Iceberg management

Sea ice & icebergs

With rising Arctic temperatures, there have been major changes in iceberg production rates from marine terminating glaciers. These icebergs drift into warmer sea waters where they will slowly melt.

In a series of posts to the Geoengineering Google Group in 2009, Veli Albert Kallio suggested the possibility that 'suspension cabling could hold ice in place and prevent it moving into the warm waters'. These cables would potentially sink or be removable. The original post suggested placing the cables in the Robeson Channel between Canada and Greenland. Several responses remarked it might be worthwhile to look into the use of such cables to reduce the outflow rate of ice in other areas.

Technological Readiness Level (TRL)

Low 1

The plan has not been explored seriously in the scientific literature.

Technological Readiness Level (TRL)

A technology with a TRL of 1-3: TRL 1 – Basic; TRL 2 – Concept formulated; TRL 3 – Experimental proof of concept

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Scalability

Low 1

Scalability

Physically unable to scale; sub-linear/logarithmic efficiency of scalability

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Timeliness for near-future effects

Low 1

Timeliness for near-future effects

Implemented too late to make a significant difference

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Northern + Arctic potential

Low 1

The effects of such management would probably be limited.

Northern + Arctic potential

No noticeable extra positive effect beyond the global average; technology is unsuited to the Arctic

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Global potential

Low 1

This would only be applicable to specific iceberg producing regions.

Global potential

Insignificant to be detected at a global scale

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Cost - benefit

Prohibitive 1

Cost - benefit

Cost of investment comparable to cost of avoided damage

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Environmental risks

Some risk 2

The original post already encouraged further research into the environmental effects of this measure.

Environmental risks

More widespread and possibly regional impacts that extend beyond the immediate solution deployment location

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Community impacts

Neutral 2

Community impacts

Unnoticeable or negligible positive or negative effects

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Ease of reversibility

Easy 3

Ease of reversibility

Easily reversible naturally

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Risk of termination shock

Low risk 3

Risk of termination shock

Low or insignificant termination shock or damage

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Legality/governance

Possible 3

Legality/governance

Currently legal to deploy, with governance structures in place to facilitate it and/or financial incentives to develop it

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Scientific/media attention

Low 1

The idea has likely been abandoned after the original series of posts.

Scientific/media attention

Very low attention from individuals and/or abandoned ideas; low media attention; no commercial interest.

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References

Geoengineering Google Group. 2009. Comments. In: Compendium to the University of the Arctic Rapid Response Assessment: Frozen Arctic. Annex. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8408608

Related ideas

Ice sheets and glaciers

Ice sheet stabilization by draining water or bed freezing

It has been suggested that ice sheets could be stabilized by reducing the lubrication effect of water below the ice sheet.

Melting glacier ice, Alpefjord, Northeast Greenland National Park

Ice sheets and glaciers

Artificial glaciers

Several high mountain communities around the world have a long history of building barriers and other constructions that trap or hold meltwater by refreezing it (Nüsser et al. 2019b).

Land-based measures

Afforestation, reforestation and forest management

Although the rate of deforestation has slowed over the last few decades, the world is still losing forest cover (FAO 2020). Adequate management, protection, and restoration of existing forests, and the planting of unforested areas, play a crucial role in climate mitigation scenarios (IPCC AR6 WG3), and many countries now include forests in their climate mitigation targets (NDCs).The Northern and Arctic regions are essential in this endeavor since they are home to large swaths of boreal forests that make up 27% of total global forest area (FAO 2020).

Ice sheets and glaciers

Stabilizing glaciers by cloud seeding

Increasing precipitation on a glacier would add to the glacier's mass, thereby directly countering the melting. Also, the snow that falls would increase glacial albedo, and thereby reduce the amount of absorbed energy.

Ice sheets and glaciers

Increasing humidity around glaciers and ice sheets

Engineer Paul Klinkman has suggested increasing the water content around glaciers and ice sheets to increase precipitation over them (see Klinkman Solar Design, U2).

Sea ice melting, North of Dickson, Taymyr, Russia

Sea ice & icebergs

Pykrete usage

Pykrete is a 6:1 mix of ice and sawdust that has the property of melting slower than regular ice. Several references have been made online to the use of pykrete as an artificial barrier, as artificial sea ice, or as blockers of moulins.

Industry

Bio-energy with carbon storage BECCS

Bio-Energy with Carbon Storage (BECCS) offers a nature-based way to remove CO2 from the atmosphere by consuming biomaterial and removing the remaining carbon residues from the carbon cycle.

Oceans & marine

Ocean fertilization

Ocean fertilization schemes seek to increase the amount of available nutrients in the top layer of the ocean to stimulate the growth of phytoplankton.