Oceans
The oceans of the world support most of the life on the planet. Its abundance provides humans with food and other supplies for terrestrial life. However, the ocean is not an ideal place for humans to live. Living on, in or under the sea poses many challenges.
Sea Life
Humans are not adapted to live in the ocean. However, some people still live almost exclusively on the water. Certain groups of people called "sea gypsies" live in boats and houses that float on the ocean, usually in Southeast Asia. They often spend a lot of their time swimming under the water and fishing for their food with harpoons and spears.
Others work underwater. Scuba diving requires intensive training and knowledge of the conditions of the ocean. Unlike space, the ocean has extremely high pressure that increases as you go deeper. The weight of the water piles up on top of itself, and the force it exerts on the human body is very intense. The body needs time to adjust to the change in depth as it falls deeper, but it also needs to adjust to the release of pressure as it nears the surface of the water. Weights are attached to a diver's belt in order to keep him or her at consistent depths. Coming up to the surface too quickly can cause accelerated decompression, which results in gas bubbles in your blood. This is known as "the bends" and is very similar to what happens when astronauts decompress in space.
Other obvious dangers of scuba diving include running out of oxygen, becoming stranded or lost and encountering dangerous marine organisms such as sharks and jellyfish.
To learn more about the effects of improper diving, watch the video below. It depicts men whose only option for income is diving without the necessary equipment.
Life on submarines is also a challenging way to live in the oceans. Submarines are inhabited by military personnel. The lifestyle is extremely cramped, remote and strict. Navy personnel rarely get to contact the outside world while on submarines. It can also be dangerous to live on a submarine due to the radiation from nuclear reactors that are on many subs. The nuclear reactors also pose a threat in the case of dysfunction, and military strikes could sink a submarine. Life on submarines could actually be quite similar to life in space, with the exception of being weightless.
Humans are not adapted to live in the ocean. However, some people still live almost exclusively on the water. Certain groups of people called "sea gypsies" live in boats and houses that float on the ocean, usually in Southeast Asia. They often spend a lot of their time swimming under the water and fishing for their food with harpoons and spears.
Others work underwater. Scuba diving requires intensive training and knowledge of the conditions of the ocean. Unlike space, the ocean has extremely high pressure that increases as you go deeper. The weight of the water piles up on top of itself, and the force it exerts on the human body is very intense. The body needs time to adjust to the change in depth as it falls deeper, but it also needs to adjust to the release of pressure as it nears the surface of the water. Weights are attached to a diver's belt in order to keep him or her at consistent depths. Coming up to the surface too quickly can cause accelerated decompression, which results in gas bubbles in your blood. This is known as "the bends" and is very similar to what happens when astronauts decompress in space.
Other obvious dangers of scuba diving include running out of oxygen, becoming stranded or lost and encountering dangerous marine organisms such as sharks and jellyfish.
To learn more about the effects of improper diving, watch the video below. It depicts men whose only option for income is diving without the necessary equipment.
Life on submarines is also a challenging way to live in the oceans. Submarines are inhabited by military personnel. The lifestyle is extremely cramped, remote and strict. Navy personnel rarely get to contact the outside world while on submarines. It can also be dangerous to live on a submarine due to the radiation from nuclear reactors that are on many subs. The nuclear reactors also pose a threat in the case of dysfunction, and military strikes could sink a submarine. Life on submarines could actually be quite similar to life in space, with the exception of being weightless.