An emergency ascent is when somebody needs to quickly swim up to the surface of the water from deep down below. It usually happens when something goes wrong while scuba diving. Maybe somebody's oxygen tank is running out of air, or they are feeling sick, or maybe they see a dangerous animal. Whatever the reason, they need to get to the surface quickly so they can breathe fresh air and be safe.
When somebody does an emergency ascent, they have to be very careful. If they swim up too fast, they could get very sick. This is because when you're deep underwater, the pressure is very strong, and it can make things happen to your body that aren't normal. For example, it can make air bubbles form in your blood, which is very bad.
So instead of just swimming straight up to the surface, somebody doing an emergency ascent has to do it slowly and carefully. They have to breathe out air as they go up, to make sure that the pressure in their body stays the same. They also have to watch out for other people who might be diving nearby, so they don't accidentally hit anyone on the way up.
An emergency ascent is a very serious thing, but if somebody knows what to do, they can often do it safely and come out okay. It's important to always be prepared and know what to do in case of an emergency when scuba diving.