{"id":19211,"date":"2022-11-08T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-11-07T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/?post_type=purple_issue&p=19211"},"modified":"2022-11-09T11:18:01","modified_gmt":"2022-11-09T10:18:01","slug":"could-we-build-underwater-cities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/2022\/11\/08\/could-we-build-underwater-cities\/","title":{"rendered":"Could we build underwater cities?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Popcorn<\/figure><\/div>\n\n

Could we build underwater cities?<\/h2>\n\n

The villain in the new Black Panther film lives under the sea. Could we soon be joining him? <\/p>\n\n

by STEPHEN <\/strong>KELLY <\/strong><\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n

The new Black Panther movie Wakanda Forever <\/em>introduces a villain called Namor, a character mainly known for living underwater and ruling the mythical kingdom of Atlantis. Let\u2019s ignore the breathing underwater part, and the bit where Atlantis is real, and focus on the fact that Namor\u2019s people live in a city deep under the ocean. According to Philip Pauley, a futurist who specialises in promoting the potential of underwater cities, the idea isn\u2019t as far-fetched as it sounds. <\/p>\n\n

\u201cThe most notable pioneer of underwater habitation was Jacques Cousteau,\u201d he says. \u201cHe built a number of underwater habitats in the 1970s. These tended to be quite small, but there\u2019s nothing stopping us from building something bigger. It would just require time, money and resources.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

Pauley\u2019s own design for an underwater community, which has attracted interest from film producers and NASA, consists of a central biosphere surrounded by eight smaller biospheres. The dome design \u201cseems obvious\u201d, he says. \u201cWater can move around it fairly easily. It can take the biggest amount of pressure. An alternative, more cost-effective shape would be a square, but it would depend on where you want to build your city. Having a current pushing against a flat surface is never a good idea.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

Location, adds Pauley, is crucial. A complex built near the surface benefits from easy access to supplies and would be easy to escape, if needed. \u201cBuilding at a greater depth means more costly, heavy-duty materials,\u201d he says. That said, building a structure deeper down does mean that intense water pressure could be used to generate electricity. \u201cIt\u2019s one way to generate sustainable energy,\u201d he says. \u201cA small nuclear reactor is another. You could use surface wave motion, or solar power, or wind turbines. You could use a range of renewables.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n

Similarly, there are many options for food. \u201cYou could take livestock and chickens on board or farm fish,\u201d says Pauley. \u201cYou could grow meat, become totally vegan or get food brought in.\u201d Oxygen, meanwhile, can easily be made from the surrounding water or extracted from the surface. <\/p>\n\n

But Pauley concedes that living deep underwater for long periods may prove psychologically challenging. \u201cThere\u2019s the issue of isolation,\u201d he says. \u201cFor mental health, you need sunlight and vitamin D. You can replicate daylight with LED lights but this is another reason to build close to the surface \u2013 so people don\u2019t feel so cut off from the world.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

Pauley sees underwater cities as a way to solve potential issues such as overpopulation, or to provide us with an option in case of a doomsday scenario. \u201cIt makes more economic and environmental sense than setting up a colony on Mars, but that\u2019s where a lot of the money is going.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

Why is that? Pauley\u2019s theory is that the ocean is more politicised than space. \u201cIt\u2019s got so many interested parties: governments, mining and cabling companies, the military, the oil industry. There\u2019s a lot going on down there, and they don\u2019t want anyone monitoring them!\u201d Or maybe they really have found Atlantis. <\/p>\n\n

\n\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n

VERDICT <\/strong>
We could build underwater cities! The problem is, entrepreneurs are too preoccupied with sending us to Mars. <\/p>\n\n

\n\n

by STEPHEN KELLY<\/strong> (@StephenPKelly<\/a><\/em>)
Stephen is a culture and science writer, specialising in television and film.<\/p>\n\n

ILLUSTRATIONS: ADAM GALE, MAIN ILLUSTRATION: TILL LUKAT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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