US man breaks record for longest time living underwater

A university professor from the United States broke the world record for the longest time living underwater over the weekend, and he is set to continue with his subaquatic lifestyle for the next few weeks.

Saturday was Dr Joseph Dituri's 74th day residing in the Jules Undersea Lodge, a hotel for scuba divers located in a 9m deep lagoon in Key Largo, Florida.

"The record is a small bump and we love it, and I really appreciate it and I'm honoured to have it, but we still have more science to do; the science doesn't stop here," said Dr Dituri.

The previous record was set by two professors from Tennessee in 2014. Dr Bruce Cantrell and Dr Jessica Fain also stayed in the same hotel for 73 days, two hours and 34 minutes.

Despite his record-breaking feat, Dr Dituri, who is also known as "Dr Deep Sea", is not celebrating yet.

The University of South Florida educator and retired US naval officer is set to continue living underwater at ambient pressure until June 9 when he reaches 100 days, as part of an underwater mission called Project Neptune 100.

The mission combines medical and ocean research together with educational outreach and was organised by the Marine Resources Development Foundation, owner of the Jules Undersea Lodge.

Dr Dituri's research includes daily experiments in human physiology to monitor how the human body responds to long-term exposure to extreme pressure.

The outreach portion of Dr Dituri's mission includes conducting online classes and broadcast interviews from his digital studio beneath the sea, according to the Associated Press.

Since his underwater stay that began on March 1, Dr Dituri has been updating his supporters of his subaquatic life on his social media accounts, including on his YouTube channel.

This includes a tour of his habitat, how his family and friends visit him (they have to put on scuba diving gear) and house calls by his doctors.

According to Florida Keys News Bureau, Dr Dituri's daily routine includes preparing protein-heavy meals such as eggs and salmon using a microwave.

He also teaches his biomedical engineering class online, according to the University of South Florida.

In his free time, he worked out using resistance bands and doing daily pushups. He also dives about an hour daily around his habitat, never surfacing.

While he loves living under the ocean, Dr Dituri said he really misses one thing – the sun.

"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."

Copyright: The Straits Times/Asia News Network