A university professor from Florida has achieved a remarkable feat by living underwater for 100 days, breaking the previous world record of 73 days.
Joseph Dituri, a biomedical engineer and former Navy diver, submerged himself in a lodge for scuba divers at Jules’ Undersea Lodge in Key Largo on March 1 and resurfaced on June 9.
He said his goal was to study how the human body adapts to living under extreme pressure and to conduct experiments on coral restoration, marine biology and human physiology.
“I wanted to do something that was meaningful for science and also challenging for myself,” Dituri told NPR.
He said he faced many challenges during his stay, such as boredom, isolation, storms, equipment failures and even a shark attack that damaged his communication system.
He also had to deal with the effects of living in a hyperbaric environment, such as increased risk of decompression sickness, nitrogen narcosis and oxygen toxicity.
“It’s like living in a soda can,” he said. “You’re constantly under pressure and you have to be careful about what you breathe and how you move.”
He said he coped by keeping a regular routine, staying in touch with his family and friends via video calls, reading books, watching movies and playing games.
He also received regular visits from other divers who brought him food, supplies and moral support.
He said he enjoyed observing the marine life around him and witnessing the changes in the seasons and the weather.
“It was amazing to see how the fish behaved differently at night and during the day, how they interacted with each other and with me,” he said. “I felt like I was part of their community.”
Dituri said he hopes his experience will inspire others to explore the underwater world and to protect it from pollution and climate change.
“The ocean is our life support system,” he said. “We need to take care of it and learn from it.”
