The government of Great Britain has allocated $13.4 million to a new, innovative project aimed at mitigating the consequences of global warming and stopping the melting of glaciers in the Arctic region. According to The Times, this project will be carried out with the support of the Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA) and is aimed at artificially restoring Arctic glaciers.
The main goal of the project is to create new, thick ice layers in the Arctic with the help of underwater robots. For this, specialists will conduct an experiment on Victoria Island, which is part of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. A team led by Cambridge University professor Sean Fitzgerald had already conducted initial trials a year ago: they cleaned snow from the ice, made holes, and brought seawater to the surface, thus achieving the formation of a new ice layer up to 50 centimeters thick.
Now, the scientists’ task is to scale up this process, gather precise scientific data, and fully assess the environmental impact of this technology. The project will be implemented over three winters and will include laboratory research, modeling, and field testing.
If the experiment is successful, it is planned to use about 500,000 autonomous underwater robots to restore Arctic glaciers. This global plan will require an annual expenditure of $10 billion.
At the same time, some ecologists and specialists are skeptical about such radical geoengineering solutions. They point out that “refreezing” the Arctic may, instead of alleviating the situation, distract people and governments from taking actions to reduce waste.
In short, the UK’s new project to preserve Arctic glaciers has attracted the attention of the world community and opened up new debates on ecological innovations. Such advanced approaches to a global problem may bring positive results or cause new concerns. Read 'Zamin' on Telegram!
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