Warm Water & Cold Water

[anoop]

What is the advantage of diving in warm water rather than cold water?

[No Misses]

Originally Posted by anoop

What is the advantage of diving in warm water rather than cold water?

I had to refrain from making a wise-guy answer. Here are the top things that I can think of.
1. You do not need a wetsuit (or at least as thick of one). This means that you do not have to carry as much ballast (lead). It is easier to maintain proper bouyancy, without a wetsuit.
2. You are not freezing your butt off!
3. There tends to be more marine life in tropical waters.
4. Did I mention that you don't freeze your butt off?

[mwhities]

Cold water can cause more anxiety than warm water. One is less relaxed in cold water than in warm since your body reacts in a more defensive mode.

[MSilvia]

Offgassing can be slower when you're cold, so it's more important to use a conservative dive profile if you dive cold water. If you get cold, it can increase your breathing rate and decrease your dexterity and situational awareness.

[fisheater]

Typically, you can SEE cold water. Warm water is just so darned clear. :-)

[MSilvia]

Originally Posted by No Misses

There tends to be more marine life in tropical waters.

Originally Posted by fisheater

Typically, you can SEE cold water.

Actually, what reduces the vis in cold water tends to be all the marine life suspended in it. There may not be as many pretty hard corals or manta rays, but there is definately a crapload of marine life in cold water. If you consider all the larvae, plankton, sand lance, krill, jellys, etc, I'd venture to guess the biomass in cold ocean water probably exceeds that in warm water by an order of magnitude.

After all The Census of Marine Life estimates 90% of marine biomass is microbial.

[Jack Hammer]

I've noticed my air last much much longer in warm water. It's easier to do longer dives due to less equipment and weight you're pushing along. I also really like not having to wear a thick hood to keep my head warm. I find a thick hood to be constricting, blocks my hearing of sounds underwater, and really makes me feel more confined.

Jack

[thor]

Other than carrying more weight in cold (which is a big one for my wife), warm water usually doesn't require use of a hood and gloves. Wearing a hood can sometimes make it more difficult to equalize, and also make it difficult to hear your computer beeping.

[MSilvia]

Originally Posted by thor

Wearing a hood can make it difficult to hear your computer beeping.

It also makes it more difficult to hear other peoples' computers beeping. I might have to bring mine next time I dive in warm water!

[Jack Hammer]

Originally Posted by MSilvia

It also makes it more difficult to hear other peoples' computers beeping. I might have to bring mine next time I dive in warm water!

When I was in Roatan our DM used a stainless steel rod to point at things and tap his tank to get our attention. He used the rod sparingly. The last day a group of 3 divers with the same rods dove with us and used them what seemed almost non-stop like they were tapping out morse code or something amongst themselves. It was really annoying and I actually wished i'd brought my thick, muffling, Lake Michigan cold water hood that day.

Jack