Two days in an underwater cave running out of oxygen
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Re: Two days in an underwater cave running out of oxygen
#2I wonder - did they take steps to replenish the cave's oxygen? If not, it's useless for the next person...
I guess this is kind of silly and naive, but it's what I would do.
Re: Two days in an underwater cave running out of oxygen
#3I wonder - did they take steps to replenish the cave's oxygen? If not, it's useless for the next person... I guess this is kind of silly and naive, but it's what I would do.
It should eventually get back to equilibrium from gas interchange with the water, but I have no idea of what the time frame would be for that.
Re: Two days in an underwater cave running out of oxygen
#4Did a sensory deprivation tank for the first time a few weeks ago. An hour was tough. Hard to imagine 60, with the added doubt of "you may never get out of here."
Re: Two days in an underwater cave running out of oxygen
#5I wonder - did they take steps to replenish the cave's oxygen? If not, it's useless for the next person... I guess this is kind of silly and naive, but it's what I would do.
The air in the cave will come to equilibrium with the partial pressures of gasses in the water, which itself is in equilibrium with the atmosphere. It's not as closed as system as you think, even though it probably wouldn't outgas oxygen as fast as the divers were metabolizing it.
Re: Two days in an underwater cave running out of oxygen
#6Cave diving is one of those things that I am happy to only experience vicariously through the stories of others.
Re: Two days in an underwater cave running out of oxygen
#7There should be a law against bringing in and leaving nylon ropes in the cave. If this continues, all the caves are going to be filled with nylons ropes left by previous divers. Do we want these caves, too, to eventually become a garbage dumping ground?
Re: Two days in an underwater cave running out of oxygen
#8Did a sensory deprivation tank for the first time a few weeks ago. An hour was tough. Hard to imagine 60, with the added doubt of "you may never get out of here."
I find "sensory deprivation tanks" (aka "floatation tanks") to be rather relaxing, and would have no problem spending many hours inside.
Now, being in a cold cave with a dangerous CO2/O2 ratio, exhausted, suffering from hypothermia and fearing for my life.. that doesn't sound like so much fun.
Re: Two days in an underwater cave running out of oxygen
#9I wonder - did they take steps to replenish the cave's oxygen? If not, it's useless for the next person... I guess this is kind of silly and naive, but it's what I would do.
As it was already air-filled, it almost certainly has a natural opening to the atmosphere, and will eventually reach normal gas levels (hard to say without more information whether that's a few hours or a few days, but very unlikely to be more than a few weeks).
As an aside, the issue described is not a low level of O2, but rather a high level of CO2 (which is typical for an air-space in a wet cave). Removing CO2 from the airspace is a radically different problem from adding O2 to the airspace.
Re: Two days in an underwater cave running out of oxygen
#10I wonder - did they take steps to replenish the cave's oxygen? If not, it's useless for the next person... I guess this is kind of silly and naive, but it's what I would do.
I'm a little surprised there aren't caches of emergency supplies for situations like these.