Professor Joseph Dituri broke the previous world record of 73 days.
A Florida university professor completed his task of carrying out research underwater for 100 days and finally emerged from a habitat 30 feet (9 metres) below a Florida lagoon on Friday, according to CNN. Dr Joseph Dituri felt the sun’s rays for the first time since March 1, when he went inside the scuba divers’ retreat. With this feat, the professor broke the previous world record of 73 days, set by two other professors in 2014. The 55-year-old is a biomedical engineer who teaches at the University of South Florida and calls himself “Dr Deep Sea”, the outlet further said.
Professor Dituri spent just over three months at the bottom of the Emerald Lagoon in Jules’ Undersea Lodge, the only underwater hotel in the US, according to the hotel’s website.
The engineer undertook this task as part of ‘Project Neptune 100’, organised by Marine Resources Development Foundation and focussed on ocean conservation and to test how the body reacts to long-term exposure to extreme pressure.
Professor Dituri discovered one change in his body, the pressure caused him to shrink a half-inch, the University of South Florida said in a release.
The university said that other preliminary findings reveal a significant improvement to his sleep, cholesterol levels and inflammation.
Over the next several months, Professor Dituri and his medical team will analyse data collected before, during and after his mission. He plans to present his results at the World Extreme Medicine Conference in Scotland in November.
Dr Deep Sea’s own academic experience, though, isn’t particularly in marine science. He obtained a PhD in biomedical engineering after serving for 28 years in the US Navy, where he advanced to the rank of diving special operations officer.