Sam Harding, a researcher at the Diving Diseases Research Centre, has won the Duke of Edinburgh prize for her study on the impact of nitrogen narcosis on divers' thinking and awareness.

Over 100 divers took part in the study, which involved performing a series of tests at ambient pressure, and then performing the same tests again under compression in a hyperbaric chamber. The aim of the research was to objectively measure the impact of nitrogen narcosis on performance, giving an insight into how divers' judgements are altered while diving.

The proposal behind the research is that divers are unaware of the degree of impairment that is experienced as pressure increases ie as a diver goes deeper, the ambient pressure (and the amount of nitrogen entering the body) increases, and divers are no longer in a position to judge how this is impacting on their thinking. Quantifying the degree of impairment with depth would give the most accurate and objective picture to date of the effects of nitrogen narcosis on divers.

The research was conducted at the hyperbaric facilities at the Diving Diseases Research Centre, Plymouth.

The Duke of Edinburgh Prize is awarded annually to the team or individual judged to have made the most significant contribution to diving research or exploration. The Prize is administered by the BSAC Jubilee Trust.

More articles of interest
Kamikaze Divers - Pete Harrison on narcosis addiction (DIVER 1999)
DDRC website


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