After looking at this wiki page ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantropa ) I have been wondering when was the earliest time a man made dam could be built that cuts off the Mediterranean from the Atlantic?
What interest would man have in doing that?
For shit & giggles?
Actually, I'm not convinced it can be done now. The numbers look viable, but there are going to be unaccounted-for problems hiding in the woodwork. With a project this big and this costly, even less-than-catastrophic failure at any stage could kill it.
Actually, I'm not convinced it can be done now. The numbers look viable, but there are going to be unaccounted-for problems hiding in the woodwork. With a project this big and this costly, even less-than-catastrophic failure at any stage could kill it.
I think it would be technically possible to do it now, but it would never get the funding.
Assuming a 100m average width dam, my back of the envelop calc suggests some 75 million m3 of fill, or some 150-200 million tonnes. Thats a lot, and probably requires powered earthmovers... MAYBE doable with steam, but i doubt it.
Edit. This is 30 times tne size of hoover dam, which was a wonder of its day.
To destroy global weather patterns.
Because we're great at destroying stuff.
What interest would man have in doing that?
How would this 'destroy' the global weather pattern?![]()
Because whoever envisioned this thing in the first place probably didn't care a whole lot about maritime commerce and traffic. Who needs trade when you can lower the sea level and start building on salt-infested ground.