Obviously if the density of the object is smaller than the density of water it would not sink at all. But I was thinking that, even if the density of the object is greater than the density of water, maybe the object would not sink to the bottom of the ocean floor because the pressure of the water increases as the depth increases. So maybe after a certain depth the pressure of the water would become great enough to counterbalance gravity and push back the object towards the surface.
And if the object would not completely sink to the bottom of the ocean floor, at what depth would the object stop sinking and stabilize itself (depending on its density)?
Best Answer
If everything is incompressible then pressure does not affect buoyancy.
If the object is less compressible than the fluid then the object will get more buoyant as the pressure increases. Conversely if the object is more compressible than the fluid then the object will get less buoyant as pressure increases.
Temperature and salinity can also vary the density of the water. Water at depth is likely to be a bit more dense.
So if you have an object that is pretty damn incompressible and is only slightly more dense than the surface water then it might find a depth and sit there. In practice few objects are likely to fall into this category.