Cave Diving - Exploring the Veins of Mother Earth
Cave Diving, the two-word phrase, means diving in flooded subterranean passages. Today it commonly signifies using self-contained underwater breathing apparatus (SCUBA) to explore submerged cave passages. The initial exploration of submerged subterranean caves was undertaken by cavers, using scuba equipment. Cavers have been entering submerged subterranean passages for nearly two and a half centuries. Breath-hold divers undertook the first known cave dives far back in 1773 (Gunn, 2004). The first known use of diving equipment in a cave spans back to 1878 in France (Young, 1979). Diver Nello Ottonelli used deep-sea diving equipment to descend into the Fontaine De Vaucluse cave in France. The first known use of scuba equipment dates to 1934 in the UK, by Jack Sheppard (Young, 1979). Jaques Cousteau and Emile Gagan's development of scuba equipment sparked the new era of cave diving and exploration of submerged caves using scuba gear. Special diving equipment suitable for the enviro
