How does air pressure affect a scuba diver 1500ft below sea level in the ocean?

Answer 1

First, the introduction. (Apologies, but it's important and relevant.) *Note: The fact that the diver is breating compressed air has a profound affect on the body if decompression standards are not met when coming to the surface having spent time at depth. Divers who do not decompress properly can (and have!) died as a result. *Note: The breathing of "regular" compressed gas (air) at "great" depths will increase what is called the partial pressure of the gasses breathed to the point where nitrogen narcosis (the "rapture of the deep") can set in. It will intoxicate and disorient a diver who "goes deep" to the point the he may end up drowning because his cognitive faculties have been compromised and he "spaces out" down there. *Note: The failure of a diver to "equalize" the pressure across his eardrums while descending can result in the rupture of the eardrum(s) and can destroy a diver's hearing in one or both sides. The issues cited are serious. Very much so. They can be life or death. But the wonderful thing is that they are very manageable. The well-developed training and the superior equipment used by divers today make the sport quite safe. The diver controls "99%" of the risk. It's an activity that is doable by most individuals. Most of us risk our lives every day in motor vehicles and we do so without much thought. We have done a personal cost/benefit ratio and have decided to risk getting in the car. We have mastered the basic driving skills and we venture forth having had a little (or a lot) of practice. No problem. That said, let us (finally!) address the question. Other than the issue of decompression, the issue of using "standard" compressed air (as opposed to mixed gas) at "excessive" depths, and the issue of equalization, the body is unaffected on the whole by the compression of the water. Get a balloon and fill it with water to make a water balloon. Be sure to get all the air out. Take the water balloon and put it in a bucket of water and hold it on the bottom. Does it get smaller? No. It is almost completely incompressible. Except for the inside of the lungs (and the interconnection between the airways and the inner ear), the body is the same way. The materials out of which the body is made, and the fact that much of it is water, make it "incompressible" with the exceptions noted. When using air to Scuba dive, air taken into the lungs is taken in at "increased" pressure because of the action of the regulator. The increased air pressure will insure that the lungs cannot "collapse" due to the pressure of the water. The lungs and inner ear aside, the body is largely unaffected by water pressure. The diver breathes normally and suffers no ill effects (with the exceptions noted). Some feel for what it is like can be had by going to the bottom of a swimming pool. In the shallows, an individual submerging will feel weightless because buoyancy works against gravity in water. In a "regular" pool, the diver may have to equalize a bit to get on the bottom, but once there, the body is not "crushed" by the water. The lungs are a bit compressed, but that is all. The diver does not notice. The pressure of the water is a factor that is "transparent" in the experience. It goes by will little heed paid to it. (It is water's resistance to the diver's movement which gets all the attention. It is a surreal experience to anyone diving for the first time - as well as returning veterans - to get in the water and become one with the element and its denizens. If an opportunity to dive presents itself, particularly to someone who had not done it, it is a chance to be jumped at. There is nothing like it anywhere. Nothing.

Answer 2

As you go deeper in the water, the pressure of the water outside of your body squeezes you, and would crush your lungs (they are hollow, you know). However, divers are supplied with air that is at the same pressure as the water around them- pressure inside equals pressure outside- so no collapse. HOWEVER, the nitrogen that is in the air, which usually does not enter your bloodstream, CAN be pushed into your blood by the higher pressure. This can cause "the bends" if you stay too deep too long, and do not decompress as you ascend. You must also be sure to exhale as you ascend- or the high pressure in your lungs, no longer being balanced by high water pressure, could make your lungs expand and tear.

Answer 3

Technically, air pressure (surface atmospheric pressure) affects a scuba diver the same regardless of the depth. As far as total pressure goes, no diver has been to 1500 feet.