Posted by Walt on April 12, 2005 at 09:24:28:
In Reply to: oxygen posted by scott on April 12, 2005 at 09:03:03:
Use of O2 depends a lot on your work effort, breathing rate, water temperature (and its impact on your burn rate), activity (drift diving versus surf entry), and so on. As a sport, you'd typically use more than, let's say, sitting on the couch watching Jacques Cousteau re-runs, but less than if you were running track (unless perhaps if you're being chased by a GWS). Would say there is no hard rule as it really depends on what you're comparing O2 consumption rates against.
A lot of non-divers think we breathe O2 UW...naw, just pure simple air (except for the tech divers). How O2 is metabolized, even for mixed gas diving, again depends on your body tissues' demands for O2.