/sci/ - Science & Math

Additionally, while you're right that fish "can be extracted from the surface", that's called trawling. It is a tremendously destructive method that's increasingly regulated and expected to be outlawed in the near future. Companies have sprung up in anticipation of this, like Kona Blue, with undersea fish farming structures like the one seen here.

>>3582284

>Speaking of DIY, has there ever been a project like Factor e Farm but for the sea?

Closest thing I can think of are these automated open ocean aquaculture pods. Vast netted enclosures with solar powered, computer scheduled feeders and pheromone releasers that provide food at precise intervals and induce off seasons mating to maximize yield. These can be plopped anywhere in the ocean at whatever depth the fish you're cultivating live at.

>>3549488

>I don't know how deep these living spaces are meant to be

Only 250 feet. That's safely below the 200 foot threshold where storm action on the surface won't affect you, but well within the photic zone so you get plenty of sunlight. We could absolutely farm seaweed at that depth, although in terms of nutrition and potential export profits we'd be better off communally operating an open water fish farm like the one in the picture. These already exist, and would benefit greatly from having divers on hand all the time for maintinence and harvest.

>>3197766

You're not kidding, bro. Open ocean aquaculture is already underway (pic related) as is deep sea mining. Undersea industry will be the next great area of expansion, and the explosion of wealth that results will make it possible to fund a really robust space program again. The resources of the sea will take us to the stars.

>>2391425

>>Fair enough. I still don't see any hope in any such project being profitable, however.

How so? It has all the same benefits of colonizing other worlds, but it's cheaper by far. Instead of mining precious metals from asteroids, we can mine them from hydrothermal vents, and we've actually already begun:

http://www.nautilusminerals.com/s/Media-NewsReleases.asp?ReportID=437932

The deposits are directly exposed, huge and very pure. And instead of sending rockets that expend huge amounts of fuel to escape Earth's gravity well, submersibles need only succumb to it.

We can also farm on the ocean floor. Not by bringing it all with us and building vast enclosures, but by farming species native to the environment via aquaculture, pic related.

>>Rather dull compared to space colonization as well, but whatever floats your boat.

Again, how so? Bizarre new species are found in the sea every day, compared to....well, never for space exploration. The holy grail of space exploration is to one day discover sentient nonhuman life. We've already found that in the sea.

It only seems dull by comparison if you're overfed on space-centric science fiction and lack imagination.

>>2341395

A technocratic colony is possible only undersea.

This is because the greatest initial barrier is land cost. Twelve miles from shore, undersea land is free for the taking. But the benefits don't end there.

With the mass produced habitats on the market, you could build your technocratic state one capsule at a time, buying new ones as profits allow. The community, like several existing biodiesel farming communes ("eco-villages") would be based around shared maintinence of the money maker, in this case aquaculture.

Why aquaculture? Because it scales cheaply (what you're looking at is essentially a large mesh net) and is simple to automate. It's also potentially very profitable with a minimal outlay depending on the species you cultivate. Same goes for hydroponic crops grown on board; Such systems are a snap to automate, at which point you've essentially built a free food machine.

My understanding is that no nation owns sea floor land beyond 12 miles from their shore. Certain laws continue to apply until 200 miles out, and then anything goes. So nothing prevents a nation with the necessary technology from setting up a seafloor mine or aquaculture operation in international waters except the difficulty of defending it.

>>2298330

>>reason: make money off of the the people who are like OP and will pay for this kind of experience.

I'm becoming increasingly concerned that this is the only viable business model for undersea living. It's what Seabase 1 in Belize is relying on. And the Atlantica 2 man colony modules will also be sold as stand-alone vacation homes, something to sink just barely outside of US waters and commute to shore each day. Coastal lifestyle for a fraction of the price. It's basically what US submarines is doing to mitigate the costs of developing their Poseidon resort, selling the large disc shaped habitat modules to wealthy eccentric people who want a private undersea home, but at a price point the average person can afford.

It seems like once we have a critical mass of people living underwater, even if it's for frivolous reasons, we'll start to see related benefits; None of them things we couldn't do without undersea communities, but all things that can be done undersea anyway and which benefit from having a permanent local community to tend to them. Pic very related.

>>2298330

>>reason: make money off of the the people who are like OP and will pay for this kind of experience.

I'm becoming increasingly concerned that this is the only viable business model for undersea living. It's what Seabase 1 in Belize is relying on. And the Atlantica 2 man colonies will also be sold as stand-alone vacation homes, something to sink just barely outside of US waters and commute to shore each day. Coastal lifestyle for a fraction of the price.

It seems like once we have a critical mass of people living underwater, even if it's for frivolous reasons, we'll start to see related benefits; None of them things we couldn't do without undersea communities, but all things that can be done undersea anyway and which benefit from having a permanent local community to tend to them. Pic very related.

>>2265810

That's true, which is why the colony will be stationed in the gulf stream. The constant flow of fresh water over the device's collector will preven the formation of anoxic zones.

Pic: an ocean floor fish farm, why creating anoxic zones around the colony might be a no-no

>>2130180

>> Also for what reason should we conquest the sea? What makes underwater habitation profitable?

All the same reasons as conquest of space:

In space we plan to mine asteroids for precious metals.
In the ocean, those same precious metals can be found in very pure mass deposits around undersea volcanos.
In space, we plan to harvest solar energy and beam it back to Earth.
In the ocean we can harvest hydrothermal and tidal power.
In space we plan to farm hydroponic crops for air and food.
In the ocean, a surplus of biomass can be farmed via organized aquaculture (pic related) increasing food production sustainably over current crude, damaging methods like trawling.
In space we hope to meet intelligent nonhuman species and enrich ourselves through communication with them.
In the ocean we have already made contact with an intelligent nonhuman species, dolphins, whom we've trained in a military capacity and who we're increasingly able to communicate with.

In short, ocean colonization offers nearly all of the same benefits as space colonization at a MUCH lower cost, and with the added benefit of great potential for food production, and ecological stewardship. People will start giving more of a shit about the sea when they start living in it, and many of the technologies involved (biorock generation of coral) can directly benefit the ocean ecosystem.

>>Also why would we need supercavitating vehicles for an underwater habitat?

Rapid transit, colony defense.

>>2130180

>> Also for what reason should we conquest the sea? What makes underwater habitation profitable?

All the same reasons as conquest of space:

In space we plan to mine asteroids for precious metals.
Those same precious metals can be found in very pure mass deposits around undersea volcanos.
In space, we plan to harvest solar energy and beam it back to Earth. In the ocean we can harvest hydrothermal and tidal power.
In space we plan to farm hydroponic crops for air and food.
In the ocean, a surplus of biomass can be farmed via organized aquaculture (pic related) increasing food production sustainably over current crude, damaging methods like trawling.
In space we hope to meet intelligent nonhuman species and enrich ourselves through communication with them.
In the ocean we have already made contact with an intelligent nonhuman species, dolphins, whom we've trained in a military capacity and who we're increasingly able to communicate with.

>>Also why would we need supercavitating vehicles for an underwater habitat?

Rapid transit, colony defense.

>>2105575

No, the whole point of science is not to prevent you from dying. You're not that important, kid.

We live in a world of billions. Population growth is slowing as the standard of living improves (making every malthusian's head explode in the process) but even the declining rate of growth threatens to overwhelm our capacity to feed the world.

up until now our methods of harvesting biomass from the sea have been unbelievably crude. Trawling is to proper seafloor farming what nomadic farming is to Norman Borlaug's agricultural innovations in the 70s, and more recently vertical farming.

We're farming in a 20th century manner (and soon in a 21st century manner) on the surface, but still farming in a 6th century manner in the ocean. Simply stripping it bare and waiting for it to replenish.

Actual seafloor farms will multiply our agricultural production capacity ten times over. Most of the abyssal plain isn't fertile, but the continental shelves are, a combined area the size of the entire North American continent. Many of the same methods used to maximize yields on land will also work in the water, but with the benefit of three dimensional space. Pic related, an aquaculture pen.