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Financing an undersea station

financing an undersea station

(Updated 15.12.2019; added new aspects for daily turnover) The most professional underwater habitat so far is still the Aquarius habitat in Florida. This quality comes to a certain price of $1.2 to $3 million per year. Due to budget cuts, NOAA ceased funding Aquarius habitat after September 2012, with no further missions scheduled after a July 2012 mission. It was a very exciting period having the facility on risk. It took until January 2013 when a proposal to keep Aquarius running under Florida International University administration was accepted. What could we do in future projects to avoid sooner or later close-downs by lacks of financing? Continue reading “Financing an undersea station”

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Habitat Entrance

The moonpool of habitat Hydrolab
Moonpool of Hydrolab

(Updated 06.07.2019; added access space details, feature list and first sketch) Surely one of the most complicated area of an underwater structure for human occupation is the habitat entrance. It is the local water-air interface, vulnerable to changes in pressure by tidal movements on the surface of the sea; its hatches have to bare potential pressure differences between the habitat interior and the surrounding water; no object that is only a little bigger than the greatest diameter of the entrance can be brought into the habitat. It is constantly wet and humid and the only gateway for medical assistance. But to see in detail let’s have a look at the different sections of the entrance complex. Continue reading “Habitat Entrance”

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Branch & Bound

(Guest article by user Mike, thanks for contributing) By common definition, Branch & Bound is a mathematical algorithm to solve integer optimization problems. But simplified versions of Branch & Bound are also applied to find best fitting technical solutions manually. It is a useful tool for making fundamental decisions, such as the selection of a synthesis route during the project development of a new chemical factory complex.

In the context of CalamarPark, the design of the underwater habitat is such a fundamental decision: Should it be small or large? To operate at what depth? Ambient or atmospheric pressure? A certain design might be perfect at one location, but only second choice at another. Continue reading “Branch & Bound”

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HUNUC

The following article was published by CalamarPark on Wikipedia in German. Feel free to correct grammar mistakes of this translation and publish it on Wikipedia in English. The illustration has also been made available by CalamarPark and is accessible on Wikimedia under the Creative Commons Licence [CC BY-SA 4.0].

HUNUC (abbreviation for Habitat of the University of Natal Underwater Club) was South Africas first underwater laboratory. However, the facility was destroyed shortly after its positioning due to conceptual errors and bad weather conditions. Continue reading “HUNUC”

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Underwater Navigation

The danger of excursion divers getting lost have always been a major concern in underwater habitats. According to their webpage the Dive Tracker consists of a sender and a tracker. From a distance of up to 4000ft (?1300m) divers can easily track the direction of the sender’s signal and return to their safe location. Costs: from 1200USD per set. (Homepage Dive Tracker).

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BIOSMHARS

Bacteria isolated in dairy product (representative image)BIOSMHARS was a 2-year (2011-2013) research project co-funded by the European Commission under FP7. It was the first phase of a joint EU-Russia research effort to develop the scientific and technical tools for a comprehensive approach to the challenging issue of biocontamination inside manned spacecrafts. (project page; final report as pdf)

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Undersea Station Draft No.4: Hangar

Undersea Station Draft No.4; Module 1; overview
Module 1; overview (preliminary rendering; V26-04-2018)

Update 27.04.2018: added new renderings) So far the final draft follows the hangar shape. Having a look at the evaluation list in the ‘Structural Shape‘ chapter it seems like the ideal shape for the undersea station.

Because of the sand used as variable ballast and the space under the station the structure is easily removable by just releasing the sand. No harmful materials or items would be left behind which serves the ecological idea. Continue reading “Undersea Station Draft No.4: Hangar”

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Living and Working in the Sea

Living and Working in the Sea(For English please scroll down) (Update 17.01.) Nachdem wir uns mit Dr. Jim Miller und Ian Koblick auf eine Übersetzung ihres Buches ‘Living and Working in the Sea’ ins Deutsche und insbesondere vom anglo-amerikanischen ins metrische Maßsystem geeinigt haben, können wir nun bekanntgeben, dass die Übersetzung inzwischen abgeschlossen ist. Momentan arbeiten wir an der Durchsicht und hoffen, in Kürze die Veröffentlichung beginnen zu können. Mit letzterem ist innerhalb der nächsten zwei Monate zu rechnen. Continue reading “Living and Working in the Sea”

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