The VLIZ diving team consists of seven members and five volunteers. All hold the required diving certificates to perform scientific diving work in the North Sea and inland waters.
The diving team can take samples (sediment, water, epifauna ...), place equipment, (acoustic receivers, hydrophones ...), observe and take underwater images. Lost (scientific) equipment can also be located and recovered.
VLIZ diving team equipment
The diving team has five complete, modern diving equipment (dry suit, bottle with wing, relaxers, diving computers, etc.) and safety equipment (medical oxygen kits, first aid kits, CPR device for CPR, throwing lines and a net for rescue operations in the water). The NITROX filling system allows diving with both air and a NITROX mixture with an oxygen percentage of up to 40%, allowing one to create the ideal breathing mixture based on the planned dive depth. Lifting balloons for equipment recovery and recording equipment for taking underwater pictures are available. Photo footage is taken with an Olympus TG-3 or TG-4 with underwater housing and flash units. Film footage is taken with the GoPro Hero 3 or 4 with Hugyfot GoPro+ OW housing and dual Green Force Squid 1850 exposures.
The scientific diving team usually operates from our research vessel RV Simon Stevin. Other research vessels or even hired vessels can also serve as bases.
VLIZ is also a member of the 'Belgian Working Group on Scientific Diving' which takes care of the training of scientific divers according to the guidelines of the 'European Marine Board Panel on Scientific Diving'.
Please contact VLIZ for more information about our diving team.