We must seriously consider geoengineering projects to save our glaciers or face catastrophic sea-level rise, scientists say in a report.
Antarctica and Greenland’s ice sheets are melting rapidly and even if we succeed in reducing carbon emissions and limiting global warming to 2C, it is not clear whether this will be enough to prevent ice sheet collapse. But geoengineering glaciers could be a way to buy us vital time, the authors of the report argue.
Without intervention, we will face sea level rises of as much as a meter by 2100, wiping out low-lying cities and displacing millions of people. Much of that sea level rise will come from the melting of just a handful of glaciers, such as Thwaites and Pine Island in the Amundsen Sea.
The scientists suggest tie curtains around the toes of these glaciers (to protect them from the relatively warm water flowing at their base) or drilling holes through the glaciers to drain the ice stream streams can significantly slow the melting.
The reportwhich emerged from a town hall meeting at the European Geosciences Union Conference in April 2024, admits that reducing carbon emissions must remain the priority, but calls for serious research into glacier geoengineering now, to assess the risks and benefits and avoid panicked decisions at a later date.
