Underwater stations or structures are often built by fabricating sections elsewhere and then lowering them into place on the seafloor.
Key Steps in Placing Underwater Structures
Based on common methods, the process involves transporting structural pieces to the site and carefully positioning them underwater. The primary technique focuses on the precise lowering and securing of prefabricated components.
Here are the key steps described in the process:
- Transport to Site: Often, structures or pieces of a structure are floated out on or towed by barges to the intended underwater location.
- Lowering into Place: Once at the site, these pieces are then carefully lowered into place on the seafloor. Different methods are used for lowering:
- Some pieces are lowered using their own weight.
- Other pieces are loaded with weights that help them reach the seafloor efficiently.
- Dewatering: If necessary after the structure is lowered into place, water is then pumped out of the structure. This action helps to stabilize or prepare the internal space of the structure.
This method relies on the controlled transportation, precise lowering, and subsequent preparation (like dewatering) of structural components to construct facilities underwater.
