6. Oceanic Project:

Image: One potential  layout of a community of platforms. The Green platform represents Agriculture, the Yellow platforms represent Community/living areas. The red signifies the center of the community. The ring platforms without water are deep water Mariculture, the ones with water signify closed mariculture systems, the gray platforms with lower sides to  the sea represent docks/marina and the dark purple platform represents  a platforms most likely given over to  industry, a processing facility for mariculture would most likely be the initial use of this platform.

Putting it all together:

A circle of 7 hexagonal platforms will have a radius of about 2600 feet about half a mile. Called a neighborhood. Within each neighborhood are designed food production, commerce, industry and residential units. Although each neighborhood could be its own self-sufficient community, it is expected that stringing together several neighborhoods will create chains or rings of communities. It is possible to connect endless neighborhoods together covering hundreds if not thousands of square miles. However consideration must be taken for the natural environment and only a few neighborhoods will be connected together 5 to ten in a cluster placed together to create an eco friendly habitat. Communities 1 to 2 miles in length and width should be expected; surrounding those would be ocean farms growing corals, kelps, and algae, possessing net enclosures holding various species of schooling fish.

The extent of the latter (mariculture platforms) may be up to twice the size of the “land” based platforms. Ideally the mariculture/fish farming and oceanic-based platforms would encircle the land based residential, industrial and agricultural platforms. Not only for the purpose of raising marine life for use, but also acting in part as break water and a buffer between the open ocean and the more delicate land platforms.

The initial colony will contain 7 “land” platforms at the center around the circle would be 6 shallow water fish/mariculture ponds, separated by 3 deep water or open platforms and 3 sea level platforms which would be built up as needed and would be on the ocean side used as docking and marina.

In total there would be 19 platforms having a diameter of 3500 feet to 4000 or 4330 feet.

As the first community would grow more, shallow water and open water mariculture platforms would be added.  One of the Project Goals is to create an industry of mariculture. This objective would require that at least 12 enclosed or shallow mariculture platforms be used and at least 6 deep water platforms.

This would form a roughly triangular community roughly 4763 in from side to corner or a side 5000’ long, nearly but not quite a mile, composed of 28 platforms.

Since the communities will be in deep ocean water, it is expected that sea anchoring over ocean bed anchoring will be used. The size and the draw of the platforms connected together will further anchor the community in one geographic location. Further, the use of deep-sea pipes to extract cold water from the ocean depths for the use of Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) power plant for power production and condensation of fresh water out of the tropical air will provide deep ocean sea anchors in and of themselves.

In all likely hood specialization of platforms will move from specific uses, residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural uses can all be combined on each platform.

Such a model may include using the lower “sea level” deck for industrial purposes (manufacture) with terraced buildings up top that are roofed with small “farms”. Agriculture being the problematic aspect of the platforms since there will be a need to control and work the crop in as efficient of manner with as few tools as possible.  Although robotics and smaller farm machines may provide a means for mass farming many smaller plots of “land” in future, it is expected that the initial platforms will do most of the labor with off the shelf equipment and labor.

 Image: Similar to the one at the top of this page, this one focuses more on mariculture having more platforms dedicated to the purpose of farming marine plants and fish.

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