The method to develop artificial ice for north seas

Abstract

Rapidly vanishing polar ice may be supplemented with extensive artificial ice in order to alleviate effects of global warming. Here we consider methods for creating such artificial ice by introducing synthetic polymer rafts or films to the supercooled topmost water layer near ice sheet borders in northern Arctic seas. Such films will have three major effects. They will reflect incoming solar radiation, reducing ice melting, ocean absorption of solar energy, and net heating rates. The films will also provide additional sites for nucleation of ice crystals. Finally, by decreasing wave amplitudes in their immediate vicinity, polymer films will allow ice crystals to aggregate into larger ice structures. 1.IntroductionOne of the most important threats to modern society at the present time is the process of global temperature increase due to world fuel consumption [1]. We have begun investigating a new method for increasing the area coverage of sea ice. The main study areas provided access to a range of sea ice conditions [2], including smooth, rubble, lightly ridged and heavily ridged first-year ice, multiyear ice with refrozen ponds, and ice of various thicknesses. Large areas of the Arctic seas experience unstable conditions where supercooled surface water is mixed with small pieces of solid ice, ranging from mm to m in size. Although the air temperature may be between -30 to -10 C°, the ice pieces are prevented from aggregating into larger ice platforms due to chaotic movement and friction induced by water motion in the form of waves and currents. Arctic sea ice has declined in area coverage by 8% per decade since the 1970's. Summertime ice cover in the Arctic is now between 5 and 6 million km 2 . Dry snow on top of sea ice can reflect 70-90% of incoming solar radiation, while open water reflects only 7-10%. Loss of sea ice creates a positive feedback which can intensify the effects of global warming. If loss of sea ice could be reversed, slowed, or somehow mitigated, it could have significant effects upon the global heat budget. Current efforts in this endeavor are focused on developing methods, algorithms, and optimal tools for stabilizing the ice cover. At the observed very low air temperatures, the small effort associated with connecting artificial fragments will produce large and stable platforms, which will grow into ice sheets quite similar to the natural ones.Large regions of supercooled water could be treated using special polymer films or tapes applied from the air. Typical widths of individual rafts or films might begin at the scales of a few to several meters. This artificial element provides the water-wave destruction and ice formation around itself. A broad class of polymers and composites hold great promise for this application. During crystallization, the initial small pieces provide additional nucleation sites for formation of additional crystals. In the supercooled water, addition of artificial films provides yet more crystallization centers. On a microscopic scale, the water stability in the poly...