Depth Awareness

[toliver66]

"discombobulated"... You mean you were confused, disconcerted, upset, frustrated... What?... Is "discombobulated" something that only happens to DMs or is it a DIR thing?

Not always. I have dove many times when the cold water was on the surface and the warmer water was below..

Very true. But seriously, the OPs question has been answered. To summarize... it is impossible to tell what your depth is without a depth gauge or, prior knowledge of the dive site, or a psychic a connection to ancient deities. Enough said. Lets put this one to bed shall we.

 

[Kevrumbo]

No . . .it is not impossible to figure out depth without a depth gauge! At the very least you need a watch and a SPG --as well as knowing what your surface consumption rate (SCR) is. . .

Example: My SPG for my 11L Tank (AL80) shows 160 bar in five minutes down from 200 bar full tank --or a delta consumption of 40 bar/5 min. Simplify this depth consumption rate (DCR) to 8 bar/min. I know my surface consumption rate (SCR) for the 11L Tank is 2 bar/min. Therefore DCR divided-by-SCR will yield a factor equivalent to the approximate depth you're at in Atmospheres Absolute (ATA) -- so 8 divided-by 2 equals a depth of 4 ATA.

And finally, 4 ATA easily converts to meters depth by subtracting one and multiplying by ten: 4 minus 1 equals 3; 3 multiplied-by 10 yields 30. Hence you're approximately at a depth of 30 meters (same as 100'). . .