Which of the following best describes how the dive site reconnaissance should be documented?

Complete your ADCI Dive Supervisor Certification. Review with flashcards and multiple-choice questions, each question includes hints and detailed explanations to ensure understanding and success on your test.

Thorough documentation of the dive site reconnaissance is essential for safe planning and clear communication with the dive team. The best approach combines written notes, photographs, and maps or diagrams to create a complete picture of what the site looks like and what conditions are present.

Notes capture details that numbers alone can miss—current strength and direction at various points, visibility, water temperature, depth readings, potential hazards, access and egress points, and any changes observed since the last reconnaissance. Photos provide a concrete visual record of conditions, hazards, entanglements, and landmarks that are hard to describe in words. Maps or diagrams translate those observations into a spatial reference, showing how the site is laid out, the routes for entry and exit, depth contours, prevailing currents, and zones of risk.

Using all three, when appropriate, gives you a robust, transferable briefing tool for divers and support personnel. It allows accurate planning, risk assessment, and post-dive debriefs. Recording only one or two elements—like just measurements or just weather—omits critical context. And relying on notes alone or photos alone without a navigational map can make it harder to visualize the actual site layout and planning routes.