BBC Science Focus - 03.2020

DISCOVERIES

GOLF CAN HELP KEEP OLDER

PEOPLE’S HEALTH ABOVE PAR

Playing golf at least once a month could

lower the risk of death among adults

aged 65 and older, according to the

American Heart Association. Over the

course of 10 years, the team analysed

data from nearly 5,900 male and female

participants with an average age of 72.

Of the participants, there was a lower

rate of death among the golfers

compared to the non-golfers (15.1 per

cent versus 24.6 per cent). The

researchers say that golf offers benefits

like social interaction, a competitive

element and fresh air, and as it’s a gentle

form of exercise, people are able to

continue taking part as they get older.

TheUK government is apparently looking into the possibility of building a bridge between Scotland and

Northern Ireland. But is this even possible?

A bridge too far?

PrimeMinister Boris Johnson’s official
spokesperson raised a few eyebrows
recently when they declared that a
“proper piece of work” was being carried
out looking into the possibility of linking
Scotland to Northern Ireland via a bridge
spanning the Irish Sea. At the moment,
the leading candidates for the locations of
the route are Portpatrick on the Scottish
coast and Larne on the Northern Irish
coast – a span of around 40km (25 miles).
Length aside, there are a number of
other significant challenges that such
an enormous project would raise. For
example, there’s the depth of the sea,
which at times reaches 300 metres, and
the large spans that would be required to
let any ships pass under the bridge safely,
explained Ian Firth, structural engineer
and fellow at the Institution of Civil
Engineers.
“Another solution might be to use
floating foundations; the Norwegians are
doing this already,” he said. “You have a
floating pontoon held below the surface
of the water. You still have to get down
there and drill holes in the rock down
below, but you’re now just tying it down
with some cables. Then the buoyant
platform is held below the waves – you
don’t want it at the surface because then
you’re getting wave action and tidal
action. You stand your bridge structures
on those buoyant platforms. That’s
the sort of thing that potentially could
be doable.”
Even so, such a structure would still
leave those travelling across it at the
mercy of high winds and heavy rain,
even taking into account any weather-

shielding measures that could be fitted.

However, there may be another solution.

“There’s another type of floating

structure, a submerged, floating tunnel.

It’s not bored through the rock but sits

under the water,” said Firth. “You tether

it down, shall we say 20 metres below the

water, so that ships can go happily across

the top of it, but the thing is actually

floating. If you’re in your car, you’re

driving, in effect, through a tunnel. That

is a very interesting, and I think really

quite potentially plausible, solution.”

But it’s early days and there are many

factors to consider, such as the ability

of the transport links either side of

the crossing to cope with additional

traffic, and the fact that it may be more

ENGINEERING

efficient to upgrade the existing ferry

infrastructure, before any kind of design

work could begin.

“At the moment it is an idea and not

much more than that. To begin with we’d

need a pre-feasibility study which looks

at what the options are so that we can

actually frame the scope of a feasibility

study,” said Firth. “After that people like

me could go away and agonise over what

the options are. I believe it’s possible. But

‘possible’ and ‘affordable’ are two different

things. I’m not trying to put numbers to

it, but it is eye-wateringly expensive, and

nothing like it has been attempted before.

But we’re in the business of finding

solutions to challenges. We civil structural

engineers are good at that kind of thing.”