Iceberg Towing, a job for the future
Nearly 4 billion people around the world face water shortages for at least one month a year, a phenomenon known as "water stress". This figure is expected to rise to 60% of the global population. In addition, half a billion people in the world face severe water shortages all year round. These are the figures provided by a quick internet search. If you believe that these 4 billion people will remain peaceful, you're the optimistic type. Disputes over drinking water are currently considered the main cause of the wars of the future. In fact, disputes over water resources are already taking place in Ukraine, the West Bank and sub-Saharan Africa.
Approximately 75% of the planet's fresh water is trapped in the ice at the poles, 90% of which is in Antarctica. Based on this, there has been growing interest in recent decades in capturing and moving icebergs (iceberg towing) from the poles towards the coasts of countries affected by drought. It's been talked about since 1956. That year, oceanographer John Dove Isaacs proposed capturing an iceberg weighing 8 million tons of water and transporting it for 200 days from the pole to San Diego, California. Other proposals have been made by Nick Sloane, to solve the water shortage in Cape Town, South Africa, and by Abdulla Al-Shehi, from the United Arab Emirates.
Based on the studies carried out to date to make it feasible to transport icebergs across the ocean, it is already known that the lashing point for the ropes wrapped around the iceberg should be somewhere below the iceberg's center of gravity, to prevent it from fracturing or capsizing during transport. It is not yet known how to prevent much of the iceberg from melting during this process. We do know, however, that a large part of the cycle of life and food in the polar oceans depends on this process. Water from melting icebergs is free of atmospheric pollutants and contains sulphides, iron, calcium, magnesium, nitrogen and phosphorus, making a major contribution to enriching the surrounding oceans. It is essential for the growth of phytoplankton, which is the base of the food chain. So what are the damaging effects of iceberg towing on the polar ecosystem?
Although this whole story seems somewhat futuristic, there is already a whole trade in iceberg melt water. Ed Kean has been working in the Labrador Sea in the Arctic Ocean since the 1990s, using his fishing boat to process the ice from the icebergs floating around him. In some years he produces more than a million liters of fresh water by this process, reselling it to local breweries, cosmetics industries, wineries and tourists in the region, who say it is the most delicious water they have ever drunk in their lives.
Voltar