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I've been involved with diving for the US Antarctic Program since 1979. Over the course of that time and with some 800 dives under the ice I've used a *wide* variety of equipment. In the early years we thought that double hose regulators were required to prevent freeze-ups (in fact, I'd guess that the dive locker in McMurdo has the largest supply of USD Royal AquaMasters and spare pares available anywhere). Through the efforts of Jim Mastro and Jeff Bozanic a data base of regulator performance was developed. It turns out that Sherwood Magnums have, by far, the lowest failure rate. Winterized Poseidon Cyclons are second and everything else (Royal Aquamasters included) is *far* behind. If anyone is interested I'm sure I can come up with the data for all the units tested. Full face masks (Kirbys, EXOs and AGAs) have been used a bit on scuba but in general they are considered a safety problem. It must be assumed that a free-flow will occur on every dive. Most divers use either a single 90 with a Y valve or twin 72s with an ideal manifold. Two complete regulators are used. If (when) a free flow occurs, the offending unit is turned off and the standby is used to make ones way back to the access hole. This process would be complicated by a full face mask. Handling of the equipment to ensure that NO fresh water makes its way into the system is the most important aspect of keeping things working. We do a fair amount of our dives using surface supplied equipment. The added warmth, reduced danger associated with free flow, communications and direct link to the access hole makes this mode considerably safer. It has limitations however and often scuba is required to accomplish certain tasks. Heliox-17s, Superlite 17s and 27s have been used. Dry suits by several venders are used but Viking and DUI seems to out number others. Vulcanized suits have the benefit of being somewhat easier to repair. DUI underwear is favored by all. Polypro under the DUI was standard although last year a few of us started using Polartec dive suits under the DUI's and the result is very comfy. This season we are going to use Divex hot water suits for a project on the Antarctic Peninsula. I'm personally looking forward to this step in comfort technology! Water Temperatures range between minus 1.8 to about plus 2 C. Dive times have been up to 169 minutes although most are in the 60 minute range. With the hot water we are planning most dives to be over three hours. I'd be happy to answer any specific questions by private e-mail. I'll won't be heading to the ice until 28 Dec. Cheers- Rob Robbins Dive Supervisor Antarctic Support Associates
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