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Gigantic artificial body of land floating in the ocean
![]() "Mega-Float" is a word made by combining "mega," meaning gigantic in Greek, with the English word "float," and it means a very large floating structure. Mega-Float involves building an artificial body of land in calm, shallow ocean waters up to about 30 meters (33 yards) deep by connecting steel boxes-called floating units-that float in the water. Compared to landfill methods, the Mega-Float is less noisy, has fewer safety problems, is less environmentally destructive, and costs less. Also, existing facilities can be easily expanded while the facilities are functioning and they are almost completely unaffected by earthquakes. The Mega-Float concept calls for the creation of bodies of land over 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) long, and at this length they will not move even though they are floating. Consideration is being given to using these special features of the Mega-Float in large ocean-based international airports and prevention disaster station. The first phase of corroborative testing, which has now been completed, involved actually floating a floating-body model 300 meters (328 yards) long, 60 meters (66 yards) wide, and 2 meters (2.2 yards) thick in the waters off a shipbuilding yard in Yokosuka City, Kanagawa Prefecture. Plans call for the second phase of corroborative testing to begin in the autumn of 1999. These will involve the creation and operation of a model airport-the application with the most demanding functional requirements of all potential Mega-Float applications-based on the results of the first phase of testing. The airport model will be a huge one, 1,000 meters (1,100 yards) long and 60 meters (66 yards) wide (121 meters, or 132 yards, wide in places). Plans call for planes to actually take off from and land at the airport to provide a wide variety of data and know-how. Photo: Mega Float Phase II (Technological Research Association of MEGA-FLOAT) Unauthorized reproduction of thephotos in this page is prohibited. Related Links: |