Researchers are looking for ways to stop warm ocean currents from reaching and collapsing glaciers at the current rate.
The Thwaites Glacier loses a large amount of ice every year. Photo: NASA
If the Thwaites glacier, nicknamed the "doomsday glacier," were to collapse, cities like New York, Miami, and New Orleans would be flooded. Globally, 97 million people would be affected by the fast-moving water, threatening their homes, communities, and livelihoods. Currently, the giant ice sheet in Antarctica blocks warm ocean water from reaching other glaciers. If Thwaites were to disappear, it would trigger a mass melt that could raise sea levels by 10 feet, Business Insider reported on March 5.
The melting Thwaites glacier is responsible for 4% of global sea level rise so far. Since 2000, Thwaites has lost more than 1 trillion tons of ice. But it’s not the only glacier in trouble. That’s why engineers are working on a number of technological innovations that could slow the rate of glacier melt. The latest solution is an underwater canopy. John Moore, a glaciologist and geoengineering researcher at the University of Lapland, wants to install a giant 100-kilometer-long canopy underwater to keep warm ocean water from reaching and melting the glacier. But he needs $50 billion to make the idea a reality.
One of the main causes of the glacier’s melt is warm, salty ocean water deep in the ocean. This warm water moves around the flanks of Thwaites Glacier, melting the thick layer of ice that prevents the edge from collapsing. As the ocean warms due to climate change, the warm currents are increasingly eroding Thwaites, pushing it closer to complete collapse. Moore and his colleagues are investigating whether they can hang a canopy over the Amundsen Sea floor to slow the rate of melting. In theory, the canopy could block the warm currents from reaching Thwaites, stopping the melt and giving the ice sheet time to grow back.
This isn’t the first time Moore has proposed such a blocking solution. His curtain idea builds on a similar solution he shared in 2018, which involved blocking the warm water with a massive wall. But Moore says the curtain is a much safer option. It’s effective at blocking the warm water, but much easier to remove if needed. If, for example, the curtain becomes harmful to the local environment, they can take it out and redesign it.
While Moore and his colleagues are still decades away from using the technology to save the Thwaites glacier, they are already testing a smaller-scale prototype. Moore’s colleagues at the University of Cambridge are in the early stages of designing and testing the prototype, and could move on to the next phase in the summer of 2025.
Researchers at the University of Cambridge are currently testing a meter-long version of the technology in tanks. Once they have proven it works, they will move on to testing it on the River Cam, either by installing it on the riverbed or towing it behind a boat. The idea is to gradually scale up the prototype until they have evidence that the technology is stable enough to deploy in the Arctic. If all goes to plan, the researchers could be testing a 10-meter-long prototype of the canopy in a Norwegian fjord in about two years.
This year’s experiments will cost about $10,000. But to get to the point where Moore and his colleagues can confidently deploy the technology, they’ll need about $10 million. They’ll need another $50 billion to install the canopy in the Amundsen Sea. Data shows that the Thwaites glacier is melting at an unprecedented rate due to climate change. But the question of when it will collapse remains a debate among glaciologists. They need to collect better data, but that will take time, and glaciers like Thwaites may be running out of time.
An Khang (According to Business Insider )
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