Octopus's Garden? Underwater Greenhouses Thrive
Nemo’s Garden
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Artist Nickolay Lamm has depicted a number of U.S. cities as they would look under 12 feet of sea-level rise.
US Cities Under 12 Feet of Sea-Level Rise: Photos
Artist Nickolay Lamm has depicted a number of U.S. cities as they would look under 12 feet of sea-level rise. That projection, based on data from the organization Climate Central, is right in the middle of several forecasts that report that Antarctic glaciers are starting to collapse. Above, Boston Harbor at 12-feet of sea-level rise. 5 Myths About Antarctic Melt
Nickolay Lamm (nickolaylamm.com). Data: Climate Centra (climatecentral.org)
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With 12 feet of additional ocean, water rises up the steps to the the Jefferson Memorial. NEWS: West Antarctic Ice Sheet Has Begun To Collapse
Nickolay Lamm (nickolaylamm.com). Data: Climate Centra (climatecentral.org)
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Liberty Island is mostly submerged in this view of New York Harbor. PHOTOS: Global Warming Right Before Your Eyes
Nickolay Lamm (nickolaylamm.com). Data: Climate Centra (climatecentral.org)
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Seawater runs through Ocean Drive in Miami, a major thoroughfare in South Beach. War Of The Words: Climate Change Or Global Warming?
Nickolay Lamm (nickolaylamm.com). Data: Climate Centra (climatecentral.org)
View Caption + #5: Harvard's campus in Cambridge, Mass.
Nickolay Lamm (nickolaylamm.com). Data: Climate Centra (climatecentral.org)
View Caption + #6: The Citadel in Charleston, S.C.
DNews Global Warming Videos
Nickolay Lamm (nickolaylamm.com). Data: Climate Centra (climatecentral.org)
View Caption + #7: At&T Park in San Francisco
BLOG: Dire Outlook for Climate Impacts, New Report Says
Nickolay Lamm (nickolaylamm.com). Data: Climate Centra (climatecentral.org)
As counter-intuitive ideas go, this one’s hard to beat: Instead of raising crops on land — where they’ve been growing for, you know, millions of years — how about growing them underwater, in the ocean?
It seems bonkers, but that’s exactly what’s happening off the coast of Italy at Nemo’s Garden, an experimental botanical facility in which fruits and vegetables are grown in balloon-like biospheres anchored to the sea floor.
Assembled by the Italian diving company Ocean Reef Group, the garden is made up of five structures that resemble old-fashioned diving bells. Air is trapped under a transparent dome suspended beneath the waves, with rings of shelving along the interior housing soil beds for fruits and vegetables.
The set-up has several advantages for the plants. The underwater temperature remains more or less constant, and water evaporation within the biosphere provides an atmosphere rich in humidity and carbon dioxide.
Due to weather conditions (and government permits), the garden can only be maintained for four months out of the year — from around May through September.
Storms have overturned the biospheres several times, but the Ocean Reef team reports that growth rates are radically accelerated due to the optimal growing conditions. Equipment mounted within the biospheres provide live videoand datafeeds.
For now, the gardens are being maintained as a kind of experimental test site, with small-yield crops including strawberries, lettuce and beans. The group has plans to expand the program with other crops, especially mushrooms, which the researchers anticipate would thrive in the humid environment.
Besides the designated divers (heh), Nemo’s Garden is also attracting other visitors — like crabs and octopuses, who seem to like taking shelter under the structures. Wouldn’t Ringobe proud.
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