First you're a iceberg towing researcher. Then there's an earthquake. AND one of your team members is a killer. Geez Louise. January 3, : Everyone's got an angle on iceberg towing, I always say. An Environmental Protection Agency report on climate change suggests, "Experiments such as towing icebergs into warmer water could also be undertaken to provide additional insights into the behavior of glaciers under radically different conditions.
Present : Iceberg towing is now commonplace in the Arctic near oil rigs. There are fairly standard procedures for dealing with all sizes of bergs and some upwards of 4 million tonnes have been towed successfully, according to a Canadian government report.
The crazy scheme side of the iceberg towing industry continues apace. And the breathless media reporting on such things continues as well. This is one of these ideas that no matter how many times you repeat it remains some wild guy's wacky idea. He wants to go to Antarctica, tie a big rope around a six-million-ton iceberg, drag it back to Africa and melt it into fresh, drinkable water.
Some might call him crazy, but Mougin reckons the plan could work. If you're curious about the research process that went into this post, I wrote up what I did over at Google Plus. Images: 1. Scripps Oceanographic Institute. RAND Corporation 4. Gallery: Grand Banks Iceberg Management. We want to hear what you think about this article.
It would yield valuable information about a subject that is likely to become increasingly important as the climate warms, and it would be a good test of existing models. Not to mention it would be a pretty amazing spectacle.
He uses techniques that span isotope geochemistry, next generation DNA sequencing, and satellite tagging to study the ecology of a wide variety of ocean species. He recently discovered that blue sharks use warm water ocean tunnels, or eddies, to dive to the ocean twilight zone, where they forage in nutrient-rich waters hundreds of meters down. Born in New Zealand, Simon received his B.
With much of his work in the South Pacific and Caribbean, Simon has been on many cruises, logging 1, hours of scuba diving and hours in tropical environs.
He has been a scientist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution since Gregory Skomal is an accomplished marine biologist, underwater explorer, photographer, and author. He has been a fisheries scientist with the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries since and currently heads up the Massachusetts Shark Research Program.
For more than 30 years, Greg has been actively involved in the study of life history, ecology, and physiology of sharks. His shark research has spanned the globe from the frigid waters of the Arctic Circle to coral reefs in the tropical Central Pacific.
Much of his current research centers on the use of acoustic telemetry and satellite-based tagging technology to study the ecology and behavior of sharks. He has written dozens of scientific research papers and has appeared in a number of film and television documentaries, including programs for National Geographic, Discovery Channel, BBC, and numerous television networks. His most recent book, The Shark Handbook, is a must buy for all shark enthusiasts. Robert D. He served in the U. Navy for more than 30 years and continues to work with the Office of Naval Research.
A pioneer in the development of deep-sea submersibles and remotely operated vehicle systems, he has taken part in more than deep-sea expeditions. In , he discovered the RMS Titanic , and has succeeded in tracking down numerous other significant shipwrecks, including the German battleship Bismarck , the lost fleet of Guadalcanal, the U. Every year the Antarctic sheds around 2, billion tons of ice - more than the total global consumption of freshwater Credit: Getty Images.
The longest tow she has heard of lasted 24 hours and was a massive logistical exercise. He says that to haul a large, stable iceberg would require at least 40—50 metric tonnes of fuel per day, per vessel. A single tug towing for days would therefore burn through 5, metric tonnes of fuel.
At Memorial University of Newfoundland, Steve Bruneau, associate professor at the faculty of engineering and applied science, is even more dismissive. I sincerely hope that wealth and valuable energy resources are not wasted on this. However, both Atlantic Towing and C-Core agree that tabular Antarctic icebergs are easier to tow to than their warmer, less stable Arctic cousins.
And there is arguably no-one in the world with more direct experience of icebergs from both poles than Olav Orheim. His only real contender to that crown is Peter Wadhams. We should also recognise the sheer scale of the resource available, were these plans to succeed.
These all melt in the sea. So, all we would be doing is bringing one or two a bit further north. If you liked this story, sign up for the weekly bbc.
Future Now Climate change. The outrageous plan to haul icebergs to Africa. Share using Email. By Tim Smedley 21st September As South Africa faces ever more severe water shortages, some experts are seriously considering a proposal to harvest Antarctic icebergs and haul them to Cape Town. What are the chances it will succeed?
All these plans have one thing in common, however — none of them ever actually happened. But he believes the action of taking an iceberg could be a "matter of national significance" under the Australian Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.
That referral would go to the Department of Environment, he said, which "would likely require an environmental impact assessment and approval". Even if the firm succeeded in securing environmental approval, getting access to an iceberg near Heard Island could pose another problem. Heard Island is about 4, kilometres south west of mainland Australia, and about 1, kilometres north of Antarctica.
It's home to Australia's highest mountain, active volcano Mawson Peak. Seventeen separate requirements apply, including a "de-ratting" certificate for any vessel and a ban on discharging ballast water.
Mr Alshehi from the UAE firm noted there were icebergs outside the Heard Island protected zone and pledged that the actual towing operation would by conducted outside the protected zone.
Mr Alshehi said Perth was chosen for the trial not only because of its relative proximity to Heard Island. Professor Gardner made the point that the water wouldn't simply flow through to people's taps once the iceberg arrived in Perth. A PhD student at the University of Tasmania, Dr Bruno Spandonide, devoted thousand words to the possibility of towing an iceberg to harvest water in a thesis. He said iceberg transportation "could represent a viable long term source of freshwater" for southern Western Australia and that "iceberg harvesting may produce greater financial return than desalination technology.
But he noted there were many aspects that needed testing. The reliability of the melting times. The stability of the melting icebergs. The drifting. And, yes, the kite system he proposed using kites and large bags to transport the water. Mr Alshehi claimed he was "optimistic" his firm could secure the relevant environmental approvals for the promised trial.
Topics: government-and-politics , science , science-and-technology , environment , water-supply , australia. First posted August 14, Contact Jack Snape.
0コメント