Being self-contained, the diver does not need to be just a few meter below the surface of the water, but instead can get one of the closest contacts to the underwater ecosystem that happens to be there for the diver’s analysis. The diver carries all the necessary gear to allow for them to breath comfortably under the water, and in the environment of the water, the equipment doesn’t seem as heavy as it might feel on land. Some divers choose to rely solely on fins and their own strength to glide around the water, but others choose to use motorized small vehicles to propel them further along, still others attach themselves to devices that keep them tethered to a boat somewhere floating above them.

Scuba diving is still an evolving form of undertaking, but there are some general classifications that have appeared over the short time that scuba diving has been a valid term in use that aren’t limited to the terms as follows, such as recreational diving and technical diving though can also be taken to mean military and commercial diving as well. The category depends upon the choice of the diver, and the supplied equipment that is used depending on the diver’s particular need, all these things come together to better allow the diver to understand what they do and how to do it better.