As rising sea levels pose an increasing threat to island dwellers, a Japanese civil engineering company has come up with an ambitious solution: an underwater city.
The proposed Ocean Spiral would consist of a large sphere just below the surface and about 546 yards in diameter, occupied by homes, businesses, and hotels.
Under that, a spiraling structure leading down to the sea floor would provide a way for scientists to extract resources for energy.
In a statement to The Guardian, Shimizu Corp spokesman Hideo Imamura said, "This is a real goal, not a pipe dream."
Shimizu's vision for the self-sustaining underwater city involves converting carbon dioxide into methane with the help of micro-organisms, as well as a process called ocean thermal energy conversion.
Based on the company's plans, Ocean Spiral would cost 3 trillion yen, or over $24 billion USD, and take five years to construct, though Shimizu acknowledges that the technology required to undertake such a project isn't available yet.
"The Astro Boy cartoon character had a mobile phone long before they were actually invented – in the same way, the technology and knowhow we need for this project will become available," said Imamura.
Shimizu estimates about 15 years until then.
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