This past weekend at a scuba diving resort in the Florida Keys, an undersea researcher set a record most extendedlongest period spent below ambient pressure.
The 74th day of Dr. Joseph Dituri’s stay in Jules’ Undersea Lodge, at the bottom of a Key Largo lagoon 30 feet deep, wasn’t much different from the other days since he submerged on March 1.
He consumed a protein-rich dinner of microwaved eggs and salmon, engaged in physical training, poured his daily pushups, and dozed off for an hour.
Two Tennessee professors, Bruce Cantrell, and Jessica Fain, broke the previous mark of 73 days, two hours, and 34 minutes in 2014 at the same spot.
Dituri aims to remain at the lodge until June 9, when he will have been under for 100 days and will have finished Project Neptune 100. However, he is not counting on simply accepting the record and surface.
The Marine Resources Development Foundation, which owns the habitat, created the mission, combining medical and ocean research with educational outreach.
Dituri, a professor at the University of South Florida, said of the record, “I appreciate it. Although I’m grateful to have it, more science still needs to be done.
He conducts regular physiological studies as part of his research to examine how the human body handles prolonged exposure to high pressure.
This project aims to populate and care for the world’s oceans.
Dituri uses his underwater digital studio to host broadcast interviews and teach online lessons as part of his outreach efforts.
He was trained and conducted more than 2,500 students online in marine science lectures over the past 74 days in addition to regular standard biomedical engineering courses at the University of South Florida.
Even while he claims to adore his underwater home, there is one thing he genuinely misses.
The sun is what Dituri claimed she missed the most about being on the surface. The sun has played a significant role in my life;
I typically go to the gym at five and then return outside to watch the sunrise.
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