Iceberg Mooring Engineering: A New Geoengineering Concept for Stabilizing Antarctic Ice Shelves

[Geoengineering News]

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Huade-Soong/publication/393519885_Iceberg_Mooring_Engineering_A_New_Geoengineering_Concept_for_Stabilizing_Antarctic_Ice_Shelves/links/686e9a92b991270ef3025b2b/Iceberg-Mooring-Engineering-A-New-Geoengineering-Concept-for-Stabilizing-Antarctic-Ice-Shelves.pdf

Author

Darren Soong

Abstract

The accelerated collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, especially marine glaciers such as Thwaites, is a major threat to global sea level rise. Traditional geoengineering solutions are either costly or have uncontrollable risks. This paper proposes a new geoengineering concept called the" Iceberg mooring engineering". This concept follows the paradigm of" leveraging Force" and abandons the idea of confronting nature. It aims to" fix" huge new icebergs in place at the moment of large-scale glacier collapse using a pre-deployed mooring system consisting of ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) cables and innovative" fiberreinforced ice anchors". This move can transform the originally" lost" icebergs into" outposts" to protect the glacier mother body from erosion by warm currents and restore some of its support. Preliminary cost estimates show that the investment in a typical pilot project is between US $15 million and US $20 million, which is extremely cost-effective compared to the huge economic cost of inaction. This plan provides a low-cost, low-risk, high-leverage and operational new idea for addressing the problem of ice shelf instability.