The Edge of Ambition; September 2012; Scientific American Magazine; by Dave Mosher; 2 Page(s)
Delta Works
The world’s largest water-battling structure isn’t a dam—it’s a network. More than 10,000 miles of levees, dikes and dams combine to protect the Netherlands from the North Sea. The project took half a century to build, but climate-induced sea-level rise means that Dutch engineers will forever be upgrading Delta Works to keep the country dry.
New Safe Confinement
The world’s largest sarcophagus since the Great Pyramid of Giza in 2560 B.C. will soon entomb the remains of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. To minimize workers’ radiation exposure, the 360-foot-high, 32,000-ton steel archway will be assembled 900 feet away from the reactor and slid into place on Teflon bearings. When completed in 2015, it will be the world’s largest movable structure.
