In my mecha-action story, I wish to have an island in the midpoint between South America and Africa along the equator. Given the weather and seafaring conditions of the area, is this feasible? Or would it just be a tsunami and hurricane prone country?
$\begingroup$
$\endgroup$
5
-
$\begingroup$ Jules Verne, Propeller Island, 1895. (But it's in the Pacific.) $\endgroup$– AlexPCommented Oct 24, 2020 at 0:17
-
2$\begingroup$ Is there a reason existing islands don't work, or can't be expanded as needed? Does it HAVE to be an artificial island? St. Helena? Georgetown? $\endgroup$– DWKrausCommented Oct 24, 2020 at 4:59
-
$\begingroup$ The specific reason an artificial island is used is for narrative impact. In order to attempt a show of peace, the United Nations form a new country that exists directly between the East and West hemispheres. $\endgroup$– VoodinCommented Oct 24, 2020 at 7:33
-
1$\begingroup$ Is the middle of the Atlantic really halfway between hemispheres? There's good reasons for the meridian datum to run through Europe (although Florence would be even better than Greenwich) at which point the "least aligned" location would be where the dateline and Equator intersect in the Pacific. $\endgroup$– Mark Morgan LloydCommented Oct 24, 2020 at 11:56
-
$\begingroup$ Whatever "mecha-action" means, Worldbuilding SE doesn't allow either "story" or "real-world" Questions. Worldbuilding SE does want you to do research before Asking, which IMHO would include asking a search engine about the weather and seafaring conditions, tsunamis and hurricanes. $\endgroup$– Robbie GoodwinCommented Oct 25, 2020 at 0:19
Add a comment
|
3 Answers
$\begingroup$
$\endgroup$
1
It would not be particularly difficult, thanks to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, an underwater mountain chain that separates the North and South American Plates from the Eurasian and African Plates. Despite the depth of the ocean around it, the ridge itself is so tall that it breaches the surface in a number of places to form islands, and with standard construction techniques you could easily anchor a platform to a submerged peak that wasn't too deep.
Weather would not be a major hazard, as it falls into the Intertropical Convergence Zone, which has erratic but not usually very threatening weather. There are occasionally large thunderstorms, but never hurricanes; the nature of hurricane formation is that they migrate away from the ITCZ.
If it suits your purposes, you might be able to talk Brazil into letting you use the Saint Peter and Saint Paul archipelago, located on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge about 1000km off the coast of Brazil and some 100km north of the equator.
-
$\begingroup$ This is perfect, thank you for your research. Now that you've brought it to my attention, I will be incorporating more Mid-Atlantic islands where possible in my world-building. $\endgroup$– VoodinCommented Oct 24, 2020 at 7:46
$\begingroup$
$\endgroup$
2
If by island you mean floating island as opposed to one physically connected to the seas floor then yes. The mid Atlantic reaches depths in excess of 7000 meters at some points.
A large floating structure could be built at one or more coastal facilities in segments then towed to virtually any location you desired in international waters.
Your 'island' would at least need station keeping thrusters to keep it in position although it might be possible to construct 7 kilometer long plus anchor chains and attach them to massive weights dropped onto the sea floor (I don't know I'm not an engineer). But station keeping would certainly be the easier option as long as you have power.
If power is not an issue you could actual give it bigger engines (or its own fleet of tugs) and take it anywhere you want.
Keep it mind a large floating 'island' wont be a monolithic structure, parts will need to be able to flex and compress in response to wave pressure & other factors like differences in temperature etc.
-
5$\begingroup$ Or, instead of constructing an island at the deepest point, it might make more sense to construct it at a shallow point. $\endgroup$– user79901Commented Oct 24, 2020 at 11:26
-
1$\begingroup$ Yes, but I only had the phrase used in the original question i.e 'the midpoint between South America and Africa along the equator' to go by. So I chose the worst/hardest possible location as the baseline. After that it only gets easier in terms of engineering. $\endgroup$– MonCommented Oct 24, 2020 at 11:41
$\begingroup$
$\endgroup$
2
Yes, have your artificial island! And the weather there sucks.
I looked for a picture on DeviantArt of a colossal colony ship many kilometers long, purposefully scuttled in the ocean to make your artificial island. No luck. If someone finds one or is inspired to draw one please add it!
The weather there is terrible. But this is an artificial island and that comes with advantages. The sides slope steeply up and there are not surge-scoured lowlands near the shore as is usually the case. Buildings and other structures are planted firmly in the hull of the colony ship and are not easily blown away.
Having frequent storms and terrible weather will make for fun stories!
-
$\begingroup$ There was an anime where a scuttled colony ship/Hypermecha was serving as the home base and core for an island...not Macross though... I think the protagonists did fly jets? $\endgroup$– TrishCommented Oct 24, 2020 at 23:31
-
1$\begingroup$ if they can decide with some freedom where to anchor the island, weather may be quite sweet: Azores take a lot of rain, but Canarias island have a very nice weather $\endgroup$– carloCommented Oct 26, 2020 at 7:32