Some call him 'Aquaman', but his name is actually Joseph Dituri. An associate professor at the University of South Florida (USF), United States, who has set out to live 100 days submerged in water to conduct medical and marine science research. His goal is to experience firsthand the effects of hyperbaric pressure on the human body. This refers to when the air pressure is higher than what would be found at sea level.
The 'Projet Neptune 100' mission began on March 1 and, if everything goes according to plan, it will end on June 9.
Dituri is 55 years old and a retired US Navy commander with a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering. Since March 1, he has been in the MarineLab underwater shelter in Florida, a facility of the Foundation for the Development of Marine Resources. and he is an associate professor at the University of South Florida (USF). This scientist investigates the effects of hyperbaric pressure on the human body. This refers to when the air pressure is higher than what would be found at sea level.
Dituri is 55 years old, a former US Navy diver and a specialist in biomedical engineering. Since March 1, he has been "housed" at a depth of 9 meters in the MarineLab submarine shelter in Florida, a facility of the Foundation for the Development of Marine Resources.
If he successfully completes his mission, Dituri will break the record for the time a person has spent in a marine habitat. To date, the record for humans staying underwater at ambient pressure is 73 days and was set in 2014 by American masters Bruce Cantrell and Jessica Fain.
Thirty feet might seem shallow, however, the air pressure in this habitat is roughly twice what you would experience on Earth's surface. In other words, it will not be like living in a submarine. Submarines seal when submerged and maintain air pressure at sea level. This implies that there are no significant pressure changes, even when a submarine is at great depth.
Dituri, on the other hand, will be much more exposed to the effects of pressure since he has only an air bubble at the top of his living space and a small pool of water on the floor of a room from the outer ocean.
Depending on the depth and time of exposure, the effects of hyperbaric pressure on the human body can vary. For example, under these causes, the nitrogen in the air passes through the thin walls of our lungs and enters our blood, which causes negative effects on the body.
In addition, the diver will be exposed to only half the amount of sunlight that they would receive on the surface, which could cause problems with their circadian rhythm, the internal "clock" that regulates our sleep-wake cycle, causing interruptions in his dream.
Another challenge for Dituri will be getting enough vitamin D. To produce this vitamin, the skin needs exposure to UV rays, which usually come from the sun. Dituri may not receive enough vitamin D while residing in its underwater habitat.
But not everything is negative. "The pressure has the potential to allow humans to increase their longevity and prevent diseases associated with aging," says a statement from the University of South Florida, which runs Dituri's experiment. The same sources point out the importance that this experiment may have in order to carry out long-term space travel and underwater exploration.
