Greenhouse gas emissions, environmental pollution, melting of polar ice caps, rising sea levels - most of us have rust on our ears. From the personal level, no one has a headache except a few people. All this is happening, my father, someone else from another world will die, or someone from the future, my day is gone; The attitude is probably nothing like that. However, some people believe in chasing forest buffaloes by eating at home forever. Because of these, everyone on Earth can live in peace, the only habitable planet that gets a little more life. One of the many initiatives of these 'lunatics' is the California-based non-profit organization Arctic Ice Project .
Refers to the use of technology to solve any problem related to geoengineering or geo-engineering, weather, climate, environment. Greenhouse gas production needs to be reduced or carbon emissions need to be reduced, and countless agreements, conferences, mutual accusations from developed countries have been around for a long time. Any comments on the implementation of these are unnecessary. So the idea of taking some relatively unconventional steps in the minds of researchers and scientists. Leslie Field is a teacher at Stanford University and the chief technical officer of the Arctic Ice Project. He called this project the 'latest approach'.
Polar ice can be roughly divided into two parts. Mature, very strong, almost pale white in color and relatively flexible, dense dark blue in color, immature. The first group of ice is called the world's air conditioner. That is, a large part of the huge amount of rays incident from the sun is reflected back by the white surface of the ice. But the amount of heat trapped in the earth is much higher as a result of excessive greenhouse gases, which is melting the ice layer.
When this ice melts, it first becomes dark blue ice (second group) and then water. It goes without saying that they do not have the ability to reflect heat, but rather they are structurally suitable for storing heat. In this way the ice is melting, retaining heat, the ice is melting again, retaining heat. The whole thing is working like a feedback loop. Unconventional researchers want to go back to the first step to counteract this vicious cycle of climate change .
Silicon dioxide or silica. The main component of most sand is silica, which is often used as a raw material for making glass. Spreading silica beads on polar ice caps that have turned white will essentially increase the reflectivity of the ice surface. An initiative called Ice 911 Research has already yielded positive results in various ice-covered ponds in the Sierra Nevada, Minnesota, and Alaska.
The results of the research institute's work by multiple scientists have been published in the publication of the Wiley Online Library in the journal Peer Review Science . The study says that after the application of silica, the thickness of ice in different lakes has increased and the reflectivity of the ice surface has also increased. According to Ice 911 Research, it will cost িয়ন 300 million to cover about 9,600 square miles of silica in the polar region, which is twice the amount of glass currently produced in the world.
The glass made of silica is absolutely delicate in shape; The diameter is only 35 micrometers. So it is almost impossible to do any damage to the lungs by overcoming the obstruction of the respiratory system. It also had no adverse effects on birds. However, how safe it will be for marine biodiversity also needs to be examined in detail. Field has provided a very clear opinion on a subject. Covering the polar ice with silica glass can never be a fundamental solution to the problem of global warming. He and his team are working towards this goal, in order to slow down the melting of ice and sea level rise. This will facilitate policy makers around the world to make economic decisions.
Apart from ICE 911, several other geotechnical projects are underway in different countries. One such project is Harvard University's Antacid Project. According to their proposal, a device would be lifted with a balloon 12 kilometers above the ground in New Mexico City. The device will be used to disperse calcium carbonate powder into the air in New Mexico. The initial amount of calcium carbonate was set at 2.2 pounds. The Harvard project is currently awaiting a recommendation from the Ethical Committee.
The potential negative impact of geo-engineering is also being discussed. Emily Cox, a student at Cardiff University who studies climate policy and geopolitics, is concerned. According to him, the environment of the polar region is already very sensitive. If geo-engineering causes any particular damage to the polar region, it is important to think about mitigating it in advance. Scientists agree that the purpose and design of silica-made glass beads is truly admirable. However, if the bids remain in the polar region indefinitely, they could cause damage to the marine environment.
At the very bottom of the food pyramid in the polar region, the existence of plankton, such as diatoms, algae, etc., depends on how much sunlight the glass beads reflect. Without the minimum sunlight that these species need to survive, they will die and the entire ecosystem, including seals and white bears, could be destroyed .
The size of the glass beads is about the same as that of the diatom. From this point of view, it can be said that if the top layer of plankton eater, zooplankton, accidentally eats silica instead of diatom, it will be another cause of headache. They will eat silica day after day thinking of diatom, but no nutrients will match. This will upset the balance of a certain level of eater in the food chain.
Almost everyone among scientists is thinking about reducing the melting of ice in the polar region. That is why they are focusing on warming the environment. However, along with the environment, the sea is also warming up. Ocean temperatures are also rising due to the melting of Greenland's glaciers, and hot fresh water is flowing over warm seawater. The most frightening thing is that so far no significant work has been done to reduce marine warming. Only time will tell if the world climate is going to face any horrors in the future and whether we can escape from it.
This article is discusses the issues of stopping ice melting by using silica beads. Necessary references are hyperlinked within the article.
Featured Image: BBC
