[Igor Antunov]

And partially draining the Mediterranean sea?

Clearly all countries and regions with a border to the sea would benefit immensely. This new land would be very fertile. Plus it would protect all these coastal regions from global warms/rising sea levels.

It's nothing new, but it's a very realistic idea in practical terms, only politics keeps it unrealized.

[Potemkin]

It's been done before, by Nature about five and a half million years ago:

Messinian Salinity Crisis

If the Mediterranean dries out, it would have a devastating effect on farming in Europe. All that salt blowing around on the wind....

[B0ycey]

And partially draining the Mediterranean sea?

Clearly all countries and regions with a border to the sea would benefit immensely. This new land would be very fertile. Plus it would protect all these coastal regions from global warms/rising sea levels.

It's nothing new, but it's a very realistic idea in practical terms, only politics keeps it unrealized.

I remember reading about this before. It would effect the Gulf Stream which keeps Europe warm. Not that salt has been known for fertile land I might add. And I suspect coastal regions will like... well the sea. And sure, the Med might not have to worry about the sea rising. But the Netherlands, Florida and basically all low level lands around the world are fucked given the sea water doesn't just disappear because you have dammed it up. So sure, it maybe political, but there is more to politics to this anyway. There is the cost, practically and the climate to consider as well.

[late]

This should be studied intensely, before we decide not to do it..

[AFAIK]

It would be a huge vulnerability. Millions of homes and businesses would be at risk of destruction from a single failure point.

[Igor Antunov]

It would be a huge vulnerability. Millions of homes and businesses would be at risk of destruction from a single failure point.

Well the dam would not be a traditional structure. Think of it more like a really long artificial island, i.e the strait would be filled in. No real way to compromise that short of digging it out again.

[Potemkin]

Well the dam would not be a traditional structure. Think of it more like a really long artificial island, i.e the strait would be filled in. No real way to compromise that short of digging it out again.

Creating an artificial salinity crisis in the Mediterranean while simultaneously raising the sea level of the rest of the world's oceans by up to 10 metres would provoke "political implications" alright....

[Igor Antunov]

Creating an artificial salinity crisis in the Mediterranean while simultaneously raising the sea level of the rest of the world's oceans by up to 10 metres would provoke "political implications" alright....

False until proven true bro.

The benefits would outweigh the risks. Like the covid vaxx right?

[wat0n]

I'd actually say you need the political implications to actually happen before ever building that kind of thing. How could you do it without integrating Morocco into the project, and likely the EU?

[Godstud]

13 km across is one large dam.

Where are you going to drain the water to?


Do you realize how long it would take to drain the Med. Sea? 4,390,000 cubic km of water.

[Potemkin]

13 km across is one large dam.

Where are you going to drain the water to?

It would evaporate, @Godstud.

Do you realize how long it would take to drain the Med. Sea? 4,390,000 cubic km of water.

It would take less than one thousand years for the entire Mediterrean basin to evaporate. That's all of it, all the way down to the bottom. @Igor Antunov is talking about much less water, between 100m and 200m. A few decades would be enough to drain that through evaporation.

[AFAIK]

How large would the locks have to be to allow ships to navigate a 200m drop in elevation? Is this even possible? Seems like it would do more harm than good even by Igor's standards.

[Igor Antunov]

More land opens up a new resource base for europe it would be epic.

[Rancid]

DO IT!

[Patrickov]

Well you need something powerful enough to drain the place first...

But be careful...

[Potemkin]

More land opens up a new resource base for europe it would be epic.

That new land would be covered in salt and therefore almost completely infertile. Not to mention the fact that all that salt blowing in the wind would cover the whole of Europe's farmland under a thick layer of salt, with devastating consequences for agriculture. The Suez Canal would also become useless, since it would now be 200 metres above the lowered Mediterranean Sea. How many huge locks would that take to get an oil tanker into the Med, @Igor Antunov?

And if it's more land we want, then just invading Russia would probably be more cost-effective and lead to fewer deaths. It would probably have a better chance of success as well. Lol.

[wat0n]

So what would you give to Morocco (and possibly all North African countries) in exchange for this dam, @Igor Antunov?

[Prosthetic Conscience]

It was a shit idea and thread in 2012
viewtopic.php?f=70&t=138149
and in 2013
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=149390
and this year's OP has even less effort in it.

[Igor Antunov]

That new land would be covered in salt and therefore almost completely infertile. Not to mention the fact that all that salt blowing in the wind would cover the whole of Europe's farmland under a thick layer of salt, with devastating consequences for agriculture. The Suez Canal would also become useless, since it would now be 200 metres above the lowered Mediterranean Sea. How many huge locks would that take to get an oil tanker into the Med, @Igor Antunov?

And if it's more land we want, then just invading Russia would probably be more cost-effective and lead to fewer deaths. It would probably have a better chance of success as well. Lol.

Western europe needs energy first and foremost. So much coal in that basin.

And good luck with russia. Both nappy and hitler got their shit pushed in. Who's lucky no.3?

[Potemkin]

Western europe needs energy first and foremost. So much coal in that basin.

And good luck with russia. Both nappy and hitler got their shit pushed in. Who's lucky no.3?

Did I say invading Russia would be a good idea? It's an absolutely terrible idea. But it's a better idea than this. Some German maniac in the 1920s came up with a hare-brained scheme even crazier than Nazism, and you want to run with it?