Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Environment & Energy
Related: About this forumCould a 400bn plan to refreeze the Arctic before the ice melts really work?
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/feb/12/plan-to-refreeze-arctic-before-ice-goes-for-good-climate-changePhysicist Steven Desch has come up with a novel solution to the problems that now beset the Arctic. He and a team of colleagues from Arizona State University want to replenish the regions shrinking sea ice by building 10 million wind-powered pumps over the Arctic ice cap. In winter, these would be used to pump water to the surface of the ice where it would freeze, thickening the cap.
The pumps could add an extra metre of sea ice to the Arctics current layer, Desch argues. The current cap rarely exceeds 2-3 metres in thickness and is being eroded constantly as the planet succumbs to climate change.
Thicker ice would mean longer-lasting ice. In turn, that would mean the danger of all sea ice disappearing from the Arctic in summer would be reduced significantly, Desch told the Observer.
Desch and his team have put forward the scheme in a paper that has just been published in Earths Future, the journal of the American Geophysical Union, and have worked out a price tag for the project: $500bn (£400bn).
The pumps could add an extra metre of sea ice to the Arctics current layer, Desch argues. The current cap rarely exceeds 2-3 metres in thickness and is being eroded constantly as the planet succumbs to climate change.
Thicker ice would mean longer-lasting ice. In turn, that would mean the danger of all sea ice disappearing from the Arctic in summer would be reduced significantly, Desch told the Observer.
Desch and his team have put forward the scheme in a paper that has just been published in Earths Future, the journal of the American Geophysical Union, and have worked out a price tag for the project: $500bn (£400bn).
Something tells me that even if they magically found the money for this, it would take decades to build, and by then there won't be much ice left to build upon.
InfoView thread info, including edit history
TrashPut this thread in your Trash Can (My DU » Trash Can)
BookmarkAdd this thread to your Bookmarks (My DU » Bookmarks)
5 replies, 1106 views
ShareGet links to this post and/or share on social media
AlertAlert this post for a rule violation
PowersThere are no powers you can use on this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
ReplyReply to this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
Rec (0)
ReplyReply to this post
5 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Could a 400bn plan to refreeze the Arctic before the ice melts really work? (Original Post)
NickB79
Feb 2017
OP
Progressive dog
(6,900 posts)1. About as well as cold fusion NT
OKIsItJustMe
(19,938 posts)4. I think "cold fusion" might be more likely
This is not my considered opinion, merely a knee-jerk reaction
All the projects are highly imaginative and extremely costly. The fact that they are even being considered reveals just how desperately worried researchers have become about the Arctic. The situation is causing grave concern, says Professor Julienne Stroeve, of University College London. It is now much more dire than even our worst case scenarios originally suggested.
global1
(25,241 posts)2. Well Now - That's Rational Thinking.....
spending $500 bn on this project that would take decades to build vs utilizing what we know now that we can step up immediately to minimize and maybe even reverse global climate change.
I wonder who would win the bid on building and installing these 10 million wind-powered pumps?
rickford66
(5,523 posts)3. Then there's the infrastructure to maintain them.
More humans in the Arctic and their stuff
OnlinePoker
(5,719 posts)5. First thing I thought about
Get Smart - Ice Station Siegfried