The original post: /r/askscience by /u/Typical-Dark-7635 on 2024-12-21 01:38:38.

My understanding is that mammal lungs are fairly delicate by necessity. But according to NOAA sperm whales can dive to 10000ft, doesn’t that mean that the volume of their lungs is 1/300 that at the surface? How is this possible without damaging the lungs? Is it simply having a highly specialized surfactant or are there other structural changes protecting the lungs? NOAA also says the can stay down for 60 minutes, it doesn’t seem like significant gas exchange would occur at that volume, at least relative to the metabolic needs of such a large animal. Are they just relying on the O2 saturation they achieved at the surface to function for that long? Is that how it works when we hold our breath?

Sorry for the run-on question