This past weekend at a scuba diving resort in the Florida Keys, a university professor set a record for the longest time living underwater without depressurization. Joseph Dituri had been living in Jules’ Undersea Lodge since he dived on March 1; it was at the bottom of a 30-foot-deep lagoon near Key Largo. This was his 74th day there.
Dituri, also known as “Dr. Deep Sea,” consumed a protein-rich lunch of microwaved eggs and salmon in addition to resistance band workouts, daily pushups, and an hour-long siesta. The lodge does not employ technology to compensate for the higher underwater pressure, unlike a submarine.
At the same site in 2014, two Tennessee academics named Bruce Cantrell and Jessica Fain broke the previous record, which stood at 73 days, two hours, and 34 minutes.
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.
The idea here is to populate the world’s oceans, to take care of them by living in them – Joseph Dituri
The Marine Resources Development Foundation, which owns the habitat, created the mission, which combines scientific study into the health of people and the ocean with educational outreach.
“The record is a small bump and I really appreciate it,” said Dituri, a University of South Florida educator who holds a doctorate in biomedical engineering and is a retired U.S. Naval officer. “I’m honored to have it, but we still have more science to do.”
He conducts regular physiological studies as part of his research to examine how the human body handles prolonged exposure to high pressure.
“The idea here is to populate the world’s oceans, to take care of them by living in them and really treating them well,” Dituri said.
Dituri uses his underwater digital studio to host broadcast interviews and teach online lessons as part of his outreach efforts. He has taught more than 2,500 students online in marine science lectures over the past 74 days in addition to his normal 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 thing that I miss the most about being on the surface is literally the sun,” Dituri said. “The sun has been a major factor in my life – I usually go to the gym at five and then I come back out and watch the sunrise.”
