Home >> Science & Nature >> Animals & Science

How to Dive With Sperm Whales

Sperm whales are capable of the deepest dives of just about any animal on the planet. They are able to hold their breath for up to two hours and swim two miles deep while hunting for fish and squid. At 1,000 feet deep, the sperm whale would still be in what, for it, would be the shallow end of its dive, while at this depth a man in the most sophisticated dive suit would be in danger of a crushing death due to the pressure. Even a submarine cannot handle the pressures that a sperm whale routinely encounters several times a day in its feeding dives. But scientists who specialize in studying whales have found ways to figuratively dive with them.

Things You'll Need

Dive suit
Submarine
Weapons-grade sonar system

Instructions

- 1
  Put your dive suit on. Locate a sperm whale near the surface. Notify the submarine and get it into position. Activate the sonar system.
- 2
  Descend to about 100 feet, keeping the whale in sight. At this depth, you will have enough light to see the whale begin its dive. Once the whale begins to dive, it will travel at about three and a half miles per hour, too fast for you to keep up. Even though record scuba dives have gone as deep as 1,000 feet, a man must move very slowly to adjust to the pressure differences as depth increases. People can develop painful, even fatal, disorders from compressing or decompressing too rapidly. Instruct the submarine operator to meet you at about 150 feet deep so you can keep up with the whale.
- 3
  Enter the submarine, which can easily descend deeper than 800 feet while keeping pace with the whale. Once you get below 500 feet, turn the submarine's lights on. Light diminishes quickly to near total darkness by 1,000 feet.
- 4
  Track the whale with the sonar once the submarine reaches its safe limit of depth. Somewhere between 1,000 and 2,500 feet, even the most sophisticated submarine reaches its limits. A bathysphere can go much deeper, but it cannot independently maneuver in a way that allows it to stay with the sperm whale. While even the best submarine has reached its limit at 2,500 feet, the whale is only a quarter of the way to the bottom of its dive, which will reach between 8,200 to more than 10,000 feet deep.
- 5
  Keep the submarine submerged at its maximum safe depth. Track the sperm whale to the end of its dive with the sonar equipment. When it begins its ascent, it will be at three and a half miles per hour, the same speed at which it submerged. Use the sonar to position the submarine so that you can follow the whale to the surface.

Animals & Science