Would this idea ever work, A reservoir in space

[Luckyflux]

So I was thinking about the rising sea levels and I was wondering what can be done about it. I know the technology is not here yet to do something this, but is this idea even plausible?

Can a giant reservoir be built in space to hold ocean water? I was thinking about some kind of modular holding array, that has removable "reservoirs" or tanks that can be filled with water. So this thing is built in space and then water is pumped out of the ocean and into this holding tank in space. Or the tank is filled on the planet and then sent into orbit.

The point of the removable containers is to scale with the amount of water needed. We can add more holding tanks to the array if needed, or detach certain reservoirs to use somewhere else, like transporting a container of water to the Moon, or Mars if possible.

The idea is that we can maintain whatever sea level we would want by draining water from the oceans and depositing it in space, where we can save it for a later use.

Do you think that is a good idea, or was I too high?

 

[farmkid]

I think the energy required to do this would make it too impractical. It would probably be simpler and less energy expensive to simply dredge material out of the ocean bottom and build mountains out of it. That would also lower the sea level. It would require an enormous amount of energy, but probably less than boosting the same volume of water into space.

 

[Mr. B]

An orbital solar shield would be considerably easier to build and solve the same "problem."

 

[diankra]

Really not a sensible idea: the environmental damage caused by the launchs needed to get enough water into orbit to make a difference to sea levels would be counter-productive (unless, possibly, you can do it by space elevator. But I think a global political agreement to deal with global warming is more likely than building one of those in time to make a difference).
And long term: it's a very bad idea. Water is one of the most important resources for a carbon-based ecosystem like ours. Any orbital reservoir would leak, bit by bit, and be lost into space; in the meantime, that water is removed from the Earth's eco-cycle. That water in the sea gets evaporated, gets carried on winds (and helps power them) and eventually gets rained on fertile soil. Not a good idea to remove it, however many cities get flooded as an alternative.

 

[USS KG5]

There are inifinitely easier ways of solving the same problem, and we would be hard pushed to build anything remotely like this with our current level of technology.

 

[John Picard]

So I was thinking about the rising sea levels and I was wondering what can be done about it. I know the technology is not here yet to do something this, but is this idea even plausible?

Can a giant reservoir be built in space to hold ocean water? I was thinking about some kind of modular holding array, that has removable "reservoirs" or tanks that can be filled with water. So this thing is built in space and then water is pumped out of the ocean and into this holding tank in space. Or the tank is filled on the planet and then sent into orbit.

The point of the removable containers is to scale with the amount of water needed. We can add more holding tanks to the array if needed, or detach certain reservoirs to use somewhere else, like transporting a container of water to the Moon, or Mars if possible.

The idea is that we can maintain whatever sea level we would want by draining water from the oceans and depositing it in space, where we can save it for a later use.

Do you think that is a good idea, or was I too high?

What rising sea levels?

 

[Trekker4747]

There are inifinitely easier ways of solving the same problem, and we would be hard pushed to build anything remotely like this with our current level of technology.

Yeah, it'd be infinitely easier to have a global piping system to pipe water from "wet" areas of the planet to dry ones.

 

[All Seeing Eye]

So I was thinking about the rising sea levels and I was wondering what can be done about it. I know the technology is not here yet to do something this, but is this idea even plausible?

Can a giant reservoir be built in space to hold ocean water? I was thinking about some kind of modular holding array, that has removable "reservoirs" or tanks that can be filled with water. So this thing is built in space and then water is pumped out of the ocean and into this holding tank in space. Or the tank is filled on the planet and then sent into orbit.

The point of the removable containers is to scale with the amount of water needed. We can add more holding tanks to the array if needed, or detach certain reservoirs to use somewhere else, like transporting a container of water to the Moon, or Mars if possible.

The idea is that we can maintain whatever sea level we would want by draining water from the oceans and depositing it in space, where we can save it for a later use.

Do you think that is a good idea, or was I too high?

I think THIS IDEA is far more feasible.

My second idea is HERE

My third idea is HERE.

My fourth idea is HERE.

 

[Luckyflux]

Wow, I wonder if we have the same dealer?

Do you know a big black guy named Mother?

 

[JarodRussell]

My fourth idea is HERE.

That idea is actually pretty ugly, because you'd be poisoning the entire land with artificial rivers of salt water.

 

[Meredith]

Just damn the bloody Mediterranean until it backs up into the Sahara desert.....

Building a giant earthen and rock damn across the straight of Gibraltar would be easy and even doable with today's technology.

We can mine away a mountain the size of the straight to get to coal, we can plug it up enough to back up all of the water into the Mediterranean...

In some parts the Sahara is actually below sea level so we could just build pipes to there as well to reduce seal levels.

 

[All Seeing Eye]

Hey wait a minute I just thought of something. All this talk of carbon capture what about water capture?? instead of pumping pollution down into the depleted oil fields why not pump water down there??

I'm sure it would pollute that water with oil but it still gets rid of the water and perhaps future technology will allow us to one day clean that water up if ever we needed it pumping back out.

My fourth idea is HERE.

That idea is actually pretty ugly, because you'd be poisoning the entire land with artificial rivers of salt water.

Build desalination plants. Hey if it lowers the sea level it's worth it.

 

[USS KG5]

There are inifinitely easier ways of solving the same problem, and we would be hard pushed to build anything remotely like this with our current level of technology.

Yeah, it'd be infinitely easier to have a global piping system to pipe water from "wet" areas of the planet to dry ones.

Well it would, but it would also be much easier just to not live in places where there is no water, or where there is too much.

Originally human settlement occurred in areas where life was easier, where there was ample fresh water, good soil for growing and raising food, and solid ground for building.

These days people seem to expect to be able to exist and change the world where they are right now to suit their needs. This might not be possible any more as the climate changes.

 

[Australis]

Not fussed on the idea of pumping water into old oil wells. We have enough problem with overpolluted water already.

And on the OP: water is very heavy. To get that much up into space would be hugely expensive, impossibly expensive.

My idea: desalination plants and then pumping it inland or into water reservoirs. The energy to do any ofd the others would be alot more than this.

That said, solving global warming might be a better idea in the long term.

 

[Luckyflux]

I think we are naive to think that Global Warming will be solved. Efforts are in place to reduce the impact towards the warming, but that won't be enough to stave it off forever. I hate to nay-say, but aren't we past the point of no return now? Humans as a species have tilted the natural balance so far off, that it will never recover. We can only hope to mitigate it as long as possible, or as long as our individual lifespan is. I hate it being like that, but isn't it like that already? I hope I am wrong.

 

[Australis]

^ The energy required to pump water up into space would be large beyond belief.

Experiment: fill a ten litre or 3 gallon container, and carry it up a bunch of stairs. Now imagine the millions of litres that would have to be pumped up to such a reservoir. And aside from that, we'd have to have space tether technology sorted out, which it is nowhere near, and shuttles/space shots can only carry a couple of tonnes at a time, tops.

That energy could be better spent on other methodologies. Hell, that much energy would be better spent refreezing the oceans around the Arctic Circle.

 

[John Picard]

Really not a sensible idea: the environmental damage caused by the launches needed to get enough water into orbit to make a difference to sea levels would be counter-productive (unless, possibly, you can do it by space elevator. But I think a global political agreement to deal with global warming is more likely than building one of those in time to make a difference).
And long term: it's a very bad idea. Water is one of the most important resources for a carbon-based ecosystem like ours. Any orbital reservoir would leak, bit by bit, and be lost into space; in the meantime, that water is removed from the Earth's eco-cycle. That water in the sea gets evaporated, gets carried on winds (and helps power them) and eventually gets rained on fertile soil. Not a good idea to remove it, however many cities get flooded as an alternative.

No cities will ever be flooded This global warming is all BS. Here's an interesting read.

 

[USS KG5]

No cities will ever be flooded This global warming is all BS. Here's an interesting read.

OK so this thread starter's idea is a bit silly, but surely we don't need another climate change debate?

Well if we do - let us at least seperate the two debates: -

1. Is the climate changing?
2. Is human activity a significant factor in the above?

I'd have thought there was enough evidence to suggest 1 is true at this point, so really 2 is another debate altogether. The question over 1 becomes what we do about it?

We have probably missed the boat on making changes now that will stop environmental problems over the next century, but as clean technology improves all the time and oil becomes more difficult and dangerous to obtain, why would we not look to clean up in any circumstances?