Can humans survive underground and can they live in underground colonies?

Question

If there was nuclear could we form underground colornies and live underground instead of the surface like we do now or would humans die underground?

Answer 1

Humans are very adaptable and could survive underground. Lack of vitamin D might be the only problem provided air, food, water, and socialization were available.

Humans survive in submarines for 60-90 days without difficulties, why not longer underground?

Answer 2

Yes, we could most definitely survive underground. The only problem is that we need an aduquate food supply. Saddam Hussein made an underground shelter that scientists said would actually have been effective to use during a nuclear, biological, or nuclear attack, because he had some of the best architects and scientists in the world help him make a shelter. He had vents hooked up all over his underground city to filter the radiation out. There was a movie called Deep Impact that showed what would happen if an asteroid hit the Earth. It was described as a pretty accurate depiction of what our response would be to this threat. In the movie, the government set up shelters underground and made it like the Ark. Animals were brought in and humans moved into the caves. There is no way that radiation could get through the filters and the ground. The reason why so many humans would die during a nuclear attack is the initial release of radiation that woulkd cause cancer for people in later years, who were a decent distance away from the target area and the people who were killed by the initial imapact. A nuclear war would reduce the human race drastically, and we would not have time to set up shelters. We could have notice that there could be a nuclear war before one happens, so we have time to set shelter up, though. More people would probably survive if an asteroid were to hit Earth, because we would have sufficient notice before an asteroid collides with or Earth, because of our advanced technology. The only threat in underground colonies would be the lack of food. There could be an air supply, because vents could be set up in areas where there would be air holes. We could always set up gardens though, so we could keep growing food underground, away from the contamination of the ground above.

Answer 3

If humans cannot survive underground then they really can't live in underground colonies.

Answer 4

You have answered my prayer. Try this on for size.
In November, 1980, a group of physicians and scientists held a symposium at the University of California in Berkeley. At this symposium Dr. Kosta Tsipis, Professor of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, stated,

. . . our earth is surrounded by a thin layer or ozone. Ozone is a particular isotope of oxygen that has the lovely property of absorbing much of the ultraviolet rays of the sun. The ultraviolet rays of the sun are the ones that cause skin burns. When you go to the beach and you get sunburned, that's what does it. In addition, the ultraviolet rays of the sun blind eyes that are exposed to them for any period of time. The very fact that we can exist on this earth—that there is a fauna, animals with eyes on this earth—is based on the existence of the ozone layer that filters out most of the ultraviolet rays of the sun and therefore allows us to survive.

What happens when a nuclear weapon explodes is that a very large number of nitrogen oxides are generated by the radiation that flies out from the explosion. As a matter of fact, a one- megaton weapon will generate 10 molecules of nitrogen oxides. These molecules are lifted up together with the fireball, and reach (for a one-megaton weapon) the altitude of say 50, 60, 70 thousand feet, where the ozone is. At that point, these molecules will start eating up the ozone— literally—taking it away from circulation . . . for long periods of time. It is a very complex photochemical process, but we know that it occurs . . . . The National Academy of Sciences felt quite sure to state that if you have exploded . . . in a very short period of time 50% of the weapons that will be available in the arsenals of the Soviet Union and the United States by 1985, this simultaneous explosion will create enough nitrogen oxides to take out 50 to 70% of the ozone layer above the northern hemisphere and 30 to 40% of the ozone layer in the southern hemisphere, because we assume that all of these explosions will take place in the northern hemisphere . . . .

The latest word out of the scientific laboratories is that a 20% depletion of the ozone layer will allow enough ultraviolet light to come to earth that it will blind all unprotected eyes. Now, we can all wear glasses, but the animals and the birds will not wear glasses, and they will all be blinded and they will all eventually die. And this is the largest-scale ecological catastrophe that one can imagine—that all the fauna on the earth will be blinded and eventually die.

Scary huh?

Answer 5

The onset of nuclear war would probably be too fast to prepare, most food and water supplies would be poisoned. Can you imagine the infastructure needed to support what is left of humanity?

Answer 6

I think we could live underground,but it would be interesting to see what evolution would do to us over time.

Answer 7

YES, humans can survive underground and anywhere, as long as they are able to adapt themselves to different environments
and it has been proven by the US Military!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 8

MABY, BUT WE WILL NEED AN OXYGEN SUPPLEMENT

we will need food, and proper shelter.

anything is possible with our tech level.

Answer 9

yes THEY CAN ,BUT THEY SURE WILL LOSE THERE GOLDEN TAN