00:00So look at this narrow passage between the north of Morocco and the southern part of Spain.
00:06This is the Detroit of Gibraltar.
00:09There is only 13 km between the two continents.
00:12But for one reason or another, there is no bridge.
00:15While people have been dreaming for centuries to connect these two regions.
00:20In some parts of the world, bridges have been built over much larger distances above the water.
00:25For example, the ground of Lake Pontchartrain, near New Orleans, in Louisiana,
00:30extends over 38 km,
00:32which is three times the length of the hypothetical bridge between Africa and Europe.
00:37It appears in the Guinness Book of Records
00:39as the longest continuous structure built above a water extension.
00:43It consists of two parallel bridges
00:45and connects the urban area of New Orleans to the small town located north of Lake Pontchartrain.
00:519,000 concrete piles support more than 1,000 sections above the water.
00:56This gigantic structure was built in the middle of the 20th century.
01:00It took only 14 months between the start of its construction and its completion.
01:05American engineers used an unprecedented technology
01:08to fix the concrete piles at the base of the bridge.
01:11And this bridge is still in operation.
01:13So what is the problem with the construction of a bridge that would connect Africa and Europe?
01:18Let's first discover the advantages that this 13 km bridge would bring
01:22by connecting the two continents and the reason why everyone is talking about it.
01:26Well, it would be priceless.
01:29Diamonds, oil, minerals.
01:31Africa is full of precious materials.
01:34And Europe only asks to buy them.
01:37This theoretical bridge would allow to transport quickly and easily
01:40all kinds of goods for trade.
01:44And today, the exchange of goods between Africa and Europe
01:47is only possible thanks to planes and cargo.
01:50And planes are extremely expensive due to the high price of fuel.
01:56In addition, flights are often delayed due to bad weather.
02:00The customs procedures take time
02:02and the distances between airports and urban centers are important.
02:08Boats can also be a problem.
02:10The area of the Mediterranean where the two continents are close to each other
02:13is dangerous due to storms and strong currents.
02:16The transport of your diamonds therefore depends heavily on weather conditions.
02:23The second advantage of such a bridge would be the creation of tens of thousands of jobs.
02:27Europeans and Africans would build hotels, ports, parks and even small towns together.
02:34The coastal regions of the two continents would become new economic centers.
02:39And imagine the investments that these places would attract.
02:44Europe and Africa would be closer than ever.
02:47You could go by car from a Spanish city to a safari park in the north of Morocco,
02:52buy Moroccan tea, Argan oil and go home the same evening.
02:57You could also take a high-speed train to cross the magnificent Mediterranean Sea.
03:02Hundreds of restaurants, amusement parks, shopping centers and museums
03:06could be built nearby.
03:08But unfortunately, it is impossible to build such a bridge.
03:12At least at the moment. And here is why.
03:16The main problem is the Strait of Gibraltar itself,
03:20its strong currents and its seismic activity.
03:23How to launch a large-scale construction if, in a few days,
03:27an earthquake can trigger giant waves and take all the ships under water?
03:32Even if you build a bridge.
03:35Fast water currents that constantly change direction
03:38could shake the whole structure and damage its foundations.
03:43The bridge over the Strait of Gibraltar should be designed
03:46according to a method capable of resisting seismic activity.
03:50And huge resources would be necessary to create something so complex.
03:55Despite the danger that the passage between these two continents represents,
03:58this region remains one of the most frequented in the world.
04:01It is the only place on the planet where the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean meet.
04:06About 300 ships pass through it every day.
04:10Merchant ships, but also fishing and tourism boats.
04:15There are not many places in the world where you can observe whales coming out of the water.
04:20Because of the peculiarities of the marine currents of this area,
04:23this strait is frequented not only by people, but also by marine creatures.
04:28We will talk about this later.
04:30Another problem is the depth of the strait.
04:33In concrete terms, any bridge crossing a stretch of water must rest on long metallic piles.
04:38Builders and engineers plant these piles in the seabed
04:41and use them as a maintenance base for the entire construction.
04:45But it is difficult to fix these piles in a sufficiently stable way
04:49due to the irregularity of the underwater soil.
04:52Its geology presents unique characteristics,
04:55irregularities and different densities of terrestrial rocks.
04:59There are also reefs, rocks and ditches.
05:02Any seabed requires in-depth geological studies before the installation of piles.
05:07And the bottom of Gibraltar's strait is particularly difficult to access because of its depth.
05:13Almost 915 meters.
05:15It is one of the deepest straits in the world.
05:18Imagine, you could stack ten Statues of Liberty between the bottom of the strait and the surface of the water.
05:24What kind of piles should be used in this place to support an entire bridge?
05:29Probably piles made up of several sections connected to each other by a long metal rod.
05:36Do not forget the seismic activity either.
05:39Suppose you have installed perfectly robust piles,
05:42but that the next day, an earthquake occurs and destroys the entire structure.
05:47In addition, strong currents would carry the debris all over the Mediterranean.
05:53The third problem is the most important.
05:56Because it concerns marine life.
05:58The strait of Gibraltar has a strong salt content.
06:01This natural element weighs down the water,
06:04and a whole layer of very salty water occupies the bottom of the deep Mediterranean basin.
06:08This salty water pushes the cold water from the seabed towards the Atlantic Ocean.
06:13These changes in density, as well as rapid currents,
06:17create continuous turbulence.
06:20It is like a cold water cauldron that would raise a lot of nutrients to the surface.
06:26The depressions and elevations of the strait of Gibraltar are filled with various substances and sunlight.
06:33Ideal conditions for the formation of phytoplankton.
06:36Whales, dolphins and other marine creatures love this delicate seabed.
06:42This is why there are about seven species of whales and dolphins here.
06:46What would happen to the phytoplankton after the start of construction?
06:50Carbon dioxide, crushed rocks, tons of dust and ash,
06:54the fall of building materials,
06:57all of this would considerably pollute the environment.
07:00Without phytoplankton, many fish would disappear.
07:03Without fish, thousands of fishermen would no longer be able to feed themselves and earn money.
07:08And if this bridge ended up being built,
07:10cars and trains would continue to pollute the air and water.
07:14The disturbance of the fragile balance of this narrow strait
07:17could lead to large-scale environmental disasters.
07:21Dolphins and whales would go looking for food elsewhere
07:25and, as a result, would disturb the ecosystem of other marine regions.
07:29Like falling dominoes, one problem would lead to another.
07:33And all this because of one bridge.
07:35In 2007, the Spanish Ministry of Environment Protection
07:39established speed limits for all vessels
07:42using the strait in order not to disturb the fragile balance of nature.
07:48In the early 20th century, a French engineer proposed a bridge project,
07:52but it was rejected because it was too complicated and too expensive.
07:57A 37-kilometer-long tunnel was also attempted,
08:01but this project faced financial and technical difficulties.
08:05People still dream of a bridge over the Gibraltar Strait.
08:09Maybe one day, when we have developed our technologies,
08:12we will be able to build it.
08:16Besides, there has not always been water between these two regions.
08:20A very long time ago, these two continents were interlinked.
08:24The Mediterranean Sea is the remains of the Tethys,
08:28a paleo-ocean from the time of the dinosaurs.
08:31At one time, the African and Indian plates collided with the Eurasian plate,
08:36and the Tethys completely disappeared.
08:38Instead, a terrestrial bridge formed, separating the Mediterranean Sea from the ocean.
08:45Without water, the sea dried up about 6 million years ago.
08:50But when this natural bridge collapsed, the water came back to fill the basin.
08:55Its narrow plate sank for tens of thousands of years,
08:59and the Mediterranean Sea finally reached its current level.
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