Polar Experts Launch Bold Project to Refreeze the Arctic

Bright Side

A team of polar scientists just kicked off a wild new project—trying to refreeze parts of the Arctic. Yep, you heard that right—they’re looking at ways to cool things back down up north. The idea is to use special technologies, like pumps powered by wind, to spray water on top of ice during winter so it freezes thicker and stronger. It sounds like science fiction, but with the Arctic melting fast, experts say bold moves are needed. The project is still in the early stages, but it’s got the science world buzzing. If it works, it could help slow down climate change and save icy habitats for animals like polar bears and seals.  Credit: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ : Water Pump: By OOtis_Pro, https://skfb.ly/oSxzF Earth: By denis_cliofas, https://skfb.ly/6VCKF ColdClimateHousing / YouTube Animation is created by Bright Side.  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Music from TheSoul Sound: https://thesoul-sound.com/   Check our Bright Side podcast on Spotify and leave a positive review! https://open.spotify.com/show/0hUkPxD34jRLrMrJux4VxV   Subscribe to Bright Side: https://goo.gl/rQTJZz ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Our Social Media: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brightside Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brightside.official TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@brightside.official?lang=en Telegram: https://t.me/bright_side_official   Stock materials (photos, footages and other): https://www.depositphotos.com https://www.shutterstock.com https://www.eastnews.ru ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  For more videos and articles visit: http://www.brightside.me  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This video is made for entertainment purposes. We do not make any warranties about the completeness, safety and reliability. Any action you take upon the information in this video is strictly at your own risk, and we will not be liable for any damages or losses. It is the viewer's responsibility to use judgement, care and precaution if you plan to replicate.

Transcript

00:00The Arctic is disappearing.

00:02In just a few years, the North Pole could see its first ice-free summer in the last 125,000 years.

00:10But a bold new experiment might turn back the clock.

00:13Scientists are refreezing the Arctic.

00:16If they succeed, they could save the North Pole.

00:19But if they fail, they could trigger unforeseen disasters.

00:23So, which way would things go?

00:25Well, here's some backstory.

00:26Deep in the Arctic, temperatures drop so low that metal cracks and winds scream across the ice.

00:33In winter, it's minus 30 degrees Fahrenheit on average.

00:37But despite the seemingly extreme cold, it's actually melting, warming two to three times faster than the rest of the planet.

00:45Now, ice is like Earth's natural mirror.

00:48It reflects sunlight back into space, keeping the planet cool.

00:51When it melts, it exposes the dark ocean underneath.

00:54The ocean absorbs sunlight instead of reflecting it, and it spreads all across the planet.

01:01This warms the planet even faster, melting even more ice.

01:05It's a vicious cycle.

01:07And if it continues, we'll reach a point where the ice won't come back.

01:11That thick, ancient ice that has covered the North Pole for thousands of years is already 95% gone.

01:17It's been disappearing since the 1980s.

01:20The ice that remains there now is thin and fragile.

01:24And when it disappears, it will trigger a dangerous chain reaction.

01:28Meanwhile, a group of researchers from a UK startup called Real Ice is out there trying to slow down or even reverse the melting of the Arctic.

01:37The project takes place in a tiny frozen village in Canada called Cambridge Bay.

01:43Real Ice wants to break the vicious cycle.

01:46And here's their plan.

01:47First, they drill through the existing ice and place an underwater pump beneath it.

01:52Then they pump seawater onto the ice surface, where it quickly freezes into an extra thick layer.

01:57Finally, they remove snow from the ice, which usually acts like a blanket, preventing further freezing.

02:04After that, ice keeps growing.

02:06Stronger, thicker, and harder to melt.

02:09It's a simple idea inspired by nature itself.

02:12Ice naturally forms its way in some Arctic regions.

02:15But now, scientists want to do it on a massive scale.

02:19So far, it appears to be working.

02:21Between January and May 2024, they covered around 44,000 square feet of ice.

02:27And it became 20 inches thicker, on average.

02:30And in November 2024, they started a new round of tests.

02:34In the first 10 days of the trial, the ice was already 4 inches thicker.

02:39Now, they'll return in May 2025 to check out how things are going.

02:44They think it's going to get between around 16 to 31 inches of it during the Arctic winter.

02:50It's a small start, admittedly.

02:52But if they can prove it works, their plan is to expand across an area more than twice the size of California,

02:59about 386,000 square miles of ice.

03:03And they're not stopping there.

03:05The big idea is to send in 500,000 underwater drones, powered by clean energy, to automate the entire process.

03:12These drones would drill holes, pump water, and refreeze the ice without human intervention.

03:19But not everyone is convinced.

03:22Some scientists think this whole idea is a disaster waiting to happen.

03:26First, they point out that saltier ice, the one from seawater pumped onto it, melts faster in the summer.

03:32So if this new ice melts too quickly, we could end up making the situation worse.

03:37Some of them also think this is a dangerous distraction from the core problem, like treating the symptoms instead of the root causes.

03:45Besides, making a small patch of ice thicker is one thing.

03:48But doing this across the entire Arctic?

03:50That's another challenge entirely.

03:53Another thing they're worried about is the ecosystem.

03:56The Arctic is one of the most fragile ecosystems on Earth.

03:59Changing ice thickness could affect marine life, disrupt algae growth, and impact the food chain in ways we don't fully understand.

04:08There's also the question of money.

04:10Realize estimates that refreezing the entire Arctic will cost about 5 to 6 billion dollars per year.

04:17Who's paying for this?

04:18Right now, they're self-funded with some investors backing them.

04:21But eventually, they hope that countries, global funds, and even corporations will finance the project.

04:27Realize argues that doing nothing could be far worse.

04:32If we don't act, we could lose the Arctic within our lifetime.

04:36That could at least help to buy more time to fix the planet.

04:39Desperate times call for desperate measures.

04:42Now, the idea of saving the Arctic ice isn't new.

04:45Over the years, scientists have suggested some pretty wild plans to stop the melting.

04:50In 2017, there was the initial wind-powered pump plan.

04:54Physicist Stephen Desch proposed installing about 10 million wind-powered pumps in the Arctic.

05:00These pumps would pull seawater up onto the ice, kind of like real ice.

05:04It would freeze in the cold winter months, creating a thicker ice layer.

05:08The biggest problem is that someone would have to run this entire show.

05:12And what happens if something goes wrong?

05:14In 2018, there was the Glass Beads Plan, which was supposed to start in 2020s.

05:20A team called the Arctic Ice Project suggested covering the Arctic with tiny reflective glass beads.

05:27Yep, glass balls.

05:29The idea was basically to replace the ice's mirror effect.

05:33The beads would bounce sunlight away, keeping the ice colder for longer.

05:36The plan is being tested by a group of scientists working with the Arctic Ice Project.

05:42They say the glass balls are made of a material that's safe for animals.

05:46They even claim birds use similar materials to help them digest food.

05:50The glass used in these microspheres is the same material used in lab equipment and light bulbs.

05:56Sounds safe, right?

05:57Well, not so fast.

05:59There's also the environmental risk.

06:01These glass balls are tiny, and they could easily get into the ocean, impacting everything from fish to plankton.

06:08We still need more research to understand how this material breaks down in the ocean and whether it could affect marine life.

06:15But where things get really crazy is when we start talking about scaling this up.

06:20To cover just a tiny fraction of the Arctic, they would need millions of tons of these tiny microspheres.

06:27And that's just for starters.

06:28And they'd have to be working 24-7 through freezing temperatures and snowstorms.

06:34The scientists believe this could help keep the ice thick enough to survive summer and even slow the melting.

06:40But can it really work?

06:42Then there's also the Bright Ice Initiative, founded by the same folks behind the Arctic Ice Project.

06:49Instead of focusing on the Arctic Ocean, they want to use the same glass microspheres to restore glaciers.

06:54They've even tried this out on a glacier in Iceland.

06:58But experts are still skeptical.

07:00They say it could just speed up melting instead of reversing it.

07:03Now, another idea was cloud seeding with water particles.

07:06This would involve spraying ocean water into the sky itself.

07:10This would form clouds, and they'd reflect more sunlight.

07:14So, as you can see, some of these plans were too expensive, too complicated, or just straight-up wild.

07:20The real ISIS plan borrows ideas from earlier projects, but is much cheaper and more practical.

07:27Most importantly, it's working.

07:30But all this Arctic disaster is already affecting people.

07:33In the village of Newtok, Alaska, the land is disappearing.

07:37Each year, about 70 feet of the riverbank erodes, taking homes and history with it.

07:43That's all because of the erosion and the thawing permafrost.

07:46Now, these people had to move to a safer place called Myrtevek, just 9 miles away.

07:53But it's a long and challenging journey.

07:55The relocation is taking years of planning, with Newtok residents already starting this shift in 2019.

08:02The new village offers better health and safety, but it's still a work in progress.

08:07Things like the school and grocery store remain in the old village, which makes things harder.

08:12Water and sewage systems are being set up, and for now, most residents are using a honey bucket system.

08:19But at least, they have a chance to rebuild.

08:22It's still unclear whether these geoengineering ideas are a lifeline or a disaster.

08:27For now, we can just keep an eye on them.

08:30That's it for today.

08:31So hey, if you pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like and share it with your friends.

08:36Or if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the bright side.

Category

Transcript

Recommended