Scientist Begins 100-Day Stay At Underwater Florida Hotel
Dr. Joseph Dituri hopes to break the previous record set in 2014.
Marine Resources Development Foundation
Dr. Joseph Dituri is currently six days into his attempt to set a new record for underwater human habitation.
At 9:30 am on Wednesday, March 1, the retired U.S. Navy commander from Tampa descended roughly 30 feet underwater to Jules’ Undersea Lodge in Key West, where he will live until 9:30 am on June 9th… exactly 100 days.
Located beneath the surface of a Key Largo lagoon, the facility was built as a marine research laboratory before it was converted into an underwater hotel in 1986. The previous record, 73 days, was set there in 2014.
“It’s not so much about the record,” Dituri told the Associated Press. “It’s more about incentivizing the next generation of kids to come down here to learn how to preserve, protect, and to rejuvenate the marine environment.”
In his temporary 100-square-foot home beneath the sea, Dituri will spend his days conducting cutting edge diving medicine research in partnership with Marine Resources Development (MRDF)/MarineLab. Multiple scientists will join him over the course of the 100-day mission to conduct experiments and transmit broadcasts as part of Project Neptune 100. Dituri also plans to host online high school and college classes in hyperbaric medicine and welcome some 40 young divers, who will spend 24 hours undersea with him to become certified aquanauts.
Throughout it all, 55-year-old Dituri will be tested and analyzed to evaluate the effects of living in a confined, extreme environment. He's documenting much of what he's doing on social media.
“The human body has never been underwater that long, so I will be monitored closely,” Dituri said in a University of South Florida news release. “This study will examine every way this journey impacts my body, but my null hypothesis is that there will be improvements to my health due to the increased pressure.”
Dituri hopes to test the conclusions of a study that found that cells exposed to increased pressure doubled within five days. This suggests the increased pressure has the potential to allow humans to increase their longevity and prevent diseases associated with aging.
“So, we suspect I am going to come out superhuman!” Dituri joked.
For more Southern Living news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!
Read the original article on Southern Living.
