In February, scientists presented an ambitious plan for re-freezing of the Arctic, through the installation of 10 million wind pumps over the glaciers to replenish the depleted sea ice.
The idea was so strange that actually nobody thought that it would be to implement, but scientists in Switzerland launched a pilot project to restore a small glacier with generators of artificial snow.
If the team will be able to successfully maintain a small artificial glacier in the South-Eastern part of Switzerland, they hope to apply this technology to save the Morteratsch glacier. This glacier is one of the largest in the Eastern Alps, but it quickly melts due to temperature increase and is currently losing every year 30 to 40 meters. So, it’s possible that the only way to keep the Morteratsch glacier is the coating is not a thick layer of artificial snow with the help of thousands of generators.
Scientists hope that their project will be the starting point in saving glaciers around the world. Such plans may seem a bit far-fetched, but technically it is realistic to use a machine to restore to replenish glaciers and vanishing sea ice.
In the beginning of this year, a group of scientists led by physicist Steven Desch has released a report stating that millions of wind pumps, feeding water, gradually build up to 1 meter of ice in the Arctic ocean. But to undertake such work even for 10% of the Arctic will need 10 million powerful pumps that spray needs 7.5 liters of water.
The experts from Utrecht University in the Netherlands calculated that the recovery of the Morteratsch glacier will take about 4000 generators of artificial snow. The idea is that a thick layer of artificial snow can reflect sunlight, which affects vulnerable layers of ice. Of course, this project is not as ambitious as the plan for the restoration of the Arctic sea ice, but still it will require a large infusion of funds.
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