Phys.org November 18, 2024
Should current unmitigated emissions continue, there is a growing chance of collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, one of the planetary climate tipping points at the greatest risk of being crossed. Such a collapse would subject the world to an increase of several metres in average global sea-level rise over just a few centuries. There is an academic debate about the potential of supporting glacial stability through artificial infrastructures such as an undersea ‘curtain’. However, this ‘ice sheet conservation’ would come with significant yet unforeseeable technical and environmental risks. Researchers in the UK argued that the proposed infrastructures could negatively implicate the ‘peaceful purposes only’ obligation enshrined in the Antarctic Treaty. By affecting contentious areas of Antarctic geopolitics, such as authority, sovereignty and security, there is a significant risk that the project would make the Antarctic ‘the scene or object of international discord’. Even if the ice curtain idea were to be technically feasible and environmentally harmless, it would still create significant political and legal challenges for the current governance arrangements in the Antarctic… read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLEÂ
…the political ramifications of such a super project urgently require careful consideration… Credit: Shibata Akiho