• Course: Marine Biology Bachelor
• Language: English
• Semester: 1º e 2º
• Total ECT’s: 3 points
• Total hours of work (ECTS * 28h): 84 hours
• Contact hours: T:10: P:20 
• Teaching Approach: Presential, Theory 9h, Practical 6 water sessions and 6 theory practical classes at least 30h for practical and TP. Total contact time at least 40h.

This course is designed to train students into advanced SCUBA dive skills, such as stability (buoyancy, trim, balance), teamwork, problem solving and situational awareness, thru a well structure dive planning, and strong academic knowledge on gas properties and hazards, gas strategies and management, decompression, and adequate equipment configuration use for scientific diving activities.  

International certification, exceeding the norm NP EM 14153-02 (ex. GUE Fundamentals, XR extended range foundations).

The class program will be focused on: 

Theory component: 

a) Physics and physiology: 

• Gas laws 
• Gas properties 
• Gas Toxicity (O2) 
• Hipercapnia (CO2)
• Gas poisoning (CO)
• Narcosis
• Gas density

b) Gas management  

• Calculating appropriated gas supply and gas types for scientific research  
• Calculating adequate gas reserves  
• Gas rule of half’s and rule of thirds and its application in to scientific diving  

c) Decompression theory 

• Decompression models   
• Decompression profiles  

d) Advanced dive planning  

• Teams 
• Task assignments  
• Situation awareness  
• Risk assessment  

e) Technical Diving SCUBA equipment and usage

Practical application: 

• Underwater stability (buoyancy mastery, trim, balance) 
• Propulsion methods adequate for silty and fragile environments (frog, flutter, modified frog, modified flutter, helicopter turn, backward) 
• Basic manipulation and operation of regulators (including back up) and masks 
• Underwater tank valve manipulation  
• Use of safety buoys 
• Team position and problem solving  
• Managing out of gas situations 
• Managing adequate ascend profiles, including minimum decompression while sharing gas to an out of gas diver. 

The methodology will be theory classes with power point. Theoretical exercises focusing advanced dive planning will be done with all students in an interactive manner. Out of the water practice of the future in water skills. Underwater practice after teacher demonstration.  Repetition until mastery is obtain. 

Classes are limited to a in water ratio of 4 students per instructor.

The instructor may film components of the in water training to help students progress.

All in water exercises will be:

• Explained
• demonstrated by the instructor out of the water
• executed by the student about of the water
• demonstrated by the instructor in the water
• executed by the student in the water
• repeat until mastery is achieved
• debriefing will focus on the points to improve: how to improve and why to improve.
• May include video debriefing if needed.

The class is focused on team work, therefore the instructor in the water assumes a coach position and the team operates in an autonomous and realistic way. Instructor interferes to demonstrate, correct and help.

Students will be evaluated in the theory component with a written exam (20%); and in the practical component with a report (20%). Additionally, a scale from 1 to 4 will be used to evaluate student in water performance (60%) where: 

5: Unsafe (fail) 

6: Cannot complete the task (need to repeat)

7: Complete the task well (pass) 

8: Excellent performance (pass) 

The main points of evaluation are (above 3 points):

• Buoyancy control within 1.5m of target even when task loaded (no fin or hand movement)
• Trim control (within 30 degrees of horizontal)
• Balance (no hand movement)
• All kicks (frog flutter modified frog modified flutter helicopter turn and back kick)
• Comfortable sharing and receiving gas by donating a long hose (2m)
• Situational awareness (team position, gas management, time and depth management, environment situation)
• Equipment configuration
• Teamwork

Students will attend 6 theory modules in order to be prepared for underwater modules. The participants will be actively involved in SCUBA planning taking in to account safety and scientific tasks. The practical component is done in 6 modules, during which Students will learn how to master in water skills (from stability to propulsion) anticipate for problems by gaining high levels of situational awareness thru repetition of team positioning and critical problem solving.

This class can be taught to non-divers and divers. For non-divers an additional module equivalent to an open water will be added to this training.

• Course: Marine Biology Bachelor
• Language: English
• Semester: 1º e 2º
• Total ECT’s: 3 points
• Total hours of work (ECTS * 28h): 84 hours
• Contact hours: 30 hours
• Teaching Approach: Presential, Theory 6h, practical and theorical-practical 30h, self-study 8h

This course is designed to train students into underwater sampling techniques applied to Marine Ecology. Advanced SCUBA dive planning, focusing on safety and efficiency will also be exercised.  

The class program will be focused on: 

Theory component: 

a) History of Scientific Diving

b) Legal Aspects of Scientific Diving

c) Citizen Science

d) Scientific Method

• sampling design
• error vs Bias
• ethics

e) Methods

• Site referencing
• Sketching
• Radial search
• Baselines
• Transects
• Visual and video census
• Quadrats
• Photoquadrats
• Grids
• Photogrammetry

f) Project planning and

• Goals
• Teams
• Specific equipment’s
• Exposure times and depths
• Decompression strategies
• Gas management and strategies
• Risk assessment

g) data management and reporting

h) Underwater Sciences

• Biology
• Archelogy
• Geology

i) Tools and equipment’s

• Tools for communication (full-face mask, Tethered diver)
• Airlifts
• Liftbags

Practical application: 

Develop knowledge and familiarity with scientific diving practices applied to marine ecology: 

• Band transects
• Point intersect transects
• Use of underwater sampling grids
• Underwater sample collection 
• Underwater video / photo documentation
• Underwater photomosaics
• Search methods and mapping
• Baseline with offset
• Use of quadrats
• Use of airlifts and liftbags

Theory classes will be mandatory. Students will be thought from the methods used in marine ecology to how to plan a dive were those skills will be applied. Prior to the dives all students will participate test the dive plan out of the water, for a better understanding of the methodology to apply. Each dive will have a specific skill to be developed were all students will have the opportunity to use and practice the skill (i.e. Photomosaic). Complexity of skills will be increasing gradually. Post dive, data will be processed and analysed to point areas of improvement so that the error and bias of future sampling can be reduced (therefore increasing data quality). Students will be evaluated in the theory component with a report (40%). Additionally, a scale from 1 to 4 will be used to evaluate student in water performance (60%) where: 

5: Unsafe (fail) 

6: Cannot complete the task (need to repeat)

7: Complete the task well (pass) 

8: Excellent performance (pass) 

All practical methodologies will be presented in the theory component of the class. Before the practical component, the teacher will demonstrate out of the water how to performed the skills and the students will also practice it out of the water. After mastery is proved, the class will be taken underwater. Underwater students will see the teacher demonstration and after they will perform it.  

By the end of the class students will be able acquire quality data by planning and executing scientific dives using the learn marine ecology techniques in a safe, efficient manner.