Can You Live Underwater? (2024)

FAQs

Could humans ever live underwater? ›

There are humans (Bajau Laut- sea nomads) who can hold their breath for longer durations (up to some minutes) underwater. However, it is biologically impossible to evolve (or devolve) to live underwater in a short period.

People will need to solve the issue of air pressure before they can live underwater. Then, very little will stand in the way of making underwater living spaces. One Japanese firm has plans for “Ocean Spiral,” an underwater home that uses the sea's natural resources.

Even in these cold, dark zones, the vents were home to all kinds of living organisms, including giant tube worms, clams, crabs and other species. Sunlight doesn't reach deep enough in the ocean to serve as an energy source for these communities as it does for ecosystems on land.

Yes! Living on a boat in the ocean is possible. You can reside in international waters or opt for somewhere closer to shore. If you do stay in international waters, you must follow international water laws.

While there's no precise depth at which a human would be 'crushed', diving beyond certain limits (around 60 meters) without proper equipment and gas mixes can lead to serious health issues due to the pressure effects on the body, including nitrogen narcosis and oxygen toxicity.

For adults who are not certified scuba divers and have no training, a depth of no more than 40 feet (12.19 m) is recommended. Adults with the basic open water certificate can increase the depth to 60 feet (18.29 m). Advanced divers with additional training on top can reach depths of 130 feet (39.62 m)

So, the lungs would collapse. At the same time, the pressure from the water would push water into the mouth, filling the lungs back up again with water instead of air. But if there's no air-filled space to be pushed into, the body would not be crushed.

Tears in a watery environment

You can still cry underwater, even though the water will wash tears away quickly. Since most water where you'd take a dip contains eye irritants like chlorine, bacteria or sand, swimming with your eyes open will cause your tear glands to produce tears to wash them all away.

The water is heavier than air, and therefore puts more pressure on us and objects in the sea. The deeper you go into the ocean, the more water there is above you, so there is more pressure. Our human bodies - specifically our lungs - are only designed to manage one atmosphere's worth of pressure (like we do on land).

Beneath an undersea volcano, scientists have discovered a hidden world filled with bizarre creatures. The first-of-its-kind habitat is teeming with never-before-seen life-forms, including strange species of worms, snails and deep-dwelling octopuses.

Why hasn't the ocean been fully explored? ›

Today, over 80% of the global ocean (and 50% of the U.S. Ocean) is still unmapped, with even more unexplored. One of the biggest challenges of ocean exploration is the intense pressures in the deep ocean. In addition, zero visibility and extreme cold temperatures make it difficult to explore the vast ocean.

The same goes for deep-sea hydrothermal vents. These chimney-like vents form where seawater comes into contact with magma on the ocean floor, resulting in streams of superheated plumes. The microorganisms that live near such plumes have led some scientists to suggest them as the birthplaces of Earth's first life forms.

Building a fully functional and habitable underwater city presents enormous technical, logistical and economic challenges. Although research and theoretical concepts have been developed, no such city has yet been built on a large scale.

Oxygen from our gills would keep us from blacking out as we moved deeper, but below 200 meters or so we'd reach the bathyal zone, where it's dark and the water is 59 degrees Fahrenheit or colder [source: Britannica]. Living underwater in the shallows without some pressurized airspace wouldn't be an option either.

Overall, the ocean is pretty deep; however, its bottom is not flat or uniform, which means water depths in the ocean also vary. The deepest place in the ocean measures 10,935 meters (35,876 feet) and is found in the Pacific Ocean's Mariana Trench, at a place called Challenger Deep.

The pressure from the water would push in on the person's body, causing any space that's filled with air to collapse. (The air would be compressed.) So, the lungs would collapse. At the same time, the pressure from the water would push water into the mouth, filling the lungs back up again with water instead of air.