In a shipwreck at the bottom of the ocean containing air pockets, would you die from jumping in the water due to water pressure?

Question

https://ibb.co/zbLSRzH

I’ve attached an image here, to further illustrate the scenario. Imagine that the wreck is at the bottom of the Marianas trench, 10km underwater.

Would jumping into the water kill you from the pressure? Or would it only kill you if you swam to where there is no cover on the right side of the wreckage?

In: Physics

Answer 1

If the pocket is open to the water, the pressure inside must by definition be equal to the pressure outside. If the pressure were *not* equal, then either water pressure would force water in, or air pressure would force water out – until the pressure is equal. If the pressure is enough to kill you in the water, it’s enough to kill you in the air pocket.

When people talk about air pockets in sunken ships, they are either talking about ships that sank in shallow areas where the pressure is not lethal; or, pockets that are entirely sealed off and the structure itself resists the pressure enough for them to survive. In a submarine, the air pressure inside is far less than the water pressure outside. That works because although the water is trying to crush the vessel with all that pressure, the hull is strong enough to withstand that pressure and prevent the water pressure from winning ([unless it isn’t and it doesn’t](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titan_submersible_implosion)).

On many naval ships, various bulkheads are designed to close off sections of the ship if it starts taking on water, hopefully to keep the ship from sinking. If the ship *does* sink, those closed off areas may be sealed well enough to hold off the pressure. This may end up being a *worse* fate, depending on how you look at it, because [survivors often cannot be rescued](https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/16-days-to-die-at-pearl-harbor-families-werent-told-about-sailors-trapped-inside-sunken-battleship/). As you might imagine, you can’t just cut a hole to let them out, because that would the water and the water *pressure* in, killing them quickly, if not instantly. Of course, even if you could get them out of there, you couldn’t get them *in* to your own rescue vessel for the same reason – opening your vessel would mean allowing in the pressure.