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Scuba Diving Dictionary

Scuba Diving Dictionary Landing Page Description

Whether you’re a new diver or one who’s returning to the sport, or even if you’re a frequent diver with the occasional question that needs answering, you’ll discover that our dive dictionary is a very useful scuba diving resource. Here, you’ll see a comprehensive list of scuba diving terms, along with acronyms and so much more.  Using our scuba dictionary to locate diving terms is quick and easy; just choose a letter or number and click on it, or simply enter a keyword to find its definition. Be sure to contact us if you’re looking for diving terms, acronyms, or any other type of scuba-related jargon you cannot uncover here. We’ll do our best to keep updating our diving dictionary so you can find the answers you need, when you need them.

W

Wave Age

The ratio of wave velocity to wind velocity 

Wave Height

The vertical distance between the elevations of a crest and a neighboring trough

Weight Belt

A belt often worn around a diver's waist which holds weights designed to make the diver less buoyant

Wetsuit

A garment that when worn by scuba divers traps a layer of water between the diver’s skin and the suit itself, providing the diver with a form of thermal protection

Wheel

A dive table utilized in planning multi-level dives

WHOI

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution 

Whole Gale

Number ten on the Beaufort scale, a wind between 55-63 miles per hour

WOO

World Oceanographic Organization

WOW

Abbreviation for waiting on weather

Wreck Diving

A form of recreational diving in which shipwrecks are explored, and often penetrated by experienced divers 

Y

Y-Valve

A tank valve, in the shape of a "Y", with two outlets; A y-valve's body splits into two around 90 degrees and are often referred to as "slingshot valves"

Yaw

The twisting of a moving vessel off its course temporarily around a vertical axis usually as a result of bad steering or the action of the waves

Yoke

A device used to attach a diving regulator to a scuba cylinder in order to achieve a leak-proof seal

Z

Zenith

The highest point attained by a celestial body

Zoom Lens

A lens that allows a camera to use a range of focal lengths which can be changed rapidly

Zooplankton

Plankton that consists of small animals such as corals and jellyfish that cannot produce their own food and which drift with currents in bodies of fresh water, seas, and oceans

Zooxanthellae

Microscopic yellow-green or yellow-brown algae that are found within the cells of reef-building corals

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