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What's not even mentioned in the article is that this could protect the entire Mediterranean coast line against rising sea levels[1]. [1] https://link.springer
by wcoenen 10y ago
What's not even mentioned in the article is that this could protect the entire Mediterranean coast line against rising sea levels[1].
[1] https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11069-015-1821-8 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11069-015-1821-8
- pmontra 10y agoI was thinking the same. We'd need only the dam of Gibraltar for that and let enough water in to compensate evaporation. The article includes a warning about long term increases of salinity and the need to pump salty water from the deep layers of the Mediterranean to the Atlantic.
- jsprogrammer 10y agoHow would sea creatures get in and out?
- GunboatDiplomat 10y agoThat seems like a minor objection.
- jsprogrammer 10y agoWhat do you mean?
- bskdjx 10y agoI don't think many, if any, cross it as it is. Not as a necessity in their life cycle anyway. The strait is really narrow, with really strong currents and a huge change in salinity. Not fun.
- pmontra 10y agoI didn't think about this. A quick search and I found one population of tuna that live in the Atlantic and breeds in the Mediterranean http://www.treehugger.com/clean-technology/unraveling-the-secrets-of-the-tunas-migration-routes.html http://www.treehugger.com/clean-technology/unraveling-the-se... Probably they're not the only sea creatures that cross Gibraltar so this is a concern. Non a minor objection, but one among the many that would be raised. Think also about the political and military implications of a bridge from Africa to Europe.
- roel_v 10y agoFish catapults?
- btilly 10y agoIf you pumped all of the Mediterranean into the rest of the world oceans, that would raise sea level about 7.4 meters. (The volume of the Mediterranean is about 3,750,000 km^3, the surface area of the rest of the world oceans is about 507,500,000 km^2.) I think a few existing coastal cities might object...
- jsprogrammer 10y agoAlternatively, you could pump the water to land for desalination and agriculture.
- GunboatDiplomat 10y agoWhere do you think the water goes after being consumed by humans or plants?
- jessaustin 10y agoIf we're talking about fantasy-scale ecological modifications, there's no reason to ever turn off the pumps, is there?
- dghughes 10y agoYes we do! I live on a small island that's just above sea level and of course the main city and other towns are on the coast. We'd lose about 50% of the land here.
- wcoenen 10y agoSorry, I was unclear. By "this", I just meant the dam across the strait of Gibraltar. That would allow the Mediterranean sea to be kept at its current level. I was not referring to the plan to drain the whole Mediterranean.