How does pressure change with every 10 meters of depth underwater?
When you dive underwater, pressure increases with depth due to the weight of the water above you. Here’s a simple explanation for how pressure changes with every 10 meters of depth: As you go deeper underwater, the pressure increases by approximately 1 atmosphere (atm) for every 10 meters (33 feet) of depth. This is due to the weight of the water above you pressing down. At sea level, the atmospheric pressure is 1 atm. Here’s how it breaks down:
- At the surface (0 meters): The pressure is 1 atm (atmospheric pressure).
- At 10 meters depth: The pressure is 2 atm (1 atm from the atmosphere + 1 atm from the water).
- At 20 meters depth: The pressure is 3 atm (1 atm from the atmosphere + 2 atm from the water).
- At 30 meters depth: The pressure is 4 atm (1 atm from the atmosphere + 3 atm from the water).
And so on. The increase in pressure with depth is linear, meaning it continues to increase by 1 atm for every additional 10 meters you go down.
This pressure change is important for divers to understand for safety reasons, as the increasing pressure affects buoyancy, breathing, and how the body responds to the underwater environment.