One of the most threatening effects of ongoing climate change is the continuous loss of Arctic sea ice, which, according to NASA, is declining at the unimaginable rate of 12.8 percent per decade. It’s a problem that threatens millions of people with rising sea levels, and one that ultimately needs to be solved to keep inhabited coastal areas intact. One theoretical solution is offered here, which is to build giant iceberg-making submarines that kind of remind us of something out of Futurama.
Faris Rajak Kotahatuhaha, an Indonesian designer, is responsible for the “iceberg-making submarines,” which are shown in the video above (via Futurism). The video notes in its introductory text that the idea of re-freezing the polar ice caps could be considered a similar endeavor to reforestation of deforested land, and that re-freezing sea ice that’s melted could be an “offensive” solution that could help “balance the polar ecosystem.” (Note that the poor syntax of the video’s text is due to the fact that it’s translated from Indonesian.)
According to Dezeen, Kotahatuhaha came up with the idea for the iceberg-making submarines as his entry into an international engineering competition organized by the Association of Siamese Architects. Kotahatuhaha, and his collaborators, Denny Lesmana Budi and Fiera Alifa, only took home second prize, but the concept is intriguing nonetheless.
Annual loss of Arctic sea ice from 1979 to 2018. NASA
The iceberg-making subs would work by collecting sea water into hexagonal-shaped locks that would be fully contained and covered from sunlight. The trapped water would then be desalinized, and re-frozen using the frigid ambient temperatures of the polar regions, as well as “a giant freezing machine” (whatever that is). The hexagonal-shaped ice blocks would then be released from the subs, and pushed together to form new floes.
The concept is definitely a bit fanciful, but considering the magnitude of destruction that could be done by melting sea ice, it seems like we should welcome any and all possible solutions. Even if they do remind us of “Crimes of the Hot.”
Futurama via Morbotron
What do you think of these iceberg-making submarines? Do we need a direct approach to refreezing ice like this one? Thaw out your thoughts in the comments!
