Secret Investor Is Building an Underwater City Right Now

Bright Side

There’s a secret investor who’s actually building a real underwater city right now. Yep, like something straight out of a sci-fi movie! The plan is to create a livable place deep under the ocean, with air, power, and even fancy tech to make it feel like home. Not much is known about who’s funding it, but it's supposed to be super high-tech and eco-friendly. Scientists are both excited and nervous, since living underwater could mess with marine life if it’s not done carefully. Still, if it works, this could be the start of humans living in the ocean one day!  Credit: Cousteau1972: By Hans Peters for Anefo, CC0 1.0, https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/ , https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cousteau1972_(cropped).jpg Animation is created by Bright Side.  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Music from TheSoul Sound: https://thesoul-sound.com/   Check our Bright Side podcast on Spotify and leave a positive review! https://open.spotify.com/show/0hUkPxD34jRLrMrJux4VxV  Subscribe to Bright Side: https://goo.gl/rQTJZz  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Our Social Media:  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brightplanet/  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brightside.official  TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@brightside.official?lang=en   Stock materials (photos, footages and other):  https://www.depositphotos.com  https://www.shutterstock.com  https://www.eastnews.ru  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  For more videos and articles visit: http://www.brightside.me  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  This video is made for entertainment purposes. We do not make any warranties about the completeness, safety and reliability. Any action you take upon the information in this video is strictly at your own risk, and we will not be liable for any damages or losses. It is the viewer's responsibility to use judgement, care and precaution if you plan to replicate.

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00:00You have about $130 million. What would you do with it? Fly into space or buy an island?

00:07There are many ways you can spend this much money, but one anonymous investor used it to build an extravagant underwater city.

00:16The project is not finished yet, and a lot of people are currently working really hard to make this crazy idea come to life.

00:23If all goes well, in the near future, living under the sea may become a reality.

00:30In the past century, there was a limestone quarry near the Welsh border in England.

00:36In the 1990s, it became flooded and turned into a lake 260 feet deep.

00:42Now, there's a large construction project going on around it.

00:47Trucks, transport materials, and people in overalls construct huge modules that look like giant futuristic submarines.

00:54These modules are called sentinels, and they will become the buildings of a small underwater city.

01:01Builders and engineers create durable stainless steel materials that allow these houses to withstand a depth of up to 650 feet.

01:10This is the upper limit of the twilight zone, where very little sunlight penetrates.

01:16Large squid and other creatures live in this zone.

01:18Imagine waking up in an underwater hotel room and seeing a giant squid staring at you from the dark.

01:26Or even worse, you see a huge eye watching you as you wake up.

01:30This could happen if sentinels were successfully installed in the depths of the ocean.

01:35Meanwhile, let's return to our project on a small lake.

01:39The project is called DEEP.

01:42Its goal is to make life underwater as comfortable as possible.

01:46Inside living modules, builders install bedrooms, kitchens, bathrooms, and observation windows.

01:52People will access them using small submarines.

01:55However, it's not as simple as calling a taxi.

01:58To live underwater, you need to train under the guidance of experienced instructors to test yourself in underwater life simulators.

02:05The cost of living there will likely be expensive, but it's worth it.

02:10At least you will be well-fed.

02:12A chef will develop a special menu, and all food will be stored in vacuum-sealed bags to preserve its flavor and nutrients.

02:20It all sounds great, but there's a question.

02:23Who is financing this project?

02:26No one knows the answer.

02:28DEEP is funded by a secret investor who has already spent more than $100 million.

02:33Interestingly, this is not the first attempt to create an underwater dwelling.

02:39For example, Jacques-Yves Cousteau, a famous diver-explorer, first created the Con Shelf 1 underwater house in 1962.

02:48This was a steel cylinder located at a depth of 30 feet, where two divers lived for a week.

02:54In 1970, several women also spent 14 days underwater in the Caribbean Sea at a depth of 50 feet.

03:02The aim of that project was to study human psychology in a cramped environment, similar to that of a spaceship.

03:10Unsurprisingly, that project was partly funded by NASA.

03:14Okay, we have windows overlooking marine life, delicious food, underwater parties, and solitude away from civilization.

03:23All these things sound cool, but if we put aside the fun part for a moment, is there any real benefit to it?

03:30Oh yeah, ocean exploration.

03:32Many marine biologists believe that the best way to explore the ocean is from within.

03:37Diving doesn't help much, since divers are limited by time and body needs.

03:42They can stay underwater for only about an hour and a half at a time.

03:46Underwater cities could allow us to live underwater for months.

03:50But the most important thing is long-term observation of marine life in its natural habitat.

03:54In the mid-1990s, a group of researchers wanted to study the development and nutrition of corals.

04:02They brought them to the lab for testing, and found out that corals reacted differently to tests in artificial environments than in the ocean.

04:10Their behavior in a laboratory setting was different from their behavior in the wild.

04:16Underwater cities could also provide work for archaeologists, who study the remains of ships that have sunk throughout history.

04:23Plus, such cities could help protect us from future disasters.

04:28In the event of a catastrophe like an earthquake, tsunami, or volcanic eruption, scientists and engineers could build water-based shelters,

04:36like the Subbiosphere 2 project, to provide refuge for people.

04:41These circular structures could sink into the ocean and give shelter for up to 50 or 100 people, allowing them to wait out the disaster from a safe distance.

04:50Underwater cities could be an excellent solution to overpopulation, but there are some downsides.

04:57We already pollute the world's oceans, and what if we literally lived inside them?

05:02It's one thing to use labs to study marine life, but it's another to build hotels for vacationers.

05:09One such hotel, called the Water Discus, is a building at a depth of no more than 32 feet.

05:15It will have 21 rooms and a restaurant with coral reef views.

05:20While the conditions seem comfortable, some experts worry that staying there for long periods could be harmful because of the lack of sunlight.

05:28Nevertheless, it would be interesting to stay there for a week and see how it feels.

05:32The most challenging aspect of creating such laboratories, hotels, and bunkers is ensuring a reliable life support and safety system.

05:42It's crucial that the air, humidity, and temperature be as comfortable as possible for people to live in these structures.

05:49However, this requires a significant amount of energy.

05:52Currently, all modern underwater buildings rely on external sources of energy located on the surface.

05:59But scientists plan to make future underwater projects fully autonomous, using kinetic energy from waves and powerful solar panels to generate power.

06:08It's also important to create the right structure for these buildings.

06:11Rather than covering an underwater city with a giant bubble, it's more efficient to create several large housing modules.

06:19Each module should consist of steel, glass, and special cement.

06:23Also, the depth shouldn't exceed 1,000 feet, since a deeper location would require thicker walls because of high water pressure.

06:32To load and move these residential modules safely, engineers can use ballast tanks.

06:37These are large containers, filled with water, which are used to pull the modules down deep into the ocean.

06:44Once in place, engineers can release the water from the tanks and fill them with air, causing the house to float back to the surface.

06:52And what about fresh air?

06:54Fish extract oxygen from the water using their gills, but this method is obviously not suitable for humans.

07:01Therefore, we need to deliver air from the surface.

07:03It can be piped into the city and mixed with a special substance called sodasorb, which reacts with carbon dioxide and removes it.

07:13It would be great if we could generate oxygen inside our underwater cities rather than relying on other sources.

07:20This would require farms and plants that can produce oxygen through photosynthesis.

07:25But instead of sunlight, these plants would use artificial light.

07:28If we talk about complete autonomy, people could get food from the water at any moment.

07:35Put on scuba gear, a mask, and an oxygen tank, and leave the hotel through an airlock.

07:41Use harpoons and fishing nets to catch dinner.

07:44Remember to check your oxygen reserves and don't swim for too long.

07:48Frying fish in a pan won't work because of strong odors.

07:51In an underwater dwelling, air is static like in an airplane cabin, so odors become stronger.

07:58Maybe in the future, engineers will create a dedicated cooking area, but for now, you'll have to rely on canned and dehydrated food.

08:07If you get bored, go for an underwater walk.

08:10Instead of carrying oxygen tanks, use hollow tubes connecting your mask to an air source inside your home.

08:16But don't forget that you can't go too far because the length of the tube is limited.

08:21Air, food, safe construction.

08:24What else?

08:25Drinking water.

08:27In the future, scientists may create filters in these hotels that desalinate salt water.

08:32This water can be extracted from the condensation inside the hotel, as well as from human secretions.

08:39Don't be surprised.

08:40Astronauts, for example, have been using special technology to filter their liquids and turn them into drinking water for a long time.

08:50That's it for today.

08:51So hey, if you pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like and share it with your friends.

08:56Or if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the bright side.

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