Underwater Cities

I suggested underwater cities in th megaprojects tread so how can we have multiple cities with tousads of citizens under water WITHOUT a major disaster such as a nuklear war?
 

Alcuin

Banned
I suggested underwater cities in th megaprojects tread so how can we have multiple cities with tousads of citizens under water WITHOUT a major disaster such as a nuklear war?

The Dutch decide that they don't get enough land just from dikes and polders so they colonise the bottom of the sea as well.... From the first undersea city built in response to major flooding, which devastated a third of the country in 1955, they begin to expand until by 2050, fully half of the 70 million Dutchmen live underwater.

It also works with Bangladesh but I imagine the Dutch are more likely to have the technology and also have an extensive history of massive Hydrological engineering projects.
 
Those are good ideas. You could include New Orleans.

How about...some billionaire such as Howard Hughes visits a submarine and decides it would be really cool to have a submarine outfitted to look like a yacht/cruise ship. He has a submarine built with the dimensions of an aircraft carrier...I don't know how practical that would be, or how expensive, but anyway, it wouldn't necessarily go anywhere, but it has lots of room for his aides, his girlfriends, his employees and their families...just brainstorming here.

Somebody similar to Hugh Hefner builds his Hefner Mansion as an underwater place. It expands into a theme park, and has apartments for his employees, girlfriends and their families. It includes a shopping mall. (How wealthy is Hefner, anyway? His girlfriends don't pick him for his looks, do they?
:) :rolleyes: )

Disney's EPCOT center was originally supposed to be a place for families to live...the acronym is Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow. Obviously that idea's gone the way of the Kellogg-Briand Pact. :D :p :rolleyes:

But what if they did have underwater theme parks, habitats, tourist destinations which grow and grow.

A bit more seriously, would some major corporation set up underwater habitats for scientific research, study of human existence underwater or in outer space, or for overseeing the exploitation of resources on the ocean floor?
 
A whole lot of mines and tunnels go underwater so the technology is there. With overcrowding the way it is this could just happen. With access to the oceans there would be a source of food and water. Then you just need a lot, I mean lot of power, to get breathable air and drinkable water.
 
And light. You would need daylight levels of light to make life in an enclosed environment bearable.

Yes but given the power source that could be done. If you were to use a nuclear generating station what better place to put it that hundreds of meters underground virtually with a built in disposal site for spent fuel.

Would people feel uneasy with a mile of water above their heads?

If Alcuin has suggested these settlements were constructed near to low laying coastal areas such as Holland and Bangladesh they would not have a mile of water above them only a few dozen meters and may even be partly exposed at low tide. They could have access from dry land or artificial islands created from the spoil of the construction process. They could be partly or wholly underground rather than just on the sea bed with only parts or none of the outside transparent.
 

ninebucks

Banned
Would people feel uneasy with a mile of water above their heads?

I suppose that would just be one of those things that you have to avoid thinking about. In any case, people often volunteer to live in dangerous areas if there is economic incentive, for example, populations are usually more dense around active volcanoes.
 
Right, which has to do with the especially fertile ground around volcanos.

Now that you mention it: Jared Diamond writes in "Collapse" that the closer you come to a site of a potential catastrophe, the more afraid people are (until now: duh), but if you are under a certain distance, people aren't afraid anymore - because they just don't think about it anymore. (Otherwise, they'd go mad.) Of course, in the beginning you'll have to find a way to make people settle there.
 
Right, which has to do with the especially fertile ground around volcanos.

Now that you mention it: Jared Diamond writes in "Collapse" that the closer you come to a site of a potential catastrophe, the more afraid people are (until now: duh), but if you are under a certain distance, people aren't afraid anymore - because they just don't think about it anymore. (Otherwise, they'd go mad.) Of course, in the beginning you'll have to find a way to make people settle there.

In parts of Bangladesh that will be easy because they are underwater at high tide.
 
OK, but we were talking about cities which are always under water. Building a dome on land that's *sometimes* underwater might be difficult (especially since lower Bangladesh doesn't exactly have rocky ground).
 
OK, but we were talking about cities which are always under water. Building a dome on land that's *sometimes* underwater might be difficult (especially since lower Bangladesh doesn't exactly have rocky ground).

I was thinking of a structure buried in the sea bed, or tunneled in, with parts exposed to the sea but much of it underground. This would reduce the problems of dealing with water pressure. If these were kept on the coastal plateaus the depth would not be too great and pressure related problems kept to a minimum. I only mentioned parts being exposed at high tide as a possibility it need not be normal practice. It was the fortifications on the Spratly Islands that made me think of that.
 
Suppose you start with udw hotels? Get people accustomed to the idea. Plus, it's frequently said by divers how beautiful it is; I can see a lot of people liking the udw view... Power? Whatsay build them at/near ocean thermal conversion rigs? (OK, that's pretty deep water....) 1st ones might be in shallow coastal water, under 100', til the idea catches on. And you'd probably need transport subs to deliver tourists, excursion subs (like hotel Jeeps), & JIM suits, to avoid having to decompress; I'm presuming a 1atm environment inside, 'cause I really can't feature tourists dealing with hours in a decompression tank or chimpmunk voices from breathing HeO...
 
Suppose you start with udw hotels? Get people accustomed to the idea. Plus, it's frequently said by divers how beautiful it is; I can see a lot of people liking the udw view... Power? Whatsay build them at/near ocean thermal conversion rigs? (OK, that's pretty deep water....) 1st ones might be in shallow coastal water, under 100', til the idea catches on. And you'd probably need transport subs to deliver tourists, excursion subs (like hotel Jeeps), & JIM suits, to avoid having to decompress; I'm presuming a 1atm environment inside, 'cause I really can't feature tourists dealing with hours in a decompression tank or chimpmunk voices from breathing HeO...

The trouble is, you'd need tourists who have at least undergone a Crash Course on diving and what to and not to do in an underwater environment. An oxygen tank is quite heavy, and not using it properly can entail death. Sort of like space excursions.

I imagine even with these precautions the death & injury rates for the tourists would be quite high. This could kill the idea quite quickly, or at least narrow its scope.
 
One major problem with underwater cities are two important issues , light and heat. First, with light, people forget that light can't penetrate past 60-feet underwater. As such, the romantic image of domed cities becomes improbable. There is nothing to see, even under the best of circumstances. This alone makes for a terrible destination for tourism. On a long-term basis, the type of darkness created by the depths of the ocean often cause depression, cabin fever, suicidal behavior, et al.

Second, in regards to the heating issue. Just consider that if you live near the North Sea of Great Britain, the Baltic Sea of Russia, or even the Puget Sound of the United States, residents will tell you that the greatest danger of living by bodies of water is how quickly it can sap a person's heat. On a purely business level, before even talking about oxygen recycling, water de-salination, et al., the heating costs are astronomical. Also try to imagine the costs of repairs, especially considering that a trip to deliver repair parts, could take hours and possibly days longer than any operation on land. And that's just to insure heat....
 
Wouldn't pressure be a major issue with cities below certain depths? More in terms of the people being able to return to the surface, but I suppose structural issues would be a factor?

Ultimately wouldn't it just be much easier to reclaim land from the sea and build on that?
 
history is full of Proposal for underwater Cities
the trouble is, its expensive like Spaceflight
Complexity of lifesupport and Habitat are simelar to Spacecapsule
(but under water, not in vacuum)

so how gona be the conquest ?

Military
the U.S. Navy had some ideas like Stationing MX-ICBM on oceanfloor.
or save Submarinesbasis on oceanfloor.

Industry
in 1960's General Electric, Sun Shipbuilding Corp, Reynold Aluminum Corp and Coring Glass Company.
proposed the "Bottum-Fix" project for Undersea workplace in depth 3500 meter !
build from module of 4 meter ø spheres.

"Bottum-Fix" main goal was mining and petroleum extraction
but has also military opportunities

for scubadiving in 3500 meter depth, is the only way liquid breathing
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluid_breathing
In 1960's made Dr Johannes Kylatra first experiment on that
how its work see Movie "The Abyss"

Food
there were alot proposal for underwater Fram and Fish breeding.
and the worker need to be scubadiver

Energy
in beginn 1970's Oak Ridge made proposal for Artificial island with nuclear reactor
Idea on open sea the Reaktor can use oceansurface for cooling
the Energy is transmitted by microwave over satellite to citys.

Micronation and Religious reasons
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micronation
there were proposal to underwater city or Artificial island
for self-determination movements or self-determination religious cult.
Scientology were close to move there HQ on Ocean
 
The ocean is 13124 feet (4000 meters) deep). So they would need to build those cities not far from shore where the ocean is not that deep.

And what about building the Cities below the Sea Floor. It would probaby be easier that way.

Chances are building in the sea or below it is not cost effective. Maybe in the future.
 
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