This issues I see (briefly) are as follows 1) non-natural substance - in contrast of SO2, mimicking volcanoes 2) mass flux likely FAR higher per unit of forcing (many orders of magnitude) 3) deposition would be into ocean - unclear if it floats or sinks. If floating, will be eaten by surface animals, and end up covered in plankton/algae. If sinking, would end up in sediments, and possibly ingested (esp in shallow waters) 4) sheer impracticability of distribution in remote and hostile areas
A On 8 December 2017 at 15:43, lou del bello <lou.delbe...@gmail.com> wrote: > Dear all, I am covering this just now (within the next hour or two) for > Futurism.com > Any comment or suggestion on things to highlight and potential pitfalls of > this idea would be greatly appreciated. > > Best, > > > Lou > > On 8 December 2017 at 01:19, Renaud de_Richter <ecologi...@gmail.com> > wrote: > >> >> *Could this geoengineering venture help save the ice caps?* >> https://www.greenbiz.com/article/could-geoengineering-ventur >> e-help-save-ice-caps >> *By Sue Lebeck <https://www.greenbiz.com/users/sue-lebeck>* Wednesday, >> December 6, 2017 >> >> http://www.ice911.org/el-panamericano/ >> http://www.ice911.org/testing-1/ >> >> >> With hundreds of cities >> <https://www.greenbiz.com/article/nature-speaks-cities-listen> and >> businesses pledging to bend the curve on carbon emissions by 2020 >> <https://www.greenbiz.com/article/christiana-figueres-energy-everyone-and-emissions-no-one>, >> scientists and researchers are looking into how to buy time against climate >> change wherever they can find it. One way is by seeking opportunities to >> slow the rapid warming currently underway. >> >> Leslie Field, founder and CEO of Ice911 <http://www.ice911.org/>, a >> Silicon Valley nonprofit research corporation, has been doing just that >> <https://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2014/01/24/ice911-buying-time-green-innovation>. >> Field — a micro-electro-mechanical systems and nanotechnology consultant, >> Stanford consulting professor and inventor — has been collaborating with >> other scientists and engineers to "restore the earth's refrigerator by >> slowing down the melt of polar ice," as she explained to me recently. Now, >> the organization is seeking ways to scale its idea. >> >> "After extensive field testing, we have the technology, the team and the >> experience to significantly reduce the impacts of climate change by 2020 >> and give the world time," she said. >> >> I first met Field in 2013. At the time, Ice911 was still her >> "inconvenient hobby," as she liked to call it. "Watching the movie 'An >> Inconvenient Truth' <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Inconvenient_Truth> >> on a June evening in Palo Alto changed the path of my life, starting >> from the moment I walked out of the theatre," Field reflected. The movie >> "made it clear that the Arctic is a key lever for climate change." >> >> Indeed, the situation in the Arctic has grown even more urgent since that >> time. As noted professor of ocean physics Peter Wadhams explained >> <https://e360.yale.edu/features/as_arctic_ocean_ice_disappears_global_climate_impacts_intensify_wadhams>, >> "The top of the world is turning from white to blue in summer. This >> monumental change will amplify global warming and could destabilize the >> global climate system." >> >> After extensive field testing, we have the technology, the team and the >> experience to significantly reduce the impacts of climate change by 2020 >> and give the world time. >> >> Field's work started as a research question. "I thought, what if I >> consider this a materials problem? What if we can replace the lost >> reflectivity of the ice with a safe reflective material?" >> >> When I first wrote about Ice911's work three years ago, I was impressed >> by the enormity of the task that one woman and her colleagues were willing >> to take on — and by the enormity of the potential impact if they succeed. >> This moved me to learn more about this planet-saving mission in engineering >> and materials science. >> >> Since that time, Ice911 has become Field’s professional focus. Her >> growing team has tested and refined its methods for "rebuilding the >> multi-year reflective 'bright ice' in the Arctic." In March, they began >> working with Climformatics <http://www.climformatics.com/>, a California >> startup specializing in climate modeling, to create a large-scale >> deployment plan. >> >> >> Softening the hard edges of geoengineering >> >> Ice911's science-savvy website explains the risky business of polar ice >> melt to non-scientists: "The more ice melts, the more radiation is absorbed >> by larger areas of open ocean; then the more the ocean heats, and the more >> the ice melts." That creates what climate scientists call a positive >> feedback loop, but one with a very negative effect. >> >> As a result, the Arctic and its icecap, which we rely on to moderate the >> climate, is warming twice as fast as the rest of the world. And an ice-free >> Arctic has serious consequences for global temperature rise and weather >> patterns. >> >> To address this, Ice911 has been developing geoengineering methods to >> slow the melt. Geoengineering approaches are typically expensive, rapid, >> irreversible and have unintended ecological effects. Ice911 applies a >> softer touch. >> >> Its so-called "soft" geoengineering processes are intended to be >> reversible or removable, and make as small and local an ecological impact >> as possible. As part of its "soft" solution, Ice911 uses ice-building >> materials that are "safe, low-cost, scalable and reversible." The >> materials <http://www.ice911.org/deployment-method-1/> are designed to >> degrade into sand over time. >> >> Importantly, it is also very localized. "Deploying materials in a >> strategic location gives at least an order of magnitude greater >> effectiveness in preserving ice per unit area than carpeting the entire >> Arctic, which we do not want to do," Field said. >> >> >> Boots on the ground >> >> The solution itself is "a form of floating sand, made of silica — >> glass-based not plastic." >> >> Their "boots-on-the-ground" method works by spreading their solution "on >> top of ice in strategic locations," where it helps to build its albedo — >> that is, its ability to reflect. >> >> "Our modeling shows that targeted annual applications of the Ice911 >> albedo-enhancing material would result in an immediate shift of the Arctic >> climate state to thicker ice and a colder Arctic," Field said. "It is >> inspiring to see the kinds of positive effects on climate that we can >> achieve." >> >> Their modeling identified Fram Strait, a significant route for ice flow >> out of the Arctic, and Beaufort Gyre, near Barrow, Alaska (a locale where >> Ice911 already has done testing above the Arctic Circle) as the best >> deployment locations. Their next mission to Alaska will be in March. "We >> are working on the permitting, equipment and logistics now," Field said. >> >> Ice911 will be sharing its progress at the December meeting of the American >> Geophysical Union <https://publications.agu.org/journals/>, a community >> of earth and space scientists focused on "ensuring a sustainable future." >> In addition, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change >> <http://www.ipcc.ch/> (IPCC) "will deliver a comprehensive analysis >> <http://www.scidev.net/global/climate-change/news/ipcc-un-climate-global-warming.html>of >> existing science and potential emission reduction pathways in 2018. Ice911 >> is on track to be considered in the 1.5 degree assessment, which would be >> "a very big deal," according to Field. >> >> Buying time for business >> >> Direct action to slow the melt of our earth's cooling centers could >> provide cover to cities and businesses working to meet the aggressive >> drawdown >> <https://www.greenbiz.com/article/communities-rise-draw-down-carbon> >> windows we all face. And not a moment too soon. >> >> With help from enlightened businesses, scientific solutions such as >> Ice911 could rise from inspirational to truly game-changing. Donations >> <https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/SaveTheIce?code=donationpage%20bottom> >> of money or of in-kind products and services such as supercomputer time for >> the climate modelers, data center services, shipping, materials or event >> space could make a critical difference on this journey. >> >> And by helping, businesses will mitigate their own risk, while making a >> high-impact investment which could buy themselves — and all of us — >> precious time. >> >> >> http://www.ice911.org/deployment-method-1/ >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "geoengineering" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to geoengineering+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >> To post to this group, send email to geoengineering@googlegroups.com. >> Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/geoengineering. >> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >> > > > > -- > *Lou Del Bello* > > *Mobile UK +44 (0)7900632250 <+44%207900%20632250>* > > > Multimedia journalist > > @loudelbello > > > > > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "geoengineering" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to geoengineering+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To post to this group, send email to geoengineering@googlegroups.com. > Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/geoengineering. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "geoengineering" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to geoengineering+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to geoengineering@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/geoengineering. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
