Hi! I’m writing some body horror fiction, and am trying to figure out what happens to the human body when exposed to tremendous pressure, equivalent to being 1.6 kilometers underwater. I can find some dry descriptions, but nothing quite as detailed as I require. Help?
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It would be likely impossible to function or even survive due to several factors. Every air-filled cavity (lungs, sinuses, etc) would be completely crushed at that depth unless breathing some gas at the same ambient pressure (160 atm at 1.6 km). At such high pressure the gas mix would be very dense and likely difficult if not impossible to breathe effectively. Also, the gas mix would have to have a minute concentration of oxygen at surface (1 atm) in order to make it safe to breathe at depth, without risking oxygen toxicity (partial pressure kept below about 1.4 atm), somewhere no greater than 0.00875% concentration at surface, likely difficult to achieve. The rest of 99.99125% of the gas mix would have to be mostly helium and/or hydrogen, as nitrogen would be incapacitating above partial pressure of 10 atm. However, helium exposure below 300 m (30 atm) is associated with HPNS, again likely incapacitating. To prevent HPNS, hydrogen can be used, but used below 500 m (50 atm) it will cause narcosis similar to nitrogen.
So, realistically, the only way for humans to safely achieve such depths would be in a sub or similar that would withstand ambient pressure while keeping inside pressure at 1 atm.
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