DiveSight launches with forecasts for more than 28,000 dive sites, combining artificial intelligence, satellite oceanography, and biodiversity data to help divers plan better underwater experiences.
For decades, scuba divers have relied on weather forecasts, local knowledge, and recent dive reports to decide where and when to dive. While surfers can forecast wave conditions and skiers can predict snow quality, divers have largely been left guessing what they will actually find beneath the surface.
A newly launched app called DiveSight aims to change that.
Released globally on Apple’s App Store, DiveSight provides forecasts for both marine life abundance and underwater visibility at more than 28,000 dive sites worldwide. The developers describe it as the first consumer diving application to offer this combination of forecasting tools on a global scale.
Forecasting What Divers Actually Care About
According to DiveSight’s creators, the app uses two proprietary machine-learning models trained on satellite oceanography, physical ocean data, and millions of marine-life observations collected from scientific and citizen-science databases.
One model predicts marine life abundance, while the second forecasts underwater visibility. Together, they generate seven-day forecasts for dive sites around the world, including custom locations entered by users.
The company says the models correctly identify forecast conditions more than 80 percent of the time during validation testing and are expected to improve as more data is added.
“Divers have always had the weather and diver reports. What they haven’t had consistently is a forecast for what actually matters underwater: how much life will be there, and what visibility will be,” said DiveSight founder Yaniv Stopnitzky.
Beyond Visibility Reports
Most diving apps that provide visibility information rely on recent user reports. While useful, coverage can be limited to popular destinations where divers regularly submit updates.
DiveSight takes a different approach by generating forecasts from environmental data, allowing predictions even at locations where no recent diver reports exist.
If successful, this could prove particularly valuable for remote destinations, liveaboard itineraries, expedition diving, and lesser-visited dive sites where current conditions are often difficult to assess before arrival.
Additional Features for Dive Planning
Beyond its forecasting tools, DiveSight includes a substantial collection of planning resources designed to help divers identify the best locations and seasons for specific marine life encounters.
Features include:
- Seven-day marine life abundance forecasts
- Seven-day underwater visibility forecasts
- Live ocean conditions including currents, tides, and temperature profiles
- Ten years of historical climatology data for individual sites
- Seasonal marine-life event calendars
- A database of more than 28,000 dive sites
- A catalog of over 6,000 marine species
- Species-specific search tools showing where and when wildlife has been observed
- Dive logging and dive computer imports
- Offline access for remote diving locations
One particularly interesting tool is the Wildlife Finder, which allows divers to search for specific species and identify locations and seasons where sightings are most likely.
For underwater photographers and wildlife enthusiasts, that could make trip planning considerably easier.
Contributing to Marine Science
The app also incorporates citizen science initiatives through a two-way integration with iNaturalist.
Divers can upload photographs of marine life they encounter, and verified observations can eventually become part of global biodiversity databases used by researchers and conservation organizations.
The developers say every logged sighting contributes both to scientific understanding and to improving future forecast accuracy.
The platform draws data from numerous scientific organizations and databases, including NASA, NOAA, the European Space Agency, Copernicus, HYCOM, GBIF, OBIS, iNaturalist, and WoRMS.
Free and Premium Options
DiveSight is available as a free download, with the free version offering access to more than 15,000 dive sites, 3,000 species profiles, live ocean conditions, and unlimited dive logging.
A premium subscription unlocks the complete 28,000-site database, full species catalog, seven-day forecasts, climatology tools, and offline access.
Pricing is listed at:
- $4.99 per week
- $9.99 per month
- $99.99 per year
A one-week free trial is available.
Why This Matters
The success of DiveSight will ultimately depend on the accuracy of its forecasts in real-world diving conditions. Forecasting marine life presence is particularly ambitious, given the complex environmental factors influencing animal behavior and movement.
However, if the technology delivers on its promises, it could represent one of the most significant advances in dive planning since the widespread adoption of marine weather forecasting and GPS-enabled dive mapping.
For divers planning expensive liveaboard trips, underwater photographers seeking specific encounters, or travellers trying to maximise limited dive time, knowing when conditions are likely to be at their best could prove extremely valuable.
As artificial intelligence continues to influence outdoor recreation and travel planning, DiveSight may offer an early glimpse into how predictive technology could reshape the way divers choose where and when to enter the water.
For more information, DiveSight is available now on the Apple App Store.
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