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Submerged Living (Underwater Habitats; Undersea Cities; Etc.)

ramonmercado

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Maldives cabinet to go underwater
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8291487.stm

The ministers have been receiving training at a military base


The government of the Maldives is to hold a cabinet meeting underwater to highlight the threat of global warming.

President Mohamed Nasheed and his cabinet will sign a document during the 17 October dive, calling for global cuts in carbon emissions.

An adviser to the president told the BBC the dive was "a bit of fun" but the cabinet intended to send a serious message about rising sea levels.

The low-lying island nation says it faces being wiped out if oceans rise.

The adviser, who asked not to be named, said ministers would communicate during the meeting using hand signals and waterproof boards and pens.



The cabinet will be joined by instructors and military escorts
"Obviously the hand signals that divers can use are limited, so the amount of work the cabinet are going to get done will be limited," he said.

"But they will call on all nations - rich and poor, developed and developing - to take climate change seriously."

All cabinet members bar one - who has a medical condition that rules out diving - have been in training at a military base on one of the country's many islands.

Mr Nasheed, who is already a qualified diver, will also hold a press conference in the water.

While underwater, the government will sign a document ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December, calling on all nations to cut down their carbon emissions.

World leaders at the summit are aiming to create a new agreement to replace the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012.

'Friendly' sharks

The dive is being held to mark the 350 International Day of Climate Change Action on 24 October.



The Maldives is the world's lowest-lying country
The day's organisers say they want to highlight the risks of rising carbon in the atmosphere and encourage world leaders to commit to reducing carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere to 350 parts per million.

That is the amount some scientists say is the safe upper limit to avoid irreparable damage to the environment.

Some 80% of the Maldives archipelago is less than a metre above sea level and is extremely vulnerable to any rise in sea levels as a result of global warming melting the polar ice caps.

Officials say that by the time the Maldives feels the full effect of climate change, it will be too late to save other countries.

Mr Nasheed has warned that the entire nation may have to find a new home if the oceans rise as predicted by the UN.

The president's adviser told the BBC that although the country's government was almost all going to be underwater at the same time, there was no real danger.

Each minister will be accompanied by a diving instructor and a military minder and the local sharks were "friendly", he said.
 
Vid at link


Maldives cabinet makes a splash
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8311838.stm

President Mohamed Nasheed and his cabinet met underwater to highlight the threat of global warming

The government of the Maldives has held a cabinet meeting underwater to highlight the threat of global warming to the low-lying Indian Ocean nation.

President Mohamed Nasheed and his cabinet signed a document calling for global cuts in carbon emissions.

Ministers spent half an hour on the sea bed, communicating with white boards and hand signals.

The president said the UN climate change conference in Copenhagen this December cannot be allowed to fail.

At a later press conference while still in the water, President Nasheed was asked what would happen if the summit fails. "We are going to die," he replied.


If the Maldives cannot be saved today we do not feel that there is much of a chance for the rest of the world
President Mohamed Nasheed

Officials in climate change stunt

The Maldives stand an average of 2.1 metres (7ft) above sea level, and the government says they face being wiped out if oceans rise.

"We're now actually trying to send our message, let the world know what is happening, and what will happen to the Maldives if climate change is not checked," President Nasheed said.

"If the Maldives cannot be saved today we do not feel that there is much of a chance for the rest of the world," he added.

Military minders

Three of the 14 cabinet ministers missed the underwater meeting, about 20 minutes by boat from the capital, Male, because two were not given medical permission and another was abroad, officials said.

President Nasheed and other cabinet members taking part had been practising their slow breathing to get into the right mental frame for the meeting, a government source said.
Maldives cabinet in scuba gear near Male
The cabinet were joined by instructors and military escorts

About 5m underwater, in a blue-green lagoon on a small island used for military training, they were observed by a clutch of snorkelling journalists.

Each minister was accompanied by a diving instructor and a military minder.

While underwater, they signed a document ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December, calling on all nations to cut their carbon emissions.

World leaders at the summit aim to create a new agreement to replace the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012.
 
Living under sea: Japanese visionaries unveil underwater city plan

Will people ever live in underwater cities? Japanese construction firm says it is possible by 2030. The visionaries revealed a $25 billion deep-sea eco-city plan called Ocean Spiral for 5,000 people that will produce energy from sea resources.

Many have pondered the idea of living under the sea while sci-fi film directors such as George Lucas tempted our imagination with stunning images of underwater cities. Such was the Gungan city consisting of a mass of hydrostatic bubbles shown in the first part of the “Star wars” epic space film series.

Now a Japanese construction firm Shimizu Corp. says that building an underwater residential area is not a fantasy and aims to build one by 2030 – in just 15 years.

“This is a real goal, not a pipe dream,” the Shimizu spokesman Hideo Imamura told the Guardian.

The outlandish plan envisages a spiral-shaped structure comprised of three major sections. Floating slightly above the surface the structure will be topped by a 500-meter sphere.

The central part is a spiral 15km long with room for business zones, residential areas and hotel rooms for about 5,000 people, according to the plan. ...

http://rt.com/news/207407-underwater-city-plan-japan/
 
It's World Oceans Day!

https://worldoceansday.org/

Nice article, with some great photos, in today's Guardian about humanity's enduring fascination with what lies under the sea:

https://www.theguardian.com/environ...eneath-our-love-affair-with-living-underwater

I particularly liked the photo of the Cousteaus relaxing in their underwater habitat - and living up to the French stereotype of enjoying cigarettes, red wine and Pastis anywhere!

cousteau.jpg
 
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Reminds me of the 1960s film Hello Down There, a comedy about underwater living in a special complex. It's pretty silly, and doesn't answer the most pressing question for me: why bother?
 
Reminds me of the 1960s film Hello Down There, a comedy about underwater living in a special complex. It's pretty silly, and doesn't answer the most pressing question for me: why bother?
Because we may run out of land for residential purposes at some point?
 
We may, but living on the water is safer than living under it, isn't it?
Back then, people were experimenting with these ideas. They didn't know what we know now.
 
It's World Oceans Day!

https://worldoceansday.org/

Nice article, with some great photos, in today's Guardian about humanity's enduring fascination with what lies under the sea:

https://www.theguardian.com/environ...eneath-our-love-affair-with-living-underwater

I particularly liked the photo of the Cousteaus relaxing in their underwater habitat - and living up to the French stereotype of enjoying cigarettes, red wine and Pastis anywhere!

View attachment 27014

So much smoking going must have been pretty horrible.
 
Plans have been unveiled for Proteus - a modular habitat / lab to be located on the Caribbean seafloor.
Ambitious designs for underwater 'space station' and habitat unveiled

Sixty feet beneath the surface of the Caribbean Sea, aquanaut Fabien Cousteau and industrial designer Yves Béhar are envisioning the world's largest underwater research station and habitat.

The pair have unveiled Fabien Cousteau's Proteus, a 4,000-square-foot modular lab that will sit under the water off the coast of Curaçao, providing a home to scientists and researchers from across the world studying the ocean -- from the effects of climate change and new marine life to medicinal breakthroughs.

Designed as a two-story circular structure grounded to the ocean floor on stilts, Proteus' protruding pods contain laboratories, personal quarters, medical bays and a moon pool where divers can access the ocean floor. Powered by wind and solar energy, and ocean thermal energy conversion, the structure will also feature the first underwater greenhouse for growing food, as well as a video production facility.

The Proteus is intended to be the underwater version of the International Space Station (ISS), where government agencies, scientists, and the private sector can collaborate in the spirit of collective knowledge, irrespective of borders. ...

FULL STORY (And Concept Images):
https://www.cnn.com/style/article/p...-space-station-research-center-scn/index.html
 
We may, but living on the water is safer than living under it, isn't it?
Learning to live underwater may be good prep for learning to live on other planets with similarly hostile environments.
 
This new Smithsonian Magazine article provides more info on the proposed undersea habitat and the history of such habitats.
JACQUES COUSTEAU’S GRANDSON WANTS TO BUILD THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION OF THE SEA

Off the coast of Curaçao, at a depth of 60 feet, aquanaut Fabien Cousteau is looking to create the world’s largest underwater research habitat

In 1963, a saucer-shaped, yellow submarine returned from the depths of the Red Sea and docked to an underwater research center, 26 miles off the coast of Port Sudan and 33 feet below the surface. Aboard it was legendary explorer and oceanographer Jacques Cousteau, who captured the imagination of millions with his Oscar-winning documentary World Without Sun. "This is the first time an undersea boat has had an undersea base," Cousteau narrated as his slender figure climbed out of the submarine and into Continental Shelf Station Two, the underwater station that served as home and laboratory to five aquanauts for one month.

With Conshelf Two—a starfish-shaped habitat with bunk beds and infrared lamps as heaters—Cousteau proved that human beings can live under the sea for long periods of time. With its four rooms branching out from the center, it was a significant improvement from Conshelf One—a 16-foot long, 8-foot wide steel cylinder that could only fit two people. Funded by the French petrochemical industry, Cousteau’s Conshelf mission was halted just two years later, after Conshelf Three was set up at a record depth of 330 feet, and Cousteau shifted his focus from petrol-funded research to ocean conservation. ...

Much like the slew of single-mission habitats that followed Conshelf, not much remains of these underwater innovations. Plagued, in part, by a shift in public interest that triggered greater funding for space exploration, some have been pulled out of the water, others have become diving sites encrusted with coral growth. Today, the only operating underwater habitat remaining is 34 years old.

Cousteau's grandson, Fabien, is hoping to change that. The founder of the Fabien Cousteau Ocean Learning Center, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting and preserving the planet’s oceans, coastal areas and marine habitats, is building the world’s largest underwater research station. ...

FULL STORY: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/inno...rnational-space-station-of-the-sea-180975635/
 
A submerged Neolithic road.

Archaeologists have unearthed the remnants of a 7,000-year-old road hidden beneath layers of sea mud off the southern Croatian coast.

Made at the sunken Neolithic site of Soline, this exciting find may once have linked the ancient Hvar culture settlement to the now isolated island of Korčula.

Once an artificial island, the ancient site of Soline was discovered in 2021 by archaeologist Mate Parica of the University of Zadar in Croatia while he was analyzing satellite images of the water area around Korčula.

An aerial image of the water around Korčula, where Soline is located. Houses on land are also visible.
T
he coast of part of Korčula Island in Croatia. (University of Zadar)

After spotting something he thought might be human-made on the ocean floor, Parica and a colleague dove to investigate.

At a depth of 4 to 5 meters (13 to 16 feet) in the Mediterranean's Adriatic Sea, they found stone walls that may have once been part of an ancient settlement. The landmass it was built upon was separated from the main island by a narrow strip of land.

"The fortunate thing is that this area, unlike most parts of the Mediterranean, is safe from big waves as many islands protect the coast," Parica told Reuters in 2021. "That certainly helped preserve the site from natural destruction."

https://www.sciencealert.com/road-built-7000-years-ago-found-at-the-bottom-of-the-mediterranean-sea
 
Which is part of the Mediterranean Sea.

Just as The English Channel and the Irish Sea are part of the Atlantic, but you wouldn't refer to the Dover to Calais ferry as cross-Atlantic.
I was merely remarking on the lack of precision in the description and I would always refer to the Croatian coast as The Adriatic.
 
A submerged Neolithic road.

Archaeologists have unearthed the remnants of a 7,000-year-old road hidden beneath layers of sea mud off the southern Croatian coast.

Made at the sunken Neolithic site of Soline, this exciting find may once have linked the ancient Hvar culture settlement to the now isolated island of Korčula.

Once an artificial island, the ancient site of Soline was discovered in 2021 by archaeologist Mate Parica of the University of Zadar in Croatia while he was analyzing satellite images of the water area around Korčula.

An aerial image of the water around Korčula, where Soline is located. Houses on land are also visible.
T
he coast of part of Korčula Island in Croatia. (University of Zadar)

After spotting something he thought might be human-made on the ocean floor, Parica and a colleague dove to investigate.

At a depth of 4 to 5 meters (13 to 16 feet) in the Mediterranean's Adriatic Sea, they found stone walls that may have once been part of an ancient settlement. The landmass it was built upon was separated from the main island by a narrow strip of land.

"The fortunate thing is that this area, unlike most parts of the Mediterranean, is safe from big waves as many islands protect the coast," Parica told Reuters in 2021. "That certainly helped preserve the site from natural destruction."

https://www.sciencealert.com/road-built-7000-years-ago-found-at-the-bottom-of-the-mediterranean-sea

Quibbles about the precise sea name aside, this is a teriffic find!
One of my great interests is the old European Vinča script and these Croatian islands are only a short distance West of prime Vinča territory.
Hope the archaeological site is properly explored before long and, who knows? they may find some artefacts with Vinča inscriptions.
 
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