ELi5: Would bringing deep sea creatures to the surface kill them due to lower pressure the same way we would be killed if we didn’t have a suite in space?

Question

I understand it’s our blood pressure that’s pushing against the atmospheric pressure that kills us if we’re in a highly low pressure environment. I’m curious if Softshelled or no shelled creatures from thousands of meters deep under the ocean be killed in roughly the same way?

In: 4

Answer 1

The simple answer is yes. In fact you’ve probably seen pictures of the blobfish, looking like a deformed Squidward nosed kirby. However that’s not what they look like down in the deep pressure of the ocean. Because they’ve been brought to the surface their cells which are typically at a high pressure to match the external pressure of the ocean expand and begin to rupture leaving them in a jelly-like state.