A Japanese civil engineering firm wants to build an underwater city as a solution for the danger presented by rising sea levels.
The plan is an ambitious one. The proposed ‘Ocean Spiral’ will be a large sphere not too far below the surface. The diameter would be 546 yards, containing hotels, business and residential zones inside as any ordinary city on the surface.
The globe will be attached to a long Ocean Spiral path stretching all the way to the ocean floor – between 3 and 4 km below the surface.
The firm, Shimizu Corp, told the Guardian that Ocean Spiral will “capitalize on the infinite possibilities of the deep sea.” The spiral at the bottom will allow scientists to do exactly this, studying and collecting energy resources lying on the seabed.
Japan’s underwater city will be eco-friendly, getting its energy from an “earth factory” on the seafloor. This factory will convert carbon dioxide into methane while power generators along the ocean spiral will create even more energy from the differences in seawater temperatures. All purified water will be pumped into the residential zone.
The city would take Shimizu five years to build at a cost of 3tn yen, a little over $24 billion dollars. Even though it would take half a decade to construct, it could be 15 years before the technology to support the structure and underwater life is available. Still, spokesman Hideo Imamura says that “This is a real goal, not a pipe dream.”
To make Japan’s underwater city a reality, they will rely on experts from the government, Tokyo University, and energy firms. Shimizu hopes to have all funding secured from the government and private industry.
Rising sea levels threaten life on islands as water may one day cover the particular landmasses. The entire country of Japan is made up of islands, so it comes to no surprise it was a Japanese firm to come up with a solution.
The sea city could also provide protection during earthquakes and tsunamis, which is a high risk for Japan.
This isn’t the first futuristic project proposed recently. Plans to send humans to Mars via asteroid and construct a floating city above Venus’s clouds were announced late last year.
What do you think of Japan’s underwater city? Plausible or pipe dream?
[PhotoCredit: Collective-Evolution]
This article was syndicated from Business 2 Community: Japan Proposes Underwater City As Sea Levels Rise
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