Ocean colonization
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Ocean colonization is the theoretical practice of building structures to allow humans to live permanently in areas of Earth covered in water; whether floating on the surface of the ocean, secured to the ocean floor, or somewhere in between.
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Purposes
The immediate practical advantage of this idea would be to lessen the effects of overpopulation by expanding the available living space many times over, and the possibility of forming micronations. Such settlements or cities could be powered by geothermal vents, or tidal energy, nuclear plants, or deep-sea oil deposits.
With the likelihood of liquid water beneath the icy surface of Europa and perhaps other outer planet moons, these habitats might be precursors for space colonies.
Difficulties
The main obstacle to such a plan is the enormous cost of building material and overcoming the technical problems such as high water pressure and food sources.
Existing communities
Similar communities already exist in the form of hotels, research stations, houseboats, houses on stilts, land below sea level behind dikes, vacation cruise ships, ocean oil rigs, etc.
Further, humans spreading to small islands throughout the world has already occurred and is continuing to occur. Using current technology to create artificial islands is just an incremental step in continuing the spread of Man.
Millennial project
One of the most comprehensive plans put forth was the "The Millenial Project" by Marshall Savage. The proposal pointed out plans for obtaining colony materials, food, shelter, water and power from the ocean. In brief:
- Power is fundamental, and would be provided by ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC). Power storage would be as hydrogen.
- Colony structures would be hexagonal lilypads anchored within one degree of the equator, a region without violent storms. The lilypads would start as magnesium mesh, a metal obtainable from sewater extraction. Thick salt crusts would be grown and maintained on the mesh with electrical salt deposition. The result is a material somewhat resembling a shell of reinforced concrete.
- Water would be produced abundantly as a side-effect of the open-cycle ocean-thermal energy conversion.
- Food would be obtained by aquaculture, and intensive hydroponics, including fresh-water aquaculture performed in plastic pools. The needed water would be from the open-cycle OTEC plants.
- Exports would be fresh food, light manufactured goods, power in the form of hydrogen and intellectual property.
This vision was so exciting, that an internet mailing list formed to attempt to organize it. The group incorporated as the "Living Universe Foundation." The list was still in existence as of 2004 (http://www.luf.org).