When "Getting into deep water" is not a bad thing

samyakram

Nowadays, with the threat of global warming and pollution becoming more and more a hot topic, the possibility of living elsewhere has never been so real…

Sky or Sea?

Surely, the first idea that would come to your mind, in this case, is going to another planet, like Mars, for example. However, what if I tell you that it could be a better idea to look downwards rather than upwards?

For those of you who are still in the dark, I am talking about the reason our “Blue Planet” bears its name…Water! Indeed, while we have discovered an extensive part of our galaxy over the last decades, we have only just scratched the surface of our seas to a mere 3%! Indeed, there is a paradoxical situation in which we know the Milky Way better than the depth of our own seas! Could this issue be explained by the lack of interest from the people concerned?

Well, do you recall when you were watching The Little Mermaid for the umpteenth time and how you were bewitched by the splendor of Atlantica? Or, for example, are you actually planning to watch the upcoming Aquaman movie?

If that is the case, you were interested in the mysteries of the seas without even knowing it! It is the will of lifting this veil of secrecy surrounding them that drove some scientists to study the case of going underwater… But is that actually possible?

Under the sea

First and foremost, underwater habitats, in which it is actually possible to go, do exist. However, they are either accessible for scientists (e.g., Aquarius Lab Research) or for the wealthiest people. Even though the vast majority of them only are just resorts and hotels, the latter has actually helped to emphasize the fact that life underwater, on a long-term period, is feasible (you may even enjoy the view).

Furthermore, as stated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), living underwater presents important benefits such as increasing your apnoea or helping you diving deeper.

Hence, life on the ocean floor would have positive aspects on a long-term basis

Despite the fact that many of us are used to swim, living under the sea would mean going deep underwater. Thus, it is totally different from your usual bathing at the pool. This time, you are the fish in the aquarium.

A project already “dead in the water”?

Living in the sea for such a long time would make us face many difficulties. Besides the lack of oxygen, it is what is known as “the Bends”, or decompression sickness, that turns out to be the main hurdle.

Remember this silly experiment when one would drop a Mentos mint into a bottle of coke and it would explode? In fact, the idea around the Bends is not really far from it, the sole difference being that your body reacts this time as the bottle, and your blood, as the coke inside it.

This painful reaction is in reality caused by the nitrogen, contained in your blood, which turns into bubbles when diving deep underwater without any practice.

Add to this the cases of claustrophobia and aquaphobia and you would surely believe that living there is, in fact, a far-fetched dream!

However, though there are several problems surrounding life underwater, they are all solvable by our current means, e.g., hyperbaric chambers for the Bends or Oxygen generators…

A new H2Ome?

Our oceans possess gigantic biodiversity and resources that are yet to be found by people willing and curious enough to unravel their mysteries. All this project really needs is a gain of interest from people… Moreover, Ian G. Koblick, president of the Marine Resources Development Foundation (MRDF) asserted that “There are no technological hurdles that prevent us from living under the seas”.

Even though life on the ocean floor may be possible, going underwater would necessarily be a forced condition on a larger scale. Therefore, what tells us that we will not repeat the errors of the past?

After destroying life on land, we would now exhaust all the resources of the seas. For how long would it work? With the worldwide population growing and growing, the future is mostly filled with questions and uncertainties…