A common safety stop depth is 3 to 6 meters for 3-5 minutes.

A common safety stop depth is 3 to 6 meters for 3-5 minutes.

• A. 3 to 6 meters for 3-5 minutes
• B. 15 to 20 meters for 1 minute
• C. 1 to 2 meters for 10 minutes
• D. 6 to 9 meters for 2 minutes

Answer: (A)

A safety stop is a short pause at the end of a dive to allow dissolved nitrogen to off‑gas before surfacing, reducing the risk of decompression illness. Sitting at about 3 to 6 meters provides a shallow enough depth that the pressure change is gentle, making off‑gassing safer, while still being deep enough to be effective. Extending the stop to about 3–5 minutes gives most divers enough time to off‑gas a large portion of the inert gas carried during the dive without turning the stop into a full decompression procedure. The other options either push you deeper than a typical safety stop (which would become a decompression stop) or alter the depth and duration in ways that don’t align with standard recreational practice, making them less appropriate. Therefore, 3 to 6 meters for 3 to 5 minutes is the standard safety stop.

A safety stop is a short pause at the end of a dive to allow dissolved nitrogen to off‑gas before surfacing, reducing the risk of decompression illness. Sitting at about 3 to 6 meters provides a shallow enough depth that the pressure change is gentle, making off‑gassing safer, while still being deep enough to be effective. Extending the stop to about 3–5 minutes gives most divers enough time to off‑gas a large portion of the inert gas carried during the dive without turning the stop into a full decompression procedure. The other options either push you deeper than a typical safety stop (which would become a decompression stop) or alter the depth and duration in ways that don’t align with standard recreational practice, making them less appropriate. Therefore, 3 to 6 meters for 3 to 5 minutes is the standard safety stop.