New vision sees vertical connection with deep sea

Japanese Shimizu Corporation issued an infographic, illustrating a “Deep Sea Future City Concept”, creating a new interface between humankind and the deep sea, the earth’s final frontier.

As explained, approximately 70% of the earth’s surface is covered by the ocean, and the ocean itself consists of approximately 80% deep sea. The deep sea offers enormous potential for ensuring effective and appropriate cycles and processes in the earth’s biosphere, however, humans have yet to make the most of this potential.

This large-scale concept seeks to take advantage of the limitless possibilities of the deep sea by linking together vertically the air, sea surface, deep sea, and sea floor, the company explained.

The deep sea offers the potential to resolve five current crises revolving around food energy, water, carbon dioxide and natural resources:

• Food : fisheries, both in quantity and quality
• Energy : untapped energy
• Water : creating fresh water
• CO2 : treating CO2 emissions
• Natural Resources : limitless volume of resources available on the sea floor and in the sea itself

Breaking free from past patterns of land development, which have focused mainly on efficiency, this plan is intended to promote true sustainability while maximizing use of the deep sea’s resources.