Perched on sea-ice off Canada’s northern coast, parka-clad scientists watch saltwater pump out over the frozen ocean.
Their goal? To slow global warming.
As sea-ice vanishes, the dark ocean surface can absorb more of the Sun’s energy, which accelerates warming. So the researchers want to thicken it to stop it melting away.
Welcome to the wackier side of geoengineering – deliberately intervening in the Earth’s climate system to try to counteract the damage we have done to it.
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-68206309
I can’t even.
They are drilling a hole in the sea-ice that naturally forms in winter, and pumping around 1,000 litres of seawater per minute across the surface.
…
The ultimate goal of the Arctic experiment is to thicken enough sea-ice to slow or even reverse the melting already seen, says Dr Shaun Fitzgerald, whose team at the University of Cambridge’s Centre for Climate Repair is behind the project.
At least the BBC talked to some semi-sane people.
“It is quite insane in my opinion that this could be done at scale for the entire Arctic Ocean,” says Julienne Stroeve, a professor of polar observation and modelling at University College London.
…
And then there’s the huge logistical challenge of scaling the project up to a meaningful level – one estimate suggests that you could need about 10 million wind-powered pumps to thicken sea-ice across just a tenth of the Arctic.
These morons are discussing placing billions upon billions of dollars worth of heavy mechanical infrastructure on drifting impermanent ice floes.
I’m having difficulty thinking of an imaginary plan that is more stupid that this one.
Go to the BBC site to read the complete story of this inanity.
H/T John C
They forgot that there are no electrical outlets in the middle of the Arctic.
Think about how much FF you would need to make this all happen. These idiots could think up a Rube Goldberg invention to save the world from a non problem, and the machine itself can only be made and operated by using FF.
During the summer months, all they would be doing is hastening the rate at which the sea ice is melting.
But they’ll be helping the polar bears.
Easy meals for them.
There are three things you can do if you see a polar bear in the wild:
1) place yourself into a polar bear-proof structure;
2) dispatch the animal with a weapon of sufficient effective force; or
3) kiss your ass goodbye.
There are 4 things.
The fourth is to make sure you have a companion who can’t run as fast as you can.
Oops, I forgot that one. But you better have better tennis shoes than your companion.
I’d like to know who’s paying for this nonsense. It’s the type of asinine idea that only governments would subsidize with taxpayers’ money, of course.
Floe ice forms from fog, ice and snow on top of brine that is already below freezing temperature. Salt water on top of slightly fresher water seems like a way to melt, not grow ice. Won’t be many hockey players or Inuit on this team. Wish them luck with those diesel powered drills and pumps. Maybe someone could clue them in on the durability and longevity of Pykrete
It is even dumber, judging from the story, as the pumps are to be wind powered. Foundations?
What’s the Climate equivalent of sending Mongoose to Hawaii to constrain the growing rat population?
Or Cane toads to Australia
I’ve read that crows have learned how to eat Cane toads.
They flip them over and attack the belly, which isn’t poisonous.
Smarter than a politician.
It seems like this pilot pump project can start answering some important questions:
I smell a plethora of government grants in the answers.
What’s the air temperature over the sea ice? Given that it’s the Arctic, I’m guessing some way below freezing at best – what makes you think they’ll get any ‘warmer’ water out of the pipe before it freezes? So they’d need a pump for the water and trace heaters to stop it from freezing solid in the pipe as well as some sort of backup for when the wind isn’t blowing strongly enough (which is quite often in the Arctic Summer).
I smell zero government grants for this – it’s 2 weeks early is all.
Next!
And who gets to drive the Zamboni
Forrest Gump keeps on giving: “Stupid is as stupid does.” (Although the phrase apparently predates the movie.)
I was going to say that but just gave you a +.
Junk dumped in the ocean becomes reef for denizens of the deep.
This plan seems inefficient. Clearly, this is an other-people’s-money scheme.
but if you sell the equipment, or service it, or support it in any way that gets you in on the deal, then…… its a great idea. that is what you are fighting against. convincing all the joe schmoes like myself that the climate warmists are frauds, well that is a waste of time if you could instead expose the fraud and grifting in a manner that begins to stop the fraud and grifting.
The problem is multi-fold.
The first and biggest is that at the sun angles present in the Arctic, even in the summer, the amount of extra energy absorbed by water compared to ice is miniscule.
The second is that these calculations also assume pristine ice, as ice ages, it gets darker due to dust and soot being deposited on it.
The third is that because Arctic air is so cold, it holds very little water vapor. Because of this, the loss of sea ice means that more heat is able to escape from the water.
Adding all this up, it is likely that losing sea ice is a weak to moderate negative feedback. Not the strong positive one that these know nothings assume.
“I’m having difficulty thinking of an imaginary plan that is more stupid that this one.“
How about eliminating fossil fuels and replacing them with wind turbines, solar panels and batteries?
That will fix it….Greta told me so.
Once Greta (quietly) removed her tweet about the world ending in 2023, I knew she was in on the scam.
I can only wish that this was an imaginary plan.
Don’t forget using highly explosive hydrogen for energy storage.
In steel tanks that become embrittled by the hydrogen.
I have no words.
Unless I am wrong:
The west is busy reducing it pushing as hard as possible to reduce its greenhouse nasty gases and driving itself to economic oblivion
The west is busy creating as many wacky geoengineering ideas as possible, with absolutely no idea of the real consequences, usually going to be a bad result.
China, India, Russia etc, are all laughing and pushing their economy along fine and emit more greenhouse nasty gases than the self-destructive west can remove from the west’s greenhouse emissions.
Who gains, who loses?
It all makes sense..
vibration is energy, energy is heat… merely circulating water will cause melting immaterial of it being fresh or brine
if they want the ice to last longer they need to sprinkle microplastics with good thermal conductivity on it
“An idea so stupid, only an intellectual could support it.”
LOL!!!!!
Drill a hole in the ice….
Put a hot pump engine above…
What could possibly go wrong ! 😉
If it wasn’t stupid how would we know it was alarmist?
For even more mirth and joviality, we need Nick or one of the other mind-numbed trolls to come out heavily in support of this idiocy. 🙂
Is this where the Banshees appear? (I’m still drinking,)
This idea will work: 1. Get grant. 2. Pump a bit of water, no need for a large amount. 3. Climate goes naturally into a bit of cooling, as has to happen at some time. 4. Claim success, get kudos, new grants, etc.
I say it will work. I am of course basing the statement on #1 above being the main objective with #4 being a secondary objective. So #1 has actually already been achieved. #4 could depend on the timing of #3.
It falls down at step 1 unless whoever’s giving the grants out is totally brain-dead. I’m not ruling that out, mind you – someone gave Mann his money – just saying it’s unlikely.
I think these guys have jumped the gun. It’s not April 1st for another couple of weeks.
The correct term, I think, is: “Jump the shark.”
In this case, both apply.
I may have to pay for the BBC but I don’t have to suffer it
eg Red Nose Day
I’m having difficulty thinking of an imaginary plan that is more stupid that this one.
That’s the problem when they’ve already broken you in with covering the globe with windmills and solar panels to change the weather.
I have one! Every time an iceberg breaks off down in Antarctica we tow it up to the Arctic. Waste not want not! 😀
How about supergluing it back on? 😀
what? isnt sea ice fresh frozen water? salt water takes a LOT more to freeze so hows that going to not melt ice instead? we used a brinebath chiller to freeze our Gelati mix took a hell of a long time to chill that to sludge
I suspect that it might be slightly faster at about -25°C or lower, rather than the usual -5°C or above in a freezer!
My understanding is that fresh water freezes at 0 degrees C and salt water at -2 degrees C.
If you keep your freezer at -5C you must be losing a lot of food. Every freezer I’ve seen works at 0°C or -18°C.
0°F? Yes, sorry I should’ve said fridge. But even freezers are warmer than the temperature on sea ice.
Stupid Cnuts (no it’s not a misspelling)