BBC Learnings · Section 7

Could humans live in underwater cities

From the ancient Roman sea god Neptune, to myths of mermaids, to modern Hollywood films like Finding Nemo,

Level: C1 · 111 sentences

Transcript

  1. From the ancient Roman sea god Neptune, to myths of mermaids,
  2. to modern Hollywood films like Finding Nemo,
  3. people throughout history have been fascinated
  4. by the idea of living underwater.
  5. In this programme we'll be hearing
  6. about projects to create liveable underwater habitats.
  7. and the challenges they face.
  8. We'll be finding out how realistic it is to believe
  9. that in a few years we could be eating breakfast
  10. whilst watching fish swim outside the kitchen
  11. window before heading off to work
  12. in an office under the ocean.
  13. And we'll be learning some related vocabulary as well.
  14. But first, it's time for our quiz question.
  15. One of the first adventure stories to fire
  16. the public's imagination about the underwater world
  17. was the 1870 novel 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.
  18. But who wrote this underwater classic?
  19. Was it a HG Wells,
  20. b Arthur Conan Doyle or c Jules Verne?
  21. Oh, I think I know this one, Neil.
  22. Wasn't it a HG Wells?
  23. OK, Rob, we'll find out later if you're right.
  24. Now, one of the most ambitious designs
  25. for an underwater city is Ocean Spiral,
  26. a huge transparent globe attached to the seabed,
  27. the solid ground which lies deep below the sea level.
  28. The top of the globe stands
  29. above the surface of the ocean
  30. and running through the centre is a tower
  31. to add strength and to provide space for homes,
  32. offices and even an amusement park for 5,000 underwater residents.
  33. Ocean Spiral has been dreamt up by the Japanese Shimizu Corporation.
  34. Here's Shimizu engineer Maksaki Takeuchi explaining
  35. to BBC World Service programme CrowdScience the motivation behind the idea.
  36. At the moment, the world is facing a lot
  37. of serious problems regarding food, energy, water, natural resources.
  38. However, we are trying to solve
  39. the issues just by using our land.
  40. Our idea is to connect the sea surface
  41. and the deep sea vertically and that way we
  42. believe that we can utilize the capability of the deep sea
  43. and that's the purpose of this whole project.
  44. The effects of human activity on the land
  45. have led some to look to the oceans for natural resources.
  46. naturally existing things such as minerals, oil,
  47. coal and other energy sources that can be used by people.
  48. This search deep underwater is happening vertically,
  49. at a 90 degree angle straight
  50. up or down from the ground,
  51. as opposed to horizontally or flat across the Earth's surface.
  52. But as yet, Shimizu Corporation's plans for an underwater city
  53. are still in the planning stages.
  54. No part of the project has yet been built
  55. and the total cost is thought to exceed $26 billion.
  56. In fact, the longest anyone has spent living
  57. under the sea is only 73 days.
  58. That record was set by Roger Garcia,
  59. ex-military diver and head of the Aquarius,
  60. currently the world's only underwater research station.
  61. Here's Roger Garcia explaining to BBC World Service programme CrowdScience
  62. what happens to the human body
  63. after living underwater for so long.
  64. Perhaps a change in their voice.
  65. Not much because we're not very deep.
  66. That's because the air becomes denser.
  67. Physiologically, the most important thing, though,
  68. is that since you are, in this case,
  69. at two and a half times atmospheric pressure,
  70. you do take on more inert gas.
  71. And in this case, since inside
  72. the Aquarius we just breathe normal air,
  73. you're going to take on more nitrogen.
  74. And depending on how long you stay in the Aquarius,
  75. that's going to incur some sort of decompression obligation.
  76. In addition to engineering challenges, living underwater for long periods
  77. of time also affects the human body.
  78. One example is the bends or decompression sickness,
  79. a serious medical disorder created by nitrogen
  80. bubbles in the muscles when returning
  81. to the surface of the sea too quickly.
  82. The bends and changes to the voice are examples
  83. of how underwater living changes the body physiologically,
  84. relating to how the bodies of living humans and animals function.
  85. As divers descend deep below the ocean's surface,
  86. there is an increase in atmospheric pressure –
  87. the normal air pressure within the Earth's atmosphere.
  88. The deeper they dive, the higher the pressure.
  89. Physiological reactions like the bends are caused
  90. by divers incorrectly readjusting to normal atmospheric pressure.
  91. Well Neil, with so many difficulties,
  92. it's no surprise that HG Wells' fantasy of living
  93. under the sea is still science fiction.
  94. Ah, but are you sure it was HG Wells, Rob?
  95. In my quiz question I asked you
  96. who wrote the classic underwater adventure 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea?
  97. Yes, and I said a HG Wells.
  98. Which was the wrong answer.
  99. It was in fact c Jules Verne,
  100. the French author who also wrote
  101. Around the World in 80 Days.
  102. In this programme we've been discussing the challenge
  103. of living underwater – going down vertically
  104. at a 90 degree angle to the seabed,
  105. the solid ground hundreds of metres under the sea.
  106. Ocean explorers search underwater for natural resources,
  107. useful materials like coal and oil.
  108. But they face many physiological problems,
  109. problems relating to how the human body functions, such as the bends,
  110. a painful medical condition caused by returning too quickly to atmospheric pressure,
  111. the Earth's usual air pressure.