Ice Diving

Not really popular in the UK due to the year round absence of large frozen bodies of water, Ice diving is the activity of exploring the marine environment beneath a layer of ice.

A hole is normally cut in the ice with a chainsaw and a technical diver, usually attached to a harness must be kitted out with specialist equipment. His regulator must be able to function in close to zero temperatures and not freeze up. Likewise, he will probably be wearing a dry suit or a thick wetsuit that can be heated with warm water first. Special dry gloves, boots and a full face mask or diving hood will stop an ice divers extremities from being damaged.

The attraction of ice diving lies in the weird and wonderful creatures that populate the freezing waters, such as brightly coloured gelatinous zooplankton. These little known sub sea creatures range from a few millimetres to several metres in length. The structure of the ice ceiling above (when a diver is submerged) is also very beautiful.