New Mars Forums

Official discussion forum of The Mars Society and MarsNews.com

You are not logged in.

Announcement

Announcement: As a reader of NewMars forum, we have opportunities for you to assist with technical discussions in several initiatives underway. NewMars needs volunteers with appropriate education, skills, talent, motivation and generosity of spirit as a highly valued member. Write to newmarsmember * gmail.com to tell us about your ability's to help contribute to NewMars and become a registered member.

#26 2016-12-13 19:58:47

Void
Member
Registered: 2011-12-29
Posts: 6,976

Re: SALT PONDS (Solar)

So, now you can make lots of horizontal tubes on the "Grounding Line" of the deposit's of Utopia Plaetia.  Connect them to the vertical passageways.

Of course you have to failsafe such a network.  You can have one leak in one "Cap" of a vertical passageway, vent all the pressurized air of the whole tunnel network.  That would be an example of fail stupid, in the extreme.


Done.

Offline

#27 2016-12-14 17:10:40

Antius
Member
From: Cumbria, UK
Registered: 2007-05-22
Posts: 1,003

Re: SALT PONDS (Solar)

Void wrote:

I want to continue on with an extension of part of post #18.  It is and isn't off topic.  Previously I mentioned a version of this that could be linked to tunnels to "SALT PONDS (Solar).

This one also could be, or it could stand alone.  Probably we would want some type of greenhouse/solar pond associated with it.

Quote from #18:

And if worst comes to worst, and the rock is too hard, perhaps we can tunnel to the "Grounding Line" in the icy permafrost, which is said to be quite deep, and with our feet on dry rock/soil, build a dome of ice/rock, and give it lots of insulation, so that periodically we can heat it.  Such enclosures might host apple tree orchards under artificial lights.  6 months of summer, and then 6 months of the coldest winter the trees can endure.
Want to go for a walk in an apple orchard on Mars?
So what if you have to change habitation cave every 4-6 months, you can make lots of them.

This is not the most desired method for habitat for those who want to use the sun directly, but the deposit at Utopia Planetia is said to be the size of New Mexico, so this method might yield a lot of habitat.  The question is the economy of it.

I will add this for reference/review.  This information was originally posted by Louis I believe on another topic.
http://midnightinthedesert.com/mars-ice … -superior/
So here is a quote containing estimate specifications for the deposit:

Scientists examined part of Mars’ Utopia Planitia region, in the mid-northern latitudes, with the orbiter’s ground-penetrating Shallow Radar (SHARAD) instrument. Analyses of data from more than 600 overhead passes with the onboard radar instrument reveal a deposit more extensive in area than the state of New Mexico. The deposit ranges in thickness from about 260 feet (80 meters) to about 560 feet (170 meters), with a composition that’s 50 to 85 percent water ice, mixed with dust or larger rocky particles.

So, one question is if you tunneled to the grounding line at the base of these icy/rocky deposit's and carved out an arched cave, how stable would it be without supports?  (Presuming you did not melt it).  Also how much pressure could you put in it without a rupture?  I am going to guess 1 bar would work typically.  Are there any locations where 5.1 bar would hold?  That being the triple point of CO2.  My understanding is that 5.1 is the triple point of CO2, so just possibly 560 feet of an ice rock mixture could counter pressure 5.1 bars.

I think that 5.1 bars of a N2/O2 mix may not cause Nitrogen narcosis.  Not sure it is healthy on a steady basis.
Equivalent to 163.2 feet of water column?  Actually I have looked it up, and that environment would be toxic to humans in the longer term for sure.  Too bad.

Plan "B" then just pressurize to 1 bar.

So, then you have a cold ice cave with an arched roof of ice and dirt and rock, and a floor of rock and dirt.  The objective is to heat the bottom part, and keep the arch of ice and dirt and rock frozen.

OK, long enough, I will suggest the following to accomplish it.
-Tent inside the arch, that connects to the rock and dirt floor, and isolates the chamber into a warmer atmosphere inside of it and a colder atmosphere outside of it.
-To cool the arch of ice and rock nighttime cold.
-To warm the inside of the tent and the rock and dirt floor, perhaps solar heat.  Perhaps steam from a solar collector on the surface.

And of course to grow plants inside the tent, a light source needed.  That far down it has to be artificial lights most likely, but remotely the possibility of fiber optics comes to mind.

Of course this is perhaps in some ways less desirable than surface installations which use direct sunlight for agriculture, but with a deposit as specified in the quote. You could have habitable area, similar to a fraction of the state of New Mexico, perhaps by using less physical resources.  (Domes, Greenhouses).  But of course you still have to have surface installations to gather power, hot steam, or cold night temperatures.

I am just putting this out there.  I see the limitations and the advantages.

Something like this perhaps?

http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/socio … und01b.htm

The subterrenes of yesteryear were designed to tunnel through solid rock.  Whilst possible, this places big challenges on fuel technology.  But melting through ice is easy in comparison.

A subterrene could contain a compact nuclear reactor like the SP-100, or alternatively, could be electrically powered and linked by cable to solar or nuclear power plant on the surface.

The triple point of CO2 is 5.1bar and -50C.  Your ice caverns could be used to store huge amounts of energy in the form of liquid CO2.  This could be piped to the surface and converted to high pressure gas using stored solar heat.  Compressed CO2 is a particularly useful forms of energy.  In addition to yielding electric power in compact open cycle turbines, it can be used to power air tools.  These are much easier to make than electrically driven power tools and are more powerful.  We will need a lot of mechanical power on Mars for all sorts of things.  Mechanical cranes for lifting structural members, mechanical presses for producing rammed soil blocks, cutting tools, power wrenches, the list is endless.

The caverns can be used to store excess power.  This could be motor driven from solar panels or excess power from the bases nuclear reactor.  Or it could be directly mechanical, from a wind pump or solar dynamic pump.

Concerning agriculture: productive potential is a function of surface area, whereas the cost of a pressurised space is proportional to volume.  This would seem to suggest that relatively shallow poly-tunnels will be more cost effective than vast greenhouses.  Polyethylene will be relatively cheap on Mars because it is directly manufactured from ethylene.  Perhaps the surface can be coated with a substance that absorbs UV and prolongs the lifetime of the plastic?

Last edited by Antius (2016-12-14 17:58:32)

Offline

#28 2016-12-14 19:29:31

Void
Member
Registered: 2011-12-29
Posts: 6,976

Re: SALT PONDS (Solar)

I was hoping that I would stimulate dreaming. A very good return to me Antius.  I kept it basic and you filled the spaces.  I like it.

Yes, I like all of your ponderings.

Now I will suggest what I myself also have in mind (And not eliminating what you have offered).

I have mentioned horizontal caves at the "Grounding Line".  For apple orchards I suggested.  Of course your options there would be artificial lights, or fiber optics, to get light for plants down in those caves.  For that plan we have to hope that we can insulate the permafrost to tolerate a warm enough cave for a minimal summer "90 Days?" and the rest of the year, cold winter to restore the cold of the permafrost within the tolerance of the apple trees.

I fully understand that many will not regard this use of energy as practical.  Actually we just don't know what the availability of electrical energy of fiber optics will be.  So I leave it as an open question/option.

However, if a horizontal arched tunnel were achieved, and a insulating arch of some substance were also placed in it, and we had a practical source of cold then the floor of the cave and the space below the insulating arch could be warm and lighted, and the space between the ice/soil arch and the insulating arch could be kept cold, so no requirement to have summer/and long winter cycles in the warm lighted area.

I know that this is much more expensive than greenhouses on the surface (Or is it?).  It certainly requires either an electrical grid or fiber optics, plus all the cold pluming and the tunneling, but we are talking about an area the size of New Mexico.  That's potentially a lot of "land/living space".

And yes, I support every item you mentioned.  Wonderful!

Lets imagine subways and hypertoobs, and skyscrapers that have their base at the "Grounding Line" and an observation room above the surface of Mars, where you could look about, read a book, have a cup of coffee, you get it.

So, a city the ~size of New Mexico.  Not bad.  Do it in Hellas Planetia also if you can.

Hybernate/Migrate with the seasons.

Last edited by Void (2016-12-14 19:38:37)


Done.

Offline

#29 2016-12-14 20:16:04

SpaceNut
Administrator
From: New Hampshire
Registered: 2004-07-22
Posts: 28,750

Re: SALT PONDS (Solar)

Well a parabolic dish with the feed horn location consisting of fiber when transmited to an oven at the other end can melt metals.....

Offline

#30 2016-12-15 06:07:13

Antius
Member
From: Cumbria, UK
Registered: 2007-05-22
Posts: 1,003

Re: SALT PONDS (Solar)

Void wrote:

I was hoping that I would stimulate dreaming. A very good return to me Antius.  I kept it basic and you filled the spaces.  I like it.

Yes, I like all of your ponderings.

Now I will suggest what I myself also have in mind (And not eliminating what you have offered).

I have mentioned horizontal caves at the "Grounding Line".  For apple orchards I suggested.  Of course your options there would be artificial lights, or fiber optics, to get light for plants down in those caves.  For that plan we have to hope that we can insulate the permafrost to tolerate a warm enough cave for a minimal summer "90 Days?" and the rest of the year, cold winter to restore the cold of the permafrost within the tolerance of the apple trees.

I fully understand that many will not regard this use of energy as practical.  Actually we just don't know what the availability of electrical energy of fiber optics will be.  So I leave it as an open question/option.

However, if a horizontal arched tunnel were achieved, and a insulating arch of some substance were also placed in it, and we had a practical source of cold then the floor of the cave and the space below the insulating arch could be warm and lighted, and the space between the ice/soil arch and the insulating arch could be kept cold, so no requirement to have summer/and long winter cycles in the warm lighted area.

I know that this is much more expensive than greenhouses on the surface (Or is it?).  It certainly requires either an electrical grid or fiber optics, plus all the cold pluming and the tunneling, but we are talking about an area the size of New Mexico.  That's potentially a lot of "land/living space".

And yes, I support every item you mentioned.  Wonderful!

Lets imagine subways and hypertoobs, and skyscrapers that have their base at the "Grounding Line" and an observation room above the surface of Mars, where you could look about, read a book, have a cup of coffee, you get it.

So, a city the ~size of New Mexico.  Not bad.  Do it in Hellas Planetia also if you can.

Hybernate/Migrate with the seasons.

Surface agriculture is always going to be difficult on Mars because sunlight levels are less than half those of Earth.  At high and low latitudes, the temperature will never get above freezing.  Plants like warmth, most of them grow best at about room temperature and freezing tends to kill them.  Trying to grow anything on the surface using natural sunlight therefore means providing some form of heating, either concentrated solar (along with heat storage in a phase change material for night) or nuclear waste heat.  Either way, this massively increases the cost of growing on the surface.  The place is just too damn cold.

If you need to employ concentrated solar or nuclear anyway, it won’t cost much more to use artificial lighting for food production.  That way, you can tailor the light frequencies to the optimum spectrum for chlorophyll.  You also reduce the required pressurised volume for growing your food, as your greenhouse no longer needs to intercept solar flux and can therefore be arranged vertically.  Pressurised volume is expensive and transparent volume even more so.  By placing the growing area underground and using artificial light, you solve a number of problems at once.

In a previous discussion Lewis mentioned the possibility of ultra-thin solar cells produced on Earth and shipped to Mars.  If these can be reduced in mass to perhaps 1kg/m2 and deployed on locally manufactured substrates on arrival, then the cost of delivery would add perhaps $0.1/kWh to electricity, if amortised over 10 years.  We have also discussed the possibility of vapour cycles using the temperature difference between day and night.  This could use Martian regolith covering HDPE tubes as a collector during day, dumping heat at night.  Using a mixture of solar thermal and direct PV, the growing area could be provided with 24-hours of power.

My hunch is that the habitability of Mars is going to depend on a supply of cheap electricity.  This is desirable on Earth but absolutely essential on Mars.  On Mars, human beings will be far more dependant upon industrial energy just to survive.

Last edited by Antius (2016-12-15 06:12:36)

Offline

#31 2016-12-15 21:34:17

Void
Member
Registered: 2011-12-29
Posts: 6,976

Re: SALT PONDS (Solar)

The reality you suggest makes sense.  Having the means to capture and distribute electrical power to suitable useful purposes, however will require a build up insitu through several metamorphic stages from a basic start.

That is, unless some massively improved transportation Earth/Moon > Mars is procured before the effort.

Knowing that, I will then speculate on some later stage items that would be desirable I think in order to harness the vast resources which are available.  As I have said however before some of these things are done, a calculated scale up plan for insitu capability must be implemented (Except for a possible sci-fi travel system that might be discovered).

So, I would not give up on greenhouses on the surface, but I suggest that they be for the bulk production of useful life sustaining calories.  Duckweed is possible.k
I am even more interested in Hydrilla.
http://www.eattheweeds.com/hydrilla/
We will be looking to get the most from the least effort.
Again nutrients of importance:
calcium-hydrilla-powder-overview.gif
Quote this as well:

it can grow with just 1% of sunlight.

I am not sure which bulk plant(s) should be fostered, we just know that we want bulk food with the least amount of effort.  The direct solar environments to do this will be a problem as you have indicated.  I do not think emphasis should be place on humans living in these direct solar food production facilities.  Rather we should hope to meld the limits of a useful food plant with the minimum cost of materials to host it.  If we can also have solar salt ponds where humans can on occasion swim or walk in water, and directly touch rocks and soil, that is a psychological plus.  But the emphasis should be on calorie/protein/nutrition production.  Keeping the population fed.  And we can remember that solar salt ponds even though being fussy, might supply food, power, and yes psychological therapy for Martian humans isolated in a hostile environment.

To be honest, beyond that my best inspiration now is the thought of a "Skyscraper" building that has it's roots at the base rock under the ice soil deposit's and which extends above the surface of Mars.

Could old tech and new tech work out for such a situation?

Ideally the "Roots" of the "Skyscraper"  would be sandstone or some other rock that can be cut into blocks.

In that case, a vertical hollow through the ice/soil/rock of the Utopia Planetia or similar would access sandstone below, where you could carve caves, and yet get blocks of stone to fashion into a tubular building to rise above the rock base, through the ice/soil/stone, how we don't melt the ice is a technological problem to solve.  Double sandstone walls?  Warm inside, cold outside.  Sandstone blocks old tech,  but wrap them with 21's century tensile cord?  Not sure.  Vague, but really not time to get rigid about it.  It has to be pondered/invented.

So then this building projects above the surface.  Well, an observation room/library?  Windows and such.  And then above that, a solar power boiler?
Yes, maybe mirrored heliostats to point at that.  But it has to be carefully controlled.  Cant blast the lounge with death heat.

So then the building a place to put piping to convey captured heat to locations useful.  And then at night as you have suggested, a means to generate liquid CO2.

Then a potential for massive electrical power generation?

I like it because it has potential, and because there is lots of room for innovation.  Lots of room, for lots of minds. smile

I see RobertDyck is lurking smile  Actually, I think your greenhouse gardening thinking with spacenut is correct.  That is how it has to start?  Maybe.  Probably?
But later, lets be open minded.  What works best is what has to happen.  Food by any real available means.

Last edited by Void (2016-12-15 22:11:21)


Done.

Offline

#32 2016-12-16 12:17:41

Void
Member
Registered: 2011-12-29
Posts: 6,976

Re: SALT PONDS (Solar)

Talking to myself again.

Anyway burrowing into the frozen "muds" of Utopia Planetia or similar, is not unlike the survival strategy of tiny mice in a cold winter, burrowing into snow pack.

Of course the output of the burrowing is water, and a tailings of soil and stone?

To be efficient, then it would be good to make something out of the soil an stone at site, while removing the water.  So, then eliminating the need to expel "tailings" from the tunnel system to the surface.

I suppose stones can be subtractively worked into useful objects.  Can soil be additively be constructed into useful substances on site?  Mineral wool?  Compressed earth (Mars?) blocks?  But compressed earth blocks might be a bit like adobe.  Not sure how well they would hold up as liners of tunnels cut in icy permafrost.  Could you wrap the blocks in a vapor barrier?

Some work required.  If you have a heliostat focus on the top tip of your skyscrapers that project upward out of the ice/soil/rock deposit's can you bake the soil into tiles/blocks.  A lot of effort to get the soil out there, bake it and then return the tiles/blocks to the interior.

I will leave it there for now.

Last edited by Void (2016-12-16 12:27:14)


Done.

Offline

#33 2016-12-16 15:50:46

Antius
Member
From: Cumbria, UK
Registered: 2007-05-22
Posts: 1,003

Re: SALT PONDS (Solar)

Timbrel vaulting.

http://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2008/11/ … aults.html

Multiple layers of tiles glued together, are immensely strong.

Offline

#34 2016-12-16 17:55:18

Void
Member
Registered: 2011-12-29
Posts: 6,976

Re: SALT PONDS (Solar)

Fabulous
cuba_national_art_school_2.jpg

Still I will ask, can this be done with Carbon Fibers, with the glue?  Can that make it even better?  Our new space age space elevator fibers?

Last edited by Void (2016-12-16 17:56:59)


Done.

Offline

#35 2016-12-17 05:32:37

elderflower
Member
Registered: 2016-06-19
Posts: 1,262

Re: SALT PONDS (Solar)

Basalt fibres are satisfactory reinforcement, as discussed in other posts.
We can make all sorts of resins at Mars, to bind the fibres together, but I'm still trying to find the one that can be made easily, using lowish pressures and temperatures.

Offline

#36 2016-12-17 12:56:40

Void
Member
Registered: 2011-12-29
Posts: 6,976

Re: SALT PONDS (Solar)

I feel like this is going in the right direction.  Good.


Done.

Offline

#37 2017-01-02 14:22:53

SpaceNut
Administrator
From: New Hampshire
Registered: 2004-07-22
Posts: 28,750

Offline

#38 2017-01-02 17:39:35

Void
Member
Registered: 2011-12-29
Posts: 6,976

Re: SALT PONDS (Solar)

Ideally, humans could have those, and salt ponds, and low pressure (~100 mb) greenhouses, and some other things, connected together into a network of habitats, and life support augmentation devices.


Done.

Offline

#39 2022-09-22 12:58:56

Mars_B4_Moon
Member
Registered: 2006-03-23
Posts: 8,893

Re: SALT PONDS (Solar)

Microalgae promise abundant healthy food and feed in any environment
https://phys.org/news/2022-09-microalga … nment.html

Underwater 'ocean forests' on the sea bottom cover more area than the Amazon
https://www.livescience.com/ocean-forests

Hidden underwater are huge kelp and seaweed forests

Fish farms to get free advice on disease management and testing support
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/ … ng-support

Major players in the aquaculture market are Aquaculture Equipment Ltd, Luxsol, FREA Solutions, Mowi ASA, SalMar ASA, Norway Royal Salmon ASA, Multiexport Foods SA, Bakkafrost, Tongwei Group, Surapon Foods Public Company Limited, Grupo Farallon Aquaculture, Leroy Seafood, Nireus Aquaculture S.
https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/aquac … 00396.html

The global aquaculture market is expected to grow from $33.58 billion in 2021 to $37.39 billion in 2022 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.3%. The aquaculture market is expected to grow to $50.38 billion in 2026 at a CAGR of 7.7%.

quatic species are a good source of protein, vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, and essential micronutrients. This contributes to habitat restoration, agricultural production, and the creation of aquariums for threatened species.

The main fish types in aquaculture are carps, mollusks, crustaceans, mackerel, sea bream, and others.The carp aquaculture belong to the oily freshwater fish.

Carps are considered to be an important aquaculture species in European and Asian countries.These are used for commercial purposes as they have a fast growth rate and high tolerance.

The various environments include marine water, fresh water, and brackish water that use various reusing products such as equipment, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and fertilizers. The species included are aquatic animals and aquatic plants, and are distributed through several channels such as traditional retail, supermarkets and hypermarkets, specialized retailers, online stores, and others.

Undersea farming is booming in Alaska
http://www.thedutchharborfisherman.com/ … _in_alaska

“Enriched seaweed” could ease the global food crisis
https://www.anthropocenemagazine.org/20 … od-crisis/

Online

#40 2022-10-18 06:28:43

Mars_B4_Moon
Member
Registered: 2006-03-23
Posts: 8,893

Re: SALT PONDS (Solar)

Growing Food On Mars: Alfalfa Can Fertilize Soil And Cyanobacteria Can Desalinate Salt Water

https://astrobiology.com/2022/08/growin … water.html

Online

#41 2022-10-26 18:25:30

Mars_B4_Moon
Member
Registered: 2006-03-23
Posts: 8,893

Re: SALT PONDS (Solar)

The Biospheres of Mars and Biodomes might have their own unique Lakes and Aquafarms with lessons studied on Earth.

Mapping Missing Mangroves
https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/image … -mangroves

Shrimp farm taps solar energy
https://www.manilatimes.net/2022/10/27/ … gy/1863811
The solar PV system reduced electricity cost

Thermal energy storage or TES achieved with widely different technologies the Salt Tanks which provide efficient thermal energy storage so that output can be provided after the sun goes down. Heat storage in hot rocks or concrete or Thermo chemical or the heat-tank or heat bank taking in sunshine power, battery storage or stores thermal energy during the day, evening, or at night when geo thermal electricity is available and releases the heat as required.

Waters will probably be used for food but maybe a place space tourists vist?

Lakes of Mars might be illuminated with lighting?

Finally, A Solution For Houston' Retention Ponds To Become Safer: Solar Powered Streetlights
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/fin … 00936.html

Nordic Seafarm raises $2 million in latest funding round
https://thefishsite.com/articles/nordic … ding-round

Alligator Burger Patties
https://www.cajungrocer.com/alligator-burger-patties

Huge 12ft alligator causes panic on beach as it walks along sand amid revellers
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/us-news/h … c-28232891

Last edited by Mars_B4_Moon (2022-10-26 18:34:14)

Online

#42 2022-10-26 19:32:53

SpaceNut
Administrator
From: New Hampshire
Registered: 2004-07-22
Posts: 28,750

Re: SALT PONDS (Solar)

Not sure that we would want any introduced into mars ecology that could eat us.

Pond Life to be Created on Mars by Humans - NO ICE

Offline

#43 2023-01-10 21:06:42

SpaceNut
Administrator
From: New Hampshire
Registered: 2004-07-22
Posts: 28,750

Re: SALT PONDS (Solar)

tahanson43206 wrote:

This is for Void .... the forum Archive contains numerous posts in which you provide detail about sea grass...

This post is about a chef who discovered that the seeds of sea grass are packed with nutrition ...

You may have already posted this, and if so, please excuse duplication ...

https://www.theguardian.com/environment … ate-crisis

EnvironmentClimate crisisWildlifeEnergyPollutionGreen light
Seascape: the state of our oceans
Plants

The rice of the sea: how a tiny grain could change the way humanity eats

Ángel León made his name serving innovative seafood. But then he discovered something in the seagrass that could transform our understanding of the sea itself – as a vast garden

Chef Ángel León holds a strand of Zostera marina, or eelgrass

Chef Ángel León found eelgrass seeds have 50% more protein than rice – and the plant stores carbon far faster than a rainforest. Photograph: Álvaro Fernández Prieto/Aponiente
Seascape: the state of our oceans is supported by

theguardian.org

About this content
Ashifa Kassam in Madrid
@ashifa_k
Fri 9 Apr 2021 01.00 EDT
Growing up in southern Spain, Ángel León paid little attention to the meadows of seagrass that fringed the turquoise waters near his home, their slender blades grazing him as he swam in the Bay of Cádiz.

It was only decades later – as he was fast becoming known as one of the country’s most innovative chefs – that he noticed something he had missed in previous encounters with Zostera marina: a clutch of tiny green grains clinging to the base of the eelgrass.

His culinary instincts, honed over years in the kitchen of his restaurant Aponiente, kicked in. Could this marine grain be edible?

Operations At The Canadian Kelp Resources Ltd. Seaweed Farm<br>Canadian Kelp Resources Ltd. workers harvest kelp in the Barkley Sound, British Columbia, Canada, on Monday, May 6, 2019. As of 2014, the global seaweed harvest had an estimated value of US$6.4 billion a year, and commercial production had more than doubled over the previous decade, BCBusiness reports. Photographer: James MacDonald/Bloomberg
Meet the 'star ingredient' changing fortunes in Alaska's waters: seaweed

Lab tests hinted at its tremendous potential: gluten-free, high in omega-6 and -9 fatty acids, and contains 50% more protein than rice per grain, according to Aponiente’s research. And all of it growing without freshwater or fertiliser.

The find has set the chef, whose restaurant won its third Michelin star in 2017, on a mission to recast the common eelgrass as a potential superfood, albeit one whose singular lifecycle could have far-reaching consequences. “In a world that is three-quarters water, it could fundamentally transform how we see oceans,” says León. “This could be the beginning of a new concept of understanding the sea as a garden.”

It’s a sweeping statement that would raise eyebrows from anyone else. But León, known across Spain as el Chef del Mar (the chef of the sea), has long pushed the boundaries of seafood, fashioning chorizos out of discarded fish parts and serving sea-grown versions of tomatoes and pears at his restaurant near the Bay of Cádiz.

Minuscule grains nestled in a strand of eelgrass.
The tiny grains within the eelgrass. The plant is capable of capturing carbon 35 times faster than tropical rainforests. Photograph: Álvaro Fernández Prieto/Aponiente
“When I started Aponiente 12 years ago, my goal was to open a restaurant that served everything that has no value in the sea,” he says. “The first years were awful because nobody understood why I was serving customers produce that nobody wanted.”

Still, he pushed forward with his “cuisine of the unknown seas”. His efforts to bring little-known marine species to the fore were recognised in 2010 with his first Michelin star. By the time the restaurant earned its third star, León had become a fixture on Spain’s gastronomy scene: a trailblazing chef determined to redefine how we treat the sea.

What León and his team refer to as “marine grain” expands on this, in one of his most ambitious projects to date. After stumbling across the grain in 2017, León began looking for any mention of Zostera marina being used as food. He finally found an article from 1973 in the journal Science on how it was an important part of the diet of the Seri, an Indigenous people living on the Gulf of California in Sonora, Mexico, and the only known case of a grain from the sea being used as a human food source.

Next came the question of whether the perennial plant could be cultivated. In the Bay of Cádiz, the once-abundant plant had been reduced to an area of just four sq metres, echoing a decline seen around the world as seagrass meadows reel from increased human activity along coastlines and steadily rising water temperatures.

Working with a team at the University of Cádiz and researchers from the regional government, a pilot project was launched to adapt three small areas across a third of a hectare (0.75 acres) of salt marshes into what León calls a “marine garden”.

It was not until 18 months later – after the plants had produced grains – that León steeled himself for the ultimate test, said Juan Martín, Aponiente’s environmental manager.

a hand holds strands of eelgrass with the sea in the background
Salt marshes near Cádiz were used to create a ‘marine garden’ where the eelgrass seeds could be sown. Photograph: Álvaro Fernández Prieto/Aponiente

“Ángel came to me, his tone very serious, and said: ‘Juan, I would like to have some grains because I have no idea how it tastes. Imagine if it doesn’t taste good,’” says Martín. “It’s incredible. He threw himself into it blindly, invested his own money, and he had never even tried this marine grain.”

León put the grain through a battery of recipes, grinding it to make flour for bread and pasta and steeping it in flavours to mimic Spain’s classic rice dishes.

“It’s interesting. When you eat it with the husk, similar to brown rice, it has a hint of the sea at the end,” says León. “But without the husk, you don’t taste the sea.” He found that the grain absorbed flavour well, taking two minutes longer to cook than rice and softening if overcooked.

In the marine garden, León and his team were watching as the plant lived up to its reputation as an architect of ecosystems: transforming the abandoned salt marsh into a flourishing habitat teeming with life, from seahorses to scallops.

The plant’s impact could stretch much further. Capable of capturing carbon 35 times faster than tropical rainforests and described by the WWF as an “incredible tool” in fighting the climate crisis, seagrass absorbs 10% of the ocean’s carbon annually despite covering just 0.2% of the seabed.

News of what León and his team were up to soon began making waves around the world. “When I first heard of it, I was going ‘Wow, this is very interesting,’” says Robert Orth, a professor at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, who has spent more than six decades studying seagrass. “I don’t know of anyone that has attempted to do what this chef has done.”

We’ve opened a window. It's a new way to feed ourselves
According to Orth, seagrass has been used as insulation for houses, roofing material and even for packing seafood, but never cultivated as food. It is an initiative riddled with challenges. Wild seagrass meadows have been dying off at an alarming rate in recent decades, while few researchers have managed to successfully transplant and grow seagrass, he says.

In southern Spain, however, the team’s first marine garden suggests potential average harvests could be about 3.5 tonnes a hectare. While the yield is about a third of what one could achieve with rice, León points to the potential for low-cost and environmentally friendly cultivation. “If nature gifts you with 3,500kg without doing anything – no antibiotics, no fertiliser, just seawater and movement – then we have a project that suggests one can cultivate marine grain.”

a pile of marine grain
A pilot project was successful in cultivating seagrass and obtaining grains that Ángel León then tried in different recipes. Photograph: www.MAPDIGITAL.es

The push is now on to scale up the project, adapting as much as five hectares of salt marshes into areas for cultivating eelgrass. Every success is carefully tracked, in hopes of better understanding the conditions – from water temperature to salinity – that the plant needs to thrive.

While it is likely to be years before the grain becomes a staple at Aponiente, León’s voice rises with excitement as he considers the transformative possibility of Zostera marina’s minuscule, long-overlooked grain – and its reliance on only seawater for irrigation. “In the end, it’s like everything,” he says. “If you respect the areas in the sea where this grain is being grown, it would ensure humans take care of it. It means humans would defend it.”

He and his team envision a global reach for their project, paving the way for people to harness the plant’s potential to boost aquatic ecosystems, feed populations and fight the climate crisis. “We’ve opened a window,” says León. “I believe it’s a new way to feed ourselves.”

The year is 2033. Elon Musk is no longer one of the richest people in the world, having haemorrhaged away his fortune trying to make Twitter profitable. Which, alas, hasn’t worked out too well: only 420 people are left on the platform. Everyone else was banned for not laughing at Musk’s increasingly desperate jokes.

In other news, Pete Davidson is now dating Martha Stewart. Donald Trump is still threatening to run for president. And British tabloids are still churning out 100 articles a day about whether Meghan Markle eating lunch is an outrageous snub to the royal family.

Obviously I have no idea what the world is going to look like in a decade. But here’s one prediction I feel very confident making: without a free and fearless press the future will be bleak. Without independent journalism, democracy is doomed. Without journalists who hold power to account, the future will be entirely shaped by the whims and wants of the 1%.

A lot of the 1% are not big fans of the Guardian, by the way. Donald Trump once praised a Montana congressman who body-slammed a Guardian reporter. Musk, meanwhile, has described the Guardian, as “the most insufferable newspaper on planet Earth.” I’m not sure there is any greater compliment.

I am proud to write for the Guardian. But ethics can be expensive. Not having a paywall means that the Guardian has to regularly ask our readers to chip in. If you are able, please do consider supporting us. Only with your help can we continue to get on Elon Musk’s nerves.

Arwa Mahdawi

Columnist, Guardian US

(th)

Offline

Board footer

Powered by FluxBB