As organizations like SpaceX invest billions in space exploration, aiming to reach distant planets and moons, another frontier remains largely unexplored—the ocean floor. While we gaze into the cosmos, we overlook the vast, enigmatic world beneath our seas. This article compares the potential of ocean colonization with space colonization, examining the challenges, benefits, and feasibility of colonizing the ocean floor.
What is Ocean Colonization?
Oceanography is deeply connected to the histories of exploration, colonization, trade, war, and scientific discovery.
“Ocean colonization (also known as blue colonization or ocean grabbing) refers to the exploitation, settlement, or territorial claim of the ocean and its crust.”
This practice is critically viewed as a form of colonization and colonialism, especially with the rise of exploitative and destructive blue economy developments like deep-sea mining.
Colonizing the Ocean vs Colonizing Space
Right now, space exploration groups like SpaceX are spending millions, and even billions of dollars, funding projects to bring humankind into outer space. This is a wonderful goal that has stimulated our collective imagination. However, while we dream of reaching distant planets and icy moons and their subsurface oceans, there’s another final frontier much closer and more accessible—the ocean floor. As we contemplate traveling millions of miles from Earth and colonizing Mars, we are neglecting the unexplored world beneath us. Now, NASA’s space mission is also leading us to the uncharted deep oceans of our own planet.
Construction Technologies for Ocean Colonization
Innovative construction technologies are pushing the boundaries of what is possible in extreme underwater environments, paving the way for sustainable and habitable cities beneath the waves. These cutting-edge developments are essential not only for residential purposes but also for expanding our reach to exploit the ocean’s rich resources, including energy, minerals, and biodiversity. As our land resources deplete and populations grow, the ocean offers a new frontier for human expansion, bringing challenges and opportunities in equal measure.
Underwater Construction
Underwater construction technologies are crucial for creating submerged habitats and mystery structures beneath the ocean’s surface. As the deepest and largest of Earth’s oceans, the Pacific Ocean offers a unique testing ground for the technologies required to successfully colonize the seabed. These structures, often air-tight vessels, either float at intermediate depths or are anchored to the ocean floor, forming underwater metropolises for both residential and commercial purposes.
Examples are:
- H2ome: A project aiming to build homes and luxury resorts on the ocean floor.
- Ocean Spiral City: A Japanese initiative projected to cost $26 billion, with the potential to house 5,000 people by 2030.
Offshore Construction
Offshore construction is a significant aspect of ocean colonization, focusing on the development of structures on platforms that are built above the water. This includes accommodation platforms and facilities for various commercial activities.
Land Reclamation
Land reclamation involves creating new land by relocating rocks or pouring cement onto the ocean floor. This process extends the livable land area by building upon a solid base, enabling the development of new islands for urban expansion.
Examples:
- Palm Jumeirah: A man-made island in Dubai, created by moving millions of cubic meters of sand and rock to develop luxury villas.
- Kansai International Airport: Constructed on an artificial island in Osaka Bay, Japan, to address land scarcity.
Very Large Floating Structures (VLFS)
VLFS, or seasteads, are immense platforms designed to float on the ocean’s surface, providing a base for permanent human settlements. These floating communities are envisioned to operate independently of traditional government boundaries. For example, the Seasteading Institute, founded by Friedman and Gramlich, has been at the forefront of this concept, backed by significant investments to bring the idea to reality.
Several innovative designs have been proposed to advance floating structures:
- Oceanix City: Designed by architecture firm BIG, this project envisions a series of floating villages forming an archipelago capable of housing 10,000 residents. It focuses on sustainability and renewable energy to address climate change challenges.
- Cruise Ships as Floating Communities: The concept of utilizing large cruise ships as floating cities includes transforming these vessels into permanent residences with comprehensive amenities, such as residential, commercial, and entertainment spaces.
Notable Projects
- Freedom Ship: A visionary project by US engineer Norman Nixon, aiming to build a massive vessel that could accommodate 60,000 residents with a $10 billion budget.
- MS The World: Currently the largest residential cruise ship, MS The World is designed to support permanent life at sea, with luxury residences costing between $3 and $15 million.
Challenges and Obstacles in Colonizing the Ocean Floor
The extreme pressures, lack of sunlight, and harsh weather conditions make it difficult for humans to survive and thrive on ocean floor.
While it is possible to temporarily conduct human habitation underwater in specially designed habitats or submarines, it is not currently feasible for humans to permanently colonize the ocean floor.
1. Weather and Environmental Hazards
Living on the ocean floor presents significant challenges, particularly with extreme weather conditions. The open ocean is prone to fierce storms, as there are no natural barriers to impede the development of high winds. These powerful winds can generate massive waves causing flooding of islands and posing a serious threat to vessels and fixed structures. The difficulty of managing such weather conditions makes life on the ocean floor much more challenging than on dry land.
2. Water Supply and Energy Demands
A major issue in sustaining life on ocean floor is the provision of potable water. Desalination plants, which convert seawater into drinking water, would be essential. However, these plants consume vast amounts of energy, necessitating a reliable and powerful energy source—potentially even a nuclear power station—to support continuous operation. Alongside desalination, the infrastructure would need to include evacuation vessels for emergencies, individual transportation options, and facilities to support daily life, such as workplaces and recreational areas.
3. Scale and Self-Sufficiency
For an oceanic city to be practical, especially one that floats, it would need to be incredibly large. Such a city would have to produce a portion of its food supply, including fresh produce and livestock, to reduce reliance on land-based resources. Dependence on external supplies would not only be impractical but also dangerous, given the isolation and unpredictability of life at sea.
The technology and resources required for such a feat are still beyond our current capabilities. Growing crops and raising animals on the ocean floor would be extremely challenging due to the lack of sunlight, limited space, and strict regulations on fishing and farming in marine environments. It would also require significant technological advances in agricultural methods.
4. Breathing and Life Support Systems
One of the most fundamental challenges of ocean floor colonization is that humans cannot breathe underwater like marine creatures. While research into artificial gills has made some progress, current designs are bulky, energy-intensive, and require large volumes of water to function. Developing more efficient rebreathing technology that could allow individuals to stay underwater for extended periods without oxygen—such as a week—would be a transformative breakthrough in making underwater living viable.
5. High Costs and Justification
The engineering challenges associated with constructing underwater or floating cities are formidable, with high costs being a significant barrier. From the initial construction to the ongoing operation, these ventures require substantial financial investment. Furthermore, the purpose and benefits of living in such environments must be compelling enough to justify the enormous expenses involved.
6. Environmental Impact and Sustainability
Colonizing the ocean floor poses significant environmental risks. The construction and operation of underwater cities could disrupt marine ecosystems, harm biodiversity, and contribute to pollution. In addition to the demolition of natural habitats, immense amounts of pollution will be created. The construction process is not in an enclosed area. This is the open ocean; debris, chemicals, and gases like carbon dioxide are bound to enter the water. What this does is kill off animal and plant life, cause eutrophication, and make the area uninhabitable to native wildlife.
Sustainable practices would be crucial to minimize the environmental footprint of such endeavors. Moreover, balancing the exploitation of ocean resources with conservation efforts is vital to prevent long-term ecological damage.
7. Legal and Governance Issues
Establishing human settlements in international waters raises complex legal and governance challenges. Maritime laws, territorial rights, and the regulation of oceanic activities are not fully developed to address the unique circumstances of ocean floor colonization. Questions of jurisdiction, resource ownership, and the rights of oceanic settlers would need to be resolved through international agreements and new legal frameworks.
8. Psychological and Social Challenges
Living in isolated, confined spaces for extended periods can have significant psychological effects. The social dynamics of small, close-knit communities in isolated environments could lead to mental health issues, conflicts, and other challenges related to long-term habitation. Ensuring the well-being of residents would require careful planning, including the provision of mental health services, recreational activities, and social support systems.
9. Technological Limitations
Many of the technologies required for ocean floor colonization are still in their infancy or theoretical stages. The development of advanced construction techniques, life support systems, and energy solutions would be necessary to overcome the unique challenges posed by the ocean environment. Additionally, maintaining and repairing underwater structures would require specialized technology and expertise, adding to the complexity and cost of these projects.
Benefits of Life Underwater
Living beneath the sea significantly reduces many challenges associated with space colonization, such as extreme isolation and resource scarcity. The proximity to land and established infrastructure, as well as the possibility for frequent interaction between surface dwellers and underwater residents, sets ocean colonization apart from the more distant and uncertain goal of space settlement.
1. Much Closer to “Home”
Leaving home, being unable to see family and friends, and losing touch with the familiar, are some of the main reasons why astronauts, much less normal people, would struggle with life on another planet like the moon. On the ocean floor, land, air, family, and other cities are much closer. It’s hard to make the choice to leave the familiar behind, this means that it is far more likely that an underwater colony will thrive versus one on another planet. Plus, the world on land and the world below the sea could easily interact with one another.
2. Solving Overpopulation: A Faster Alternative to Mars Colonization
As we are all well aware, colonizing space is going to be massively expensive and take decades. It is also common knowledge that as a species we are at a tipping point in regards to climate change. This means that faster, more decisive action is needed if we are looking for a way to decrease the population or at least the density of populations. The ocean floor could be that solution.
There are now 7.5 billion people on earth and scientists believe that the planet cannot support more than 9 or 10 billion successfully. This is due to the limitations of freshwater, the ability to support livestock and human beings, and the availability of fertile land. The ocean could, by some estimates, increase the space we have to live on Earth by 50%.
3. Protecting Humanity in Times of Disaster
As horrifying as it sounds, the human beings living on the ocean floor would likely be protected from any possible apocalyptic disasters that befall those living on land. At the very least, some human beings would survive safety within their underwater structures.
4. Learning to Survive in Space: What It Takes to Thrive Beyond Earth
One of the most notable benefits of learning how to live on the ocean floor is the experience and knowledge scientists would gain. This practical experience would make colonizing other planets easier. As previously stated, colonizing the ocean floor would be psychologically less challenging than colonizing another planet, but that doesn’t mean it would be easy. It is still likely that new inhabitants of the ocean floor colony would need time to adapt to their surroundings and would face some initial roadblocks to that occurring.
But, from that experience, much can be gained in terms of learning what it takes to travel a year or more in space, live on another planet millions of miles from home, and exist in a world where you cannot go outside without specialized equipment.
5. Easy Access to Food & Water
One of the more obvious, although perhaps overlooked reasons that colonizing the ocean floor would benefit humankind, especially compared to colonizing space, is the easy access to food. Creating a sustainable colony on Mars, or any other planet, that does not need regular shipments of supplies from Earth is one of the more challenging aspects of colonizing outer space. But, under the sea, that would not be a problem. Even if it did at some point prove to be challenging, perhaps after the colony had become firmly established, it would be much simpler (and cheaper) to send food down to the seafloor than millions of miles through space.
6. Advancement of Knowledge Like Never Before
It is a commonly quoted fact that humankind knows more about space than it does about the seafloor. An underwater colony would remedy this quickly with scientists being allowed unprecedented access to the minute to minute life of all creatures that live below the sea and bacteria .
7. Proximity
Life underwater has a variety of appeals for those of a scientific or exploration-based mindset. But, it also has something else to offer, especially compared to space-safety. It will be far easier to reach an underwater colony than to travel to space. Plus, as long as the colony is strategically positioned (such as in the Atlantic Ocean, near the equator), it will be safe from tsunamis and earthquakes.
Current Underwater Habitats
One of the biggest differences of life underwater is that science already has most of the technology it needs to make it happen. All that’s required is the desire to get it done. In fact, the Aquarius Reef Base, an underwater habitat, is proving that it is possible. The base is located in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, sitting at a depth of 62 feet on the ocean floor. It is actually one of three underwater laboratories in the world. The others are also located in Key Largo, Florida. Aquarius is used mostly by marine biologists as a home base for studying the coral reef it’s sitting next to, as well as the plants and fish that live nearby.
The base can support four scientists and two technicians for an average of ten days. The scientists, or “aquanauts,” who stay there go through a process known as saturation diving in which their body becomes saturated with dissolved gas, allowing them to stay underwater for prolonged periods of time and know exactly what they need to do to accurately decompress on their return to the surface. But it might not be feasible for larger underwater communities due to the challenges and obstacles we face for colonizing the ocean floor.
Environmental and Ethical Considerations
As ocean colonization technologies advance, there is an increasing need to address the environmental impact and ethical implications. Critics often view these developments as modern forms of colonization, raising concerns about environmental degradation, disruption of marine ecosystems, and the displacement of local communities. Sustainable practices and blue justice initiatives are essential to ensure that ocean colonization benefits humanity without causing harm to the environment or marginalized populations.
Marine life has evolved to thrive in the extreme conditions of the deep ocean floor, particularly around hydrothermal vents, where organisms harness nutrients from the Earth’s surface. Unlike marine species, humans lack the necessary biological adaptations to survive in such environments. Despite the efforts of scientists, including colleagues from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution , to understand the geology and biology of these unique ecosystems, colonizing the ocean floor remains impractical due to extreme pressure, the need for complex life support systems, and the significant costs involved.
