Considering the slowness of the Space Exploration thread, and the general lack of interest in our oceans period, this thread might not have got any traction in the best of times, but I thought I’d give it a try.
Scientists keep saying that we know more about the surface of the moon than we do about the surface of our own planet (the two thirds of it under the ocean(s).)
I think we need to explore at least our solar system, but we should also explore and colonize our oceans.
Anyone here old enough to remember Sealab II, and Scott Carpenter in the Sealab talking to Gordon Cooper who was aboard Gemini 5?
I’m all for exploring the oceans, just not too keen on large habitats. I don’t think we’re advanced enough to build them safely. But hey, that’s just me. Others may like the idea. So whatever floats their boat.
First you have the pressure issue. Exact opposite of space. Space wants to expand outward from the inside. Underwater wants to compress inward.
Then you have the water+salt+metal corrosion problem.
Looked at Google News: Science today and all the news is of course of space exploration.
No surprise there, ocean exploration has always taken a back seat to space exploration.
But I see there was an article from Earthsky entitled A rainforest in Antarctica during the age of dinosaurs. That’d have to do with paleooceanology, I supppose.
If you think of our coastal regions as part of oceanology, then we had record flooding of our coasts (the US) last year.
And although island human inhabitants are suffering thanks to loss of tourist income, perhaps their coastal and reef life is bouncing back…
