After having read Kim Stanley Robinson's *Ministry for the Future* in which he gives a depiction of basal meltwater drainage as a near-term scifi solution(?) to sea level rise, it is totally surreal to read about this in real peer-reviewed literature. Kudos Andrew, and hope to hear more about this work on your podcast! On Friday, 25 December 2020 at 6:44:40 pm UTC+11 Andrew Lockley wrote:
> https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674927820300940 > > Glacier geoengineering to address sea-level rise: A geotechnical approach > Author links open overlay panelAndrewLockleyaJohn C.Moorebd > https://doi.org/10.1016/j.accre.2020.11.008 > Get rights and content > Under a Creative Commons licenseopen access > Abstract > It is remarkable that the high-end sea level rise threat over the next few > hundred years comes almost entirely from only a handful of ice streams and > large glaciers. These occupy a few percent of ice sheets’ coastline. > Accordingly, spatially limited interventions at source may provide > globally-equitable mitigation from rising seas. Ice streams control > draining of ice sheets; glacier retreat or acceleration serves to greatly > increase potential sea level rise. While various climatic geoengineering > approaches have been considered, serious consideration of geotechnical > approaches has been limited – particularly regarding glaciers. This study > summarises novel and extant geotechnical techniques for glacier restraint, > identifying candidates for further research. These include draining or > freezing the bed; altering surface albedo; creating obstacles: retaining > snow; stiffening shear margins with ice; blocking warm sea water entry; > thickening ice shelves (increasing buttressing, and strengthening fractured > shelves against disintegration); as well as using regional climate > engineering or local cloud seeding to cool the glacier or add snow. Not all > of these ideas are judged reasonable or feasible, and even fewer are likely > to be found to be advisable after further consideration. By describing and > evaluating the potential and risks of a large menu of responses – even > apparently hopeless ones – we can increase the chances of finding one that > works in times of need. > > Keywords > Climate interventionTargeted geoengineeringAntarcticaGreenlandGlaciersSea > level rise > -- 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 view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/geoengineering/94736752-ef37-4151-a4ba-5bbe05901c64n%40googlegroups.com.
