Stabilizing the West Antarctic Ice Sheet by surface mass deposition - https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/5/7/eaaw4132
Stabilizing the West Antarctic Ice Sheet by surface mass deposition 1. Johannes Feldmann1 <https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/5/7/eaaw4132#aff-1>, 2. Anders Levermann1 <https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/5/7/eaaw4132#aff-1>,2 <https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/5/7/eaaw4132#aff-2>,3 <https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/5/7/eaaw4132#aff-3>,* <https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/5/7/eaaw4132#corresp-1> and 3. Matthias Mengel1 <https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/5/7/eaaw4132#aff-1> See all authors and affiliations Science Advances 17 Jul 2019: Vol. 5, no. 7, eaaw4132 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aaw4132 - Article <https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/5/7/eaaw4132> - Figures & Data <https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/5/7/eaaw4132/tab-figures-data> - Info & Metrics <https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/5/7/eaaw4132/tab-article-info> - eLetters <https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/5/7/eaaw4132/tab-e-letters> - PDF <https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/5/7/eaaw4132/tab-pdf> Abstract There is evidence that a self-sustaining ice discharge from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) has started, potentially leading to its disintegration. The associated sea level rise of more than 3m would pose a serious challenge to highly populated areas including metropolises such as Calcutta, Shanghai, New York City, and Tokyo. Here, we show that the WAIS may be stabilized through mass deposition in coastal regions around Pine Island and Thwaites glaciers. In our numerical simulations, a minimum of 7400 Gt of additional snowfall stabilizes the flow if applied over a short period of 10 years onto the region (−2 mm year−1 sea level equivalent). Mass deposition at a lower rate increases the intervention time and the required total amount of snow. We find that the precise conditions of such an operation are crucial, and potential benefits need to be weighed against environmental hazards, future risks, and enormous technical challenges. -- 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 [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/geoengineering. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/geoengineering/CAJ3C-05G2nCUb-HPRv4mWzjRwRv_nMvM8XVa52jxGWW6y4ncPg%40mail.gmail.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
