Category: Science

Ocean Polymetallic Nodules are Essential for Sustained Technological Development on Earth

Ocean Polymetallic Nodules are Essential for Sustained Technological Development on Earth

My series, The Rise of Oceania, takes place in the 2130s as people are settling and working the ocean floors. On the surface, countries are dealing with rapid climate change, including drought, famine, rising waters, flooding, interrupted shipping, refugee crises, wars, and dictatorships.  Nations have decided to expand their reach to the oceans to extract valuable and much-needed resources like fish, crops (kelp), and minerals. This colonization has triggered a cold war, full of espionage, spycraft, and outright fighting.  It is a rich and exciting setting for me to write my TechnoThrillers.  But what type of minerals do the oceans offer us? Where are they located, and what are their values? Could their locations and existence really cause global conflict? And shouldn’t we be looking to outer space, the Moon, asteroids, and comets instead?

Another Privately-Operated Submarine Lost

Another Privately-Operated Submarine Lost; Six are Dead

I’ve written six novels about exploring the ocean deeps.  The oceans are more accessible than outer space, but in many ways they are more dangerous. The pressure at depth is inexorable, and submarines have to be engineered to withstand this — with an immense built-in safety margin.  Any flooding or damage to the hull can result in a rapid loss of buoyancy, and if the ocean floor is too far below, then implosion can result.

Kelp Can be Used to Create Plastic

Kelp Can be Used to Create Plastic

A story that provides further foundation to my series, The Rise of Oceania.

Interview with Timothy S. Johnston in Interstellar Flight Magazine

Interview with Timothy S. Johnston in Interstellar Flight Magazine

The article is informative, interesting, and provides a great deal of insight into the series, the rationale, and the reasoning behind the world and story.

Diagrams, Schematics, Maps, and Tables in A BLANKET OF STEEL

Diagrams, Schematics, Maps, and Tables in A Blanket of Steel

Why do I add so many visuals to my thrillers?