Yes, that's a great idea (although I am not sure if possible). It is true that it would allow extremely quick operations, so it would be especially interesting for emergencies. Just dropping the diver with a fast sled, scooter, or an open minisub to the spot, and then pulling him quick back to the surface again. Where a tech diver would need for such extreme dive + deco probably a full day + long planning and preparation + complex and expensive technical backing, with a freediver it could be done within a few minutes, and with negligible material costs.... primarily as a way to replace commercial scuba divers with freedivers.
That assumes though that with the method you work on, the diver could stay a couple of minutes at the bottom to perform some work (possibly physically and/or mentally demanding). If you count on emptying the lungs during the descent (similarly as Herbert does), minimizing so the gaseous oxygen volume, and avoiding the creation of free oxygen radicals and their toxicity in that depth, then do you think the diver would be really able to work down for more than a very short moment?
I also wonder if, besides the toxicity, also the narcotic effect of oxygen would not play a role. But if the volume of gaseous oxygen (and that dissolved in liquids) was really low, then perhaps it would not matter either (I assume that O2 bound to hemoglobin poses no toxic or narcotic risk, but am not entirely sure if it is really true for both). Did you find some studies about similar or related experiments (oxygen under great PP), Eric?
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