Ocean colonization
Submerged structures are sunken, air-tight vessels that either sit at an intermediate position or attached to the ocean floor that create an underwater metropolis for residences and businesses.
[16] This process involves creating a solid base on the sea floor and further building upon it with materials such as clay, sand and soil to form a new island-like structure above the water surface.
[18] The 125 m-long extension project restarted in 2011 and plans to provide a hectare of space for retail, parks, offices, apartments and private villas, to support the nation's growing population.
Seasteading refers to building buoyant, permanent structures built to float on the ocean's surface to support human settlements and colonies.
[21] Architecture company BIG proposed a design called Oceanix City, involving a series of inhabitable floating villages clustered together to form an archipelago that could house 10,000 residents.
[22] The design was developed in response to the effects of climate change, such as rising sea levels and an increase in hurricanes in Polynesia, that threaten to eradicate many tropical island nations.
[23] The Freedom Ship concept by US engineer Norman Nixon would be a 4000 ft long vessel with the capability to house 60,000 residents and 15,000 personnel,[24] with an estimated cost of $10 billion.
[26] Designers also intend to utilize bicycles, electric and hydrogen vehicles as the primary transport systems on board to prevent extra CO2 emissions.
[26] Ultimately, project designers, entrepreneurs, and scientists are aiming to collaborate to create a structure allowing "the formation of an eco-sustainable production and consumption cycle in the future human habitat".
[10] Due to these economic effects, cities such as Boston, Miami and San Francisco are exploring the idea of ocean colonization as they try to protect their coastlines from an increase in flooding, rising sea levels and earthquakes respectively.
[22] Ocean colony technologies are said to be less impacted by common territorial natural disasters and even extreme aquatic weather such as damaging waves as they occupy more shallow waters.
[27] According to theorists and scientists at the Seasteading Institute who have begun conducting research into aquatic environments as livable spaces, many of the technologies supporting ocean colonization are set to mainly be impacted by rogue waves[7] and storms.
[19] Further modern research and design has also been situated around testing the computation fluid dynamics of resistance against vortex formations of water,[19] such as cyclones that form and therefore threaten ocean environments.
[7] Biologists have identified the individualized negative impacts of the technologies that support the implementation of colonization, by their effect on the disruption to the local marine ecosystem.
These studies of cruise ships and their impact of the marine environment have been incorporated by ocean colonization scientists and designers, as they are the closest, existent technology to their proposed projects.
[10] Pioneers of this colonization theory suggest the new spaces to also cater for new and more jobs, and may be a particular solution to the moral and political dilemma of housing as well as the consequential increased number of climate refugees.
[34] Entrepreneurs central to this theory have suggested that it has the potential for a degree of autonomy of residences[clarification needed], currently operating in stricter political systems.
[clarification needed][9] Despite critical theorists at the Seasteading Institute suggesting their design to allow people to "experiment with new forms of government",[27] socialists criticise this idea, seeing it as a possible way to bypass tax laws[19] in international waters.
[35] Little has been vocalized[clarification needed] on the development of essential services i.e. schools and hospitals, within ocean colony structures, yet theorists say it is likely that the host or the closest nations will be relied upon until the initial population grows.
[9] Without an overseeing government and lack of taxes, critics of ocean colonization suggest there would be little security provided in the open waters,[21] in terms of economics and regarding human rights laws.
As of May 2020, both the Seastead Institute and Blue Frontiers have completed their impact assessments and are waiting for updates on their proposal.Many aspects of living will be relatively unchanged, such as heating, lighting, and cooking.
[7] With such proximity to water resources, there would be a reliance on hydroponics to account for the limited space on the surface,[7] that would generate energy and support the growth of crops.
