Professor Joseph Dituri, popularly known as Dr. Deep Sea, has already broken records for living alone underwater for over two months. But he's not just after the records as he decides to stay in his small pod at the Atlantic Ocean for over a month more.
World's Longest-Time Underwater Record Broke
Dituri, a university professor, voluntarily decided to live underwater without depressurization at a Florida Keys lodge for scuba divers. He broke a world record while staying there for 74 days.
The lodge does not employ technology to compensate for the higher underwater pressure, unlike a submarine, Daily Mail reported.
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.
However, Professor Dituri has no intention of stopping after setting the record and returning to the surface. Instead, he intends to stay at the lodge until June 9 to reach 100 days and finish Project Neptune 100.
The Marine Resources Development Foundation, which owns the habitat, organized the mission, which mixes medical and ocean research with educational outreach.
Professor Dituri, a professor at the University of South Florida with a doctorate in biomedical engineering and a retired US Naval officer, said he appreciated the record, but it's a small bump. Additionally, while he was honored to have it, he felt there was still more work.
He conducts regular physiological studies as part of his research to examine how the human body handles prolonged exposure to high pressure.
He explained that the goal is to occupy as many oceans as possible, care for them by residing there, and treat them respectfully.
Professor Dituri's outreach activities include teaching online and doing radio and television interviews from his underwater digital studio. He has trained more than 2,500 students in the previous 74 days in his regular biomedical engineering courses at the University of South Florida and through online marine science courses.
More About The Jules' Undersea Lodge
Dr. Deep Sea has lived in Jules' Undersea Lodge since March 1. He gave Daily Mail a tour of his 100-square-foot home submerged 30 feet below the Atlantic Ocean.
The lodge is small but well-managed. It has a work area, kitchen, bathroom, and two bedrooms. Like a luxury hotel, it has a TV, a small freezer, a microwave, and a swimming pool, which serves as the entrance and exit of the pod.
Jules' Undersea Lodge started as La Chalupa Research Laboratory, an underwater habitat designed to examine the continental shelf off the coast of Puerto Rico, even though it may sound like the newest tourist attraction. Its authenticity sets the underwater environment distinct from amusement parks and other comparable attractions.
Jules' is situated in a mangrove lagoon, which serves as a natural nursery for several reef fish. Tropical species, including tropical angelfish, parrotfish, barracuda, and snappers, peer through the habitat's windows as anemones, sponges, oysters, and feather duster worms appear to cover every available surface.
Jules' Undersea Lodge provides visitors with dive equipment and an endless supply of tanks to explore the oceanic environment. Although Jules' Undersea Lodge has a cozy contemporary aesthetic, it cannot help but seem historic.
It is the first and only underwater hotel where the only way to access your room is by scuba diving. Jules' is also the first accessible underwater research facility in history opened to the public.
The website also announced Dituri's 100-day mission underwater, dubbed Project Neptune 100. Several researchers support the mission, featuring regular broadcasts with scientists discussing their experiments in Jules'.
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