Stage 3: Water Pressure Veer Prajapati

Hypothesis: If humans go 40 feet below the ocean’s surface, then the pressure of the
water is enough to kill you. Because giant squids fill their bodies with trimethylamine
oxide, they can survive the deep sea pressure.

Researched Observations: (Pressure on Humans) 1The Earth's atmosphere has

weight—or force—which presses down on everything on the surface. If you are at sea
level, you have one atmosphere's worth of pressure pushing down on you. In other
words, the pressure inside your lungs is the same as the pressure of the air around you,
1.033 kilograms on each square centimeter, or one "atmosphere" of pressure. You can
picture it as a column of air that goes from the top of your head to the edge of Earth's
atmosphere. If you go higher, the column gets shorter; there is less air above you, and
the air pressure decreases. (Pat, n.d)
In the ocean, pressure works the same way, but instead of just having a column of air
over you, you also have the weight of all the water above you, pressing down on your
lungs. And water is much heavier than air. For every 10 meters you go below the
surface, the pressure increases by one atmosphere. 2Humans can survive 3-4
atmospheres of pressure, so that is 30-40 metres below the surface. So at 30 metres
below the surface, we would feel 3 atmospheres of pressure. (Libal A, 2018)

1
Pat. (n.d.). Pressure in the Deep Seas: AMNH. American Museum of Natural History.
Retrieved November 10, 2021, from
https://www.amnh.org/learn-teach/curriculum-collections/deep-sea-vents/pressure-in-the
-deep-seas.
2
Libal, A. (2018, June 27). Can the Ocean's Pressure Crush You? Synonym. Retrieved
November 10, 2021, from
https://classroom.synonym.com/can-oceans-pressure-crush-you-42326.html.
 Stage 3: Water Pressure Veer Prajapati

Pat. (n.d.). Pressure in the Deep Seas: AMNH. American Museum of Natural History.
Retrieved November 10, 2021, from
https://www.amnh.org/learn-teach/curriculum-collections/deep-sea-vents/pressure-in-the
-deep-seas.

https://www.teachertube.com/videos/28178- A video on what the water pressure does to

a styrofoam mannequin head.

http://deepseanews.com/2011/01/from-the-editors-desk-giant-squidawesomesauce/gian
t-squid-anatomy/
 Stage 3: Water Pressure Veer Prajapati

(Pressure on Giant squids): 3A big challenge facing squid in the deep sea is keeping
their cells working. Under high pressure, important molecules like proteins in cell
membranes and enzymes become squashed and bent out of shape and either work
more slowly or not at all. One way squid counteract this is by loading their bodies with
trimethylamine oxide or TMAO, which helps large molecules keep their shape. For
many deep sea animals, the deeper they live the more TMAO they have in their bodies.
(Scales, D. H, 2020)
4
What is Trimethylamine oxide? Trimethylamine N-oxide is an osmolyte found in
molluscs, crustaceans, and all marine fishes and bony fishes. It is a protein stabilizer
that serves to counteract the protein-destabilizing effects of pressure. (Linley, T.D,
2016)
5
Giant squids are still really comfortable at 1500 feet (460 m), if a human went down to
that depth, the pressure would be about 682psi, as if you were wearing a school bus
as a hat, that's a lot of pressure. ( Wild Kratts Wiki, 2011)

Analysis of data: My research supports my claim because it shows how much

pressure is there on humans and how much we can survive. It shows us that we are
always under pressure and we can survive 3-4 atmospheres of it. Whereas giant squids
live way below the surface where light does not reach, there is immense water pressure
there. One way they counter the pressure is by filling their bodies with TMAO
(trimethylamine-oxide), a protein stabilizer that serves to counteract the
protein-destabilizing effects of pressure. Where do they get TMAO you ask?
Trimethylamine (TMA) is formed in the intestinal lumen when gut microbiota
metabolize carnitine, choline, and choline-containing compounds in the diet. TMA can
be absorbed from the intestine. This absorbed TMA is delivered to the liver where
flavin-dependent monooxygenase (FMO) isoforms 1 and 3 convert it to TMAO.

Citations:

Janeiro, M. H., Ramírez, M. J., Milagro, F. I., Martínez, J. A., & Solas, M. (2018, October 1). Implication of
trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) in disease: Potential Biomarker or new therapeutic target. Nutrients.
Retrieved December 8, 2021, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6213249/.

3
Scales, D. H. (2020, April 20). How do squid survive extreme water pressure in the Deep Sea?
BBC Science Focus Magazine. Retrieved November 10, 2021, from
https://www.sciencefocus.com/nature/how-do-squid-survive-extreme-water-pressure-in-the-deep
-sea/.
4
Linley, T.D.; M.E. Gerringer; P.H. Yancey; J.C. Drazen; C.L. Weinstock; A.J. Jamieson (2016). "Fishes of the
hadal zone including new species, in situ observations and depth records of Liparidae". Deep Sea Research
Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers. 114: 99–110. Bibcode:2016DSRI..114...99L.
doi:10.1016/j.dsr.2016.05.003.
5
Wild Kratts Wiki. (2011). Whale of a squid. Wild Kratts Wiki. Retrieved October 30, 2021, from
https://wildkratts.fandom.com/wiki/Whale_of_a_Squid.
 Stage 3: Water Pressure Veer Prajapati

Libal, A. (2018, June 27). Can the Ocean's Pressure Crush You? Synonym. Retrieved November 10,
2021, from https://classroom.synonym.com/can-oceans-pressure-crush-you-42326.html.

Linley, T.D.; M.E. Gerringer; P.H. Yancey; J.C. Drazen; C.L. Weinstock; A.J. Jamieson (2016). "Fishes of
the hadal zone including new species, in situ observations and depth records of Liparidae". Deep Sea
Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers. 114: 99–110. Bibcode:2016DSRI..114...99L.
doi:10.1016/j.dsr.2016.05.003.

Pat. (n.d.). Pressure in the Deep Seas: AMNH. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved
November 10, 2021, from
https://www.amnh.org/learn-teach/curriculum-collections/deep-sea-vents/pressure-in-the-deep-seas.

Scales, D. H. (2020, April 20). How do squid survive extreme water pressure in the Deep Sea? BBC
Science Focus Magazine. Retrieved November 10, 2021, from
https://www.sciencefocus.com/nature/how-do-squid-survive-extreme-water-pressure-in-the-deep-sea/.

Wild Kratts Wiki. (2011). Whale of a squid. Wild Kratts Wiki. Retrieved October 30, 2021, from
https://wildkratts.fandom.com/wiki/Whale_of_a_Squid.