Scott Gerhardt
Engr 350
Challenge definition/ technical merit
12/7/9
Challenge Definition/ Technical Merit
Deep water aqua-culture has the ability to provide a sustainable high quality food source
to both existing populations and the burgeoning growth of the coming centuries. While affixing massive amounts of carbon dioxide that is contributing to threats to our way of life such as oceanic acidification and global climate change. Modeled on naturally occurring systems infrastructure could be constructed and implemented to
optimize the ocean. Reducing uncertainty
and avoiding catastrophe, such as the current anthropogenic system of overfishing which threatens both human and fish populations; as well as regulating
hypoxic (kidwell, S2) dead zones, such
as those located off the coast of Oregon, where the turnover in ocean water is
naturally excessive to the point that the algae removes the oxygen leaving no
possibility for the natural system to continue.
This proposed design is based loosely on the combines that rule agrarian communities. Originally designed to
combine different steps in the harvest process, reduce labor, and improve production
and efficiency they were modeled on cheap fuel; but now these behemoths are not
currently congruent with sustainability. This deep water aquaculture platform would combine modern fisheries with natural
ecological systems to provide consistent fuel(food) at the source. By using infrastructure to reduce the
uncertainty of the system in a number of ways:
Regulating the flow of the deep nutrient rich water from the aphotic
zone (Beckman, 8) to the surface to sustain algae blooms through piping powered
by wave action; netting to both contain and protect fish; and aerators to
maintain appropriate oxygen content to ensuring algae, phytoplankton, protozoa,
krill, shrimp survival, as well as any higher order consumers as market demands
adjust. The materials used to construct the systems could have a copper plating to minimize marine fouling and/or an iron plating to 'seed' the nutrient rich water as the iron corrodes and enters the solution (ocean). thereby allowing for a time release control.
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| http://web.stagram.com/p/603741662152749412_3808579 via NASA Goddard |
Traditional aquaculture has issues with product quality directly related to the unnatural
source.(Hacero-Cruzado) It also has
issues with disease due to the lack of water flow which has been battled with
antibiotics (Löfgren, 1808) and
imported species which have become invasive.
It also destroys or occupies valuable coastal ecologies. Deep water aquaculture has none of these
issues. It would however require
research into the material science necessary to support the webbing/netting
containing the fish, the concrete used to reduce calcium loss and maintain
integrity, and the material to be used for the pipe/tube that would have to
maintain operation at great depth and in dynamic oceanic currents. The returns can be quantified economically
although it is currently indeterminate as to the initial investment cost as far
as construction is concerned. It would
require research into ecological engineering to maximize the output and define
the order of magnitude for implementation.
Choosing the appropriate organisms to foster could be the difference in
terms of viability short and long term.
But by choosing the suitable organisms some of the pollution in the
ocean may be removed rather than being passed on to the next higher consumer,
humans. There would also be issues
concerning the survivability of deep water infrastructure given the areas where
they would be most viable happen to coincide with tropical depressions,
hurricanes, which provide the same obstacles to other boats and oil
platforms. The most important lessons
are yet to be learned and require flexibility in and of understanding as
implemented in all the fields requiring continued research. This methodology was not conceived forward from technology or complex strategies. Instead this idea grew backward from the needs of humanity and the planet Earth in order to design the most efficient and simplest system possible.
Works cited:
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