Topic:
Underwater Cities
Amanda
Kimberly Tan Hui Ting (amanda.tan.2013@law.smu.edu.sg),
1st Year student, Bachelor of Laws, Singapore Management
University
Executive
Summary
This
paper seeks to understand the need for construction of underwater cities, the
feasibility of such construction and the viability of adoption of this
alternative underwater living method in the future with the aim of looking at
this as an solution to worsening global warming levels. To explore these three
issues, this paper will look at the purposes of underwater cities, the
historical development of these cities and how they have come to the level that
they are today. It will also argue the case for Singapore to have underwater
living as an alternative to living above ground to deal with the future problem
of global warming which is particularly dangerous for Singapore as we are an
island. Lastly, it will examine the future considerations that we have to take
into account if we eventually stay in underwater cities and how to target any
problems that underwater cities may pose.
Introduction
Global
warming has been worsening which is posing a grave threat to low lying cities
such as Holland and the Maldives. Seeing this, it may be necessary to consider
other forms of habitats either as a emergency alternative living space or as a
long term habitat should global warming continue to worsen.
This
paper would like to propose the solution of an underwater habitat, a structure which
is built beneath the sea with the full facilities to accommodate human life, as
one of the key alternative habitats that should be considered in light of
worsening global warming.
Underwater
habitats are not solely used as a solution for alternative living in light of
global warming. It is can also be used for scientific research such as Jules
Undersea Lodge and as a hotel as part of a tourist attraction for those who
would like to experience undersea living such as the Poseidon.
Historical
perspectives
The research for these alternative habitat is
believed to have begun with Project Genesis led by Dr. George F. Bond in 1957
who began research on proving that humans could overcome the difficulties of
deep diving and have a lengthy time at depth by saturation diving. (Bedolfe, 2012)
Through this research, one of the first
underwater human habitats, known as the Conshelf I (Continental Shelf Station
One) was built by a team headed by Jacques Cousteau and was placed 10 (30ft)
below the surface near Marseilles, France and had two inhabitants for a period
of seven days. (Bedolfe, 2012)
Subsequently, Conshelf II, built in 1963
continued to use the concept of saturation diving. It was structured with main
compartment at the same depth as Conshelf I with six inhabitants for a period
of one month. It had a further addition of a deep cabin, where two men spent a
week at 30m (100ft) deep, allowing their bodies to become fully saturated with
a helium breathing mixture. They also had a hangar for a submersible known as
the Diving Saucer making it the first time a submersible could be operated from
an underwater base. (Bedolfe, 2012)
Since then, more than 65 undersea marine labs
have been built around the world. The more notable of such labs include
Helgoland built in 1968 which was the first lab built for colder climates La Chalupa
research laboratory which was subsequently converted in 1986 to Jules Undersea
Lodge now an underwater hotel in the Florida Keys. The only undersea lab still
in operation now however is Aquarius which located in a “research only” are of
the Florida Keyes National Marine Sanctuary, which houses scientists who study
there in two-week intervals from April through November as long as the
hurricane season allows. (Bedolfe, 2012)
Current
situation
Currently, there are prototypes for underwater
living but making larger habitats with multiple components made of steel, glass
and special cement used underwater would be easier than trying to create one
giant bubble. These smaller structures could be added or removed to create living
space for people as necessary. (Nuwer, 2013)
Future Considerations
Moving
forward, we have to look at the advantages and disadvantages of such underwater
cities when evaluating its usefulness.
Firstly,
we can consider the advantages to creating such underwater cities.
In
Singapore particularly, it removes the need to reclaim land, forming an
alternative form of sustainable living in a country that faces space
constraints.
It can
also form a new form of tourism such as the underwater hotels Poseidon and
Jules Undersea Lodge. This could come with the introduction of more extreme
deep sea sports carving out a new market of recreational activities for the
more adventurous.
Thirdly,
it could help to alleviate over-population problems.
There
could also be a significant increase in the amount of undersea research. According to Tom Potts, director of the
Aquarius Reef Base, divers from the surface have about an hour-and-a-half per
day to do all their work. However, if they were able to inhabit the bottom of
the ocean for 30 to 60 days, it is likely that their productivity could
increase exponentially. (Nuwer, 2013)
However,
there are also several disadvantages.
These
include the lack of sunlight which is
necessary for humans to absorb the necessary minerals such as vitamin C and
beta-carotene.
There is
also a higher cost associated with living underwater as the underwater
structures are still very expensive to build. This may later become the
preserve of the rich and the poor would have no choice but to live above ground
and suffer from the increasing levels of pollution
There
may also be an inability of certain types of people to stay in such
accommodation such as the disabled and the elderly until better and more
convenient methods of deep sea transportation are constructed
Criminals
may also capitalize on vulnerabilities such as there being only one
source of food, water or air, they could attack that in acts of terrorism.
There is
also a possible inconsistency of pressurization. If the pressure of the
underwater city is not maintained at a constant level, 1 atm, the level of
Earth’s atmospheric pressure, people may suffer from deep sea sickness. Also if
it is not constant with the water pressure of the water body, then the whole
structure could be crushed by the external pressure of the sea.
There
is also the risk of natural disasters such as that of floods and tsunamis. For
example, in 2004, the Indian Ocean tsunami destroyed many houses near the
shore. If a tsunami of similar magnitude occurs, the underwater homes would be
beached and crushed with the force of the wave washing it upon the shore.
Evaluation of the feasibility of these
cities especially in the Singapore context
The
feasibility of the construction of these cities is highly likely in the
Singapore context because our government has direct control over the agencies
that control the use of the sea hence would be smooth implementation of any of
the goals that they want to carry out which allows them to carry out
their administration efficiently.
Moreover, Singapore is a
research and development hub and is quite likely to have the technological
know-how to be able to develop underwater living to the extent that it is fully
sustainable. Already, the Hilton Maldives Undersea Restaurant on Rangali Island
was built entirely offsite in Singapore.
However,
there are also challenges to the feasibility of setting up an underwater
habitat.
Firstly, there is a limit to how deep
undersea these underwater structures can be built as building deeper than 1,000
ft (300m) would cause the structure to experience very high pressure at such
depths and hence would need to be enhanced with very thick walls. (Nuwer, 2013)
At such a depth, there may also be
excessive periods for those that may want to return to the surface. (Nuwer, 2013) Although
there is currently ample underwater space as this space is still untapped,
having a limit to the depth that can be built for the underwater space would result
in the space constraints that countries experience on land to be translated to
the underwater space. Moreover, as every country would want to capitalize on
this underwater habitat to build an alternative living space in times of
disaster, this will exacerbate the problem and we may be merely moving the
overpopulation problem from above land to below land.
There are
also territorial considerations which may be raised as each country is allowed
a differing amount of territorial jurisdiction over the sea in relation to
their land.
Thirdly,
there may be difficulty in the provision and distribution of essential services
for the people. One such service is provision of food and water. Cooking
underwater is possible but is often avoided because of its smell and that the fumes
seem stronger in static air. (Nuwer, 2013)
Currently
it has been proposed to transport freshwater from the surface or create it through
condensation or desalination. (Nuwer, 2013) This however,
may not prove to be a very sustainable water source and may run out especially
in situations of nature disaster where freshwater from the surface is not
readily available.
There
are also the difficulties in obtaining a sustainable energy source to provide electricity
to power the city and with the removal of human waste. Human waste could
however, be treated and released into the environment or cooked down to a fine
ash, the feasibility of which would be dependent on the size of the colony. (Nuwer, 2013)
There
could also be a severe environmental and ecological impact especially on the marine
life because by introducing a foreign component to the ecosystem, it may
disturb the balance of the ecosystem and conversely increase the likelihood of
natural disasters of the sea and the ocean.
As the
infrastructure is still largely undeveloped, there will be a high cost of
construction as the start up cost of the research to refine the specifications
of the construction to produce a safe reliable underwater habitat would be very
high. This may be blocked by the lack of government and government agencies
coordination over the usage of the underwater space as some governments may not
see the relevance of the underwater habitat as they would be under pressure to
accord more government funds to the more pressing concerns such as social
welfare for the lowest income bracket.
Future Habitats
The body needs different amounts of the various air
components when at pressure causing the air composition that is necessary to support
any given underwater habitat to be determined according to the depth of the
habitat. (Nuwer, 2013)
Hence, below a certain depth, more measures may be
necessary to maintain a certain ratio of oxygen to other gases in the air such
as that of nitrogen at 500 ft (150m) and helium at less than 1000 ft (300m). (Nuwer, 2013)
Provision
of oxygen may be through the growth of plants using natural or artificial light
used to generate oxygen. (Nuwer, 2013)
Residents
may also explore the places by using hookah lines which are hollow tubes up to
400 ft long which is connected to their face masks or helmets and their living
quarters. This allows both breathing and communication or scuba tanks can also
be used. (Nuwer, 2013)
Future
habitats could use satellites to communicate this important information. (Nuwer, 2013)
Assessment of what can be done to improve
the infrastructure such that underwater cities can be more viable
According
to Ian Koblick, further technological advances may be needed to expand the
current infrastructure to be able to support a larger population as this will
be required to expand the emergency evacuation systems and environmental
controls of air supply and humidity. (Nuwer, 2013)
Conclusion
In conclusion,
underwater cities are likely to be viable but we would need to do more research
into the necessary improvement of infrastructure before it can be implemented
on a large scale.
Bibliography
Nuwer, R.
(2013, 09 30). BBC. Retrieved 10 2013, from bbc.com:
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20130930-can-we-build-underwater-cities
Bedolfe, S. (2012, 7 12). One World One Ocean.
Retrieved 10 19, 2013, from One World One Ocean:
www.oneworldoneocean.com/blog/undersea-labs-50-years-of-living-underwater#.UmHX8RBI6V
