First field test of Arctic sea ice thickening by pumping seawater shows promise but scalability questioned
A field experiment in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut tested a simple geoengineering method to thicken Arctic sea ice by pumping seawater onto existing ice in winter to create a reinforcing frozen layer. While the first results are promising, researchers note significant questions about scalability of the approach as a solution to catastrophic Arctic ice melt.
Key quotes
Researchers are considering several controversial geoengineering techniques to slow the catastrophic melt of Arctic sea ice, including stratospheric aerosol injection, which involves shooting tiny sulfur particles into the sky to blot out the sun.
In a new study, scientists evaluated the merits of a much safer and more straightforward approach: pumping seawater onto existing sea ice in winter and letting it freeze into a reinforcing layer.
there remains a big question mark over how scalable this method is
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