abnormal bone growth within the external ear canal
Surge (wave action) – The component of wave motion close to and parallel with the bottom
Sustained load cracking – Metallurgical failure mode of cracking under a prolonged static load
Suunto – Finnish manufacturer of compasses, dive computers and sports watches

Sw

Swedish Armed Forces Diving and Naval Medicine Centre – Diver education and training; diving medicine research and development
Swimfin – Finlike accessories worn on the feet, used for swimming, snorkeling and diving propulsion
Swimming – Self propulsion of a person through water
Swimming-induced pulmonary edema – Body fluid in the lungs while swimming.
Swim-through – Short underwater tunnel with adequate clearance and obvious exit

Sy

Systemic circulation – Portion of the cardiovascular system which transports oxygenated blood away from the heart
Systems technician – Person related to diving systems

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See also