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Carbon dioxide
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CO2; an odorless, tasteless gas that is a byproduct of metabolism; is excreted by the lungs in exhaled air.
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Carbon dioxide toxicity
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Problems resulting from buildup of CO2 in the blood; they may range from headache and shortness of breath, all the way to sudden blackout.
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Carbon monoxide
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CO; odorless, tasteless, highly poisonous gas given off by incomplete combustion of hydrocarbon fuels.
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Carbon monoxide poisoning
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CO bonds with hemoglobin and prevents blood cells from carrying oxygen. This causes oxygen deprivation in the tissues and can even cause death.
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Carbon monoxide toxicity
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Illness from inhaling excess CO; problems may range from headache to unconsciousness and death.
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Cave Diving
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Requiring much specialized training and equipment, this involves diving into an overhead environment including caves, abandoned mines or quarries and natural springs or sinkholes where the exit is not always visible. "Overhead environment" means a structure exists which prevents the diver from making a direct vertical ascent to the surface.
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Cavern Diving
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Requiring specialized training, this involves diving into an overhead environment including caves, abandoned mines or quarries and natural springs or sinkholes; differs from Cave Diving in that the exit should always be visible. "Overhead environment" means a structure exists which prevents the diver from making a direct vertical ascent to the surface.
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C-Card
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Refers to a divers certification card for a specific level of achievement.
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CD
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Course Director. Level of instructor certification authorized to conduct instructor training.
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CDAA
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Cave Diving Association of Australia. The CDAA was formed in September 1973.
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CDC
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. An U.S. government agency within the Department of Health and Human Services which, among other functions, maintains the Traveler Hotline with information on geographic distribution of diseases and inoculations required/recommended for travel toother countries.
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Celsius
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Metric unit for temperature. C=(F-32) x .556
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cf
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cubic foot. A measure of volume. Scuba cylinders are manufactured in standard sizes, such as 30, 50, 72 and 80 cf.
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Charles's Law
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The amount of change in either volume or pressure of a given volume of gas is directly proportional to the change in the absolute temperature.
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Closed circuit scuba
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Apparatus designed to allow divers to re-breath exhaled air after removal of CO2 and addition of supplemental 02. In contrast to "Open Circuit", closed circuit scuba is noiseless and produces no bubbles.
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CMAS
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The Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques (CMAS) is the World Underwater Federation. CMAS is the international umbrella organisation for diver training organizations. It was founded in Brussels on September 28, 1958. One of the founding members was the French underwater pioneer Philippe Tailliez. As such, it is one of the world's oldest scuba diving organizations.
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Compartment
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A theoretical division of the body with an arbitrarily assigned half time for nitrogen uptake and elimination. In designing decompression tables the body is divided into finite number of compartments for purposes of making calculations.
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Computer
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A device that monitors nitrogen in the body during a dive though mathematical algorithms. The device allows divers to multilevel dive and extend bottom time beyond what a dive table allows.
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Coral
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Invertebrates that secrete an internal, hard skeleton structure composed of calcium carbonate, which is absorbed from the surrounding water.
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Core temperature
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The internal temperature of the body, 98.6F is the normal temperature of the human body. Deviation from this temperature even a few degrees could be life threatening.
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Cummerbund
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An overlapping waistband with Velcro used to secure a Buoyancy Compensator snugly around the diver's waist.
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Current
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A horizontal movement of water; currents can be classified as tidal and nontidal; tidal currents are caused by forces of the sun and moon and are manifested in the general rise and fall occurring at regular intervals and accompanied by movement in bodies of water; nontidal currents include the permanent currents in the general circulatory systems of the sea as well as temporary currents arising from weather conditions. For general rules: 1 to 2 kt current is Light, 2 to 3kt current is Mild, 3 to 4kt is Strong and 5kt is Very Strong for the average diver!
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