ANNOUNCEMENT: NEW BLOG FEATURE
Last night Giggles and I spoke on the phone, and she had some follow up questions regarding the chunnel. Regarding underwater pressure and its effect on the human body: I found this information on a website dealing with breath-hold diving Summary of findings: There are eels in the English Channel. Conclusions:
We discussed how she has me do research for her. For example, recently she asked me what a Hollaback girl was, I found the answer and emailed it to her. Simple.
There have other instances where she just asks me things out of the blue. Often when we are on our way to Target or TJ Maxx, she uses the time to grill me on anything from world events to how to conduct business on ebay. You know, everyday topics. Normal.
So, last night we decided that a regular feature of JulieU's blog will be:
Giggle's Grappling Questions
Every week or so Giggles will be asking me questions that I'll be researching and posting my results here. I'll also post my initial response to the question just for fun, that way we both have the potential of coming off like total dorks. Fun, huh?
(Don't you worry your pretty little head, I'll be coming up with a cool graphic for this feature)
...and now, our follow-up to the Giggle's Chunnel Series.
Giggles: After reading your stunning reports I am more certain than ever that sharks abound in the channel. Now, I've been thinking...Are eels prevalent in the area? :)
If you were in 150 ft of water, wouldn't the pressure make something explode? And futhermore, if you were trying to swim up to the surface, would you have to pace yourself so you wouldn't blow up or do some kind of damage to yourself?
JU:
Sharks/Eels-Yeah, this is what I put up with. Her freaking me out.
However, I too am pretty convinced that there are sharks there as well but no one has noticed them. The sharks are going to eventually get sick and tired of eating teenagers in florida (since they are mostly dark, muscular meat) and go for the white meat that is the English people. Just my opinion.
As for eels, well, I just can't think about that. Nope. Not at all.
150ft of water-I don't think you would blow up or anything, because I think people still scuba dive at that depth, however they are wearing wet suits, so maybe that keeps your guts in or something. I dunno. They never really talk about that in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.
However I'm pretty sure that when you are at that depth, that you need to watch how fast you come up to the surface. I think the bends becomes an issue.
For me, if I were trying to swim to the surface, post Chunnel b0mb, I'm sure I would get the bends because I'd be all "Get me to the surface so I can bob around and become shark/eel food."
And now for the research:
Eels in the English Channel-
Ok this is the first site I visited and this is enough research for me...
Habitat:Conger Eels favour very rough ground and inhabit deepwater wrecks, reefs and broken ground. In shallow waters Conger are mostly nocturnal feeders, but in depths of 60ft or more they feed at any time.
Food:Conger are bottom feeders more than capable of catching live food. They will hole up in a wreck or rough ground and ambush lesser species. They will take fish baits, crab, cuttlefish and squid. The most popular bait is a mackerel 'flapper' produced by taking the whole fish and removing the backbone and tail, allowing the flanks and innards to flutter in the tide. If it is available, a whole live pout can prove deadly.
Range: English Channel, North Sea, Irish Sea
Divers of all types - SCUBA and breath-hold, recreational and commercial - risk decompression sickness (DS) that may severely disable them or cause death. DS occurs when inert gas bubbles, usually nitrogen, accumulate in the body as a result of improper decompression during ascent.
....At 30 feet below, Mehgan's body loses its natural buoyancy. She stops kicking and begins to plummet through the sea. "You're sinking like a stone, but you still feel that weightless feeling, like you're free-falling," she says. As she goes deeper, pressure begins to build on her head and body. Her internal organs contract, and her eardrums bend inward.
...Kicking against the heavy water column pressing down on her, she has to be careful not to swim too fast and burn up what little oxygen she has left.
Things in your body actually contract rather than explode in deep water.
Decompression sickness (the bends) can happen to any type of deep sea diver, scuba or breath-hold. While you wouldn't explode, you could do some serious damage to yourself.
On that breath-hold website,...Mehgan Heaney-Grier let all the "what ifs" intimidate her, she may not have made it to such great depths with her diving. On October 21, 1996, before boatloads of press, family and friends, Mehgan dove to 155 feet (47.2 m). Ten months later, she swam past her own record, reaching 165 feet (50.3 m) below the surface.
Ok, so a trained breath-hold diver has a personal best of 155 feet and she wasn't involved in a chunnel b0mbing...no hope for this girl, especially due to the body losing it's natural buoyancy at 30 feet. I've come to rely on my natural buoyancy.
Futhermore, even if I made it out of the chunnel, I'd be eaten by an eel or shark so just nevermind. Really, nevermind.
So, Giggles was correct in her worries about sharks and eels, and she did guess that you would have to pace yourself in ascending from a watery grave, however the body contracts due to pressure rather than exploding at great depths.
I was correct in my initial thought that the bends would be a factor however I was misguided to think that the scuba suit had anything to do with keeping your guts in you when you are diving. I had no comment on the eels so I am just as surprised as the rest of you. If you are indeed surprised.
This concludes my ideas of surviving a chunnel b0mb. I'll be writing our wills in the next day or so...email me and call dibs on our stuff.
posted by JulieU. at
6:15 AM
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