Science & Technology

Food crops grown in underwater biospheres

By T.K. Randall
July 6, 2015 ·  3 comments

The plants appear to thrive in their underwater biospheres. Image Credit: YouTube / OceanReefGroup Designed to enable crops to be grown in regions where traditional farming methods are impractical, the appropriately named "Nemo's Garden Project" has been running now for three years.

The plants are grown inside special self-contained biospheres which are anchored to the sea floor approximately 30ft underwater. Despite the unusual location the crops still receive a significant amount of sunlight from the surface and the temperature is maintained at a respectable 25C.

As the sea water evaporates it condenses on the inside of the biospheres which produces a humid environment for the crops to grow. Overall the setup is low cost and remarkably sustainable.So far the researchers have succeeded in growing several bunches of basil using the technique that have turned out to be almost identical to basil grown using traditional farming methods on land.

A video explaining the project in a little more detail can be viewed below.


Source: Gizmag | Comments (3)

Tags: Biosphere, Farming, Underwater