Stopping the flood: could we use targeted geoengineering to mitigate sea level rise?
The Marine Ice Sheet Instability (MISI) is a dynamic feedback that can cause an ice sheet to enter a runaway collapse. Thwaites Glacier, West Antarctica, is projected to be the largest individual source of future sea level rise and may have already entered MISI. Here, we use a suite of coupled quasi...
Published in: | The Cryosphere |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2018
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2955-2018 https://noa.gwlb.de/receive/cop_mods_00004626 https://noa.gwlb.de/servlets/MCRFileNodeServlet/cop_derivate_00004583/tc-12-2955-2018.pdf https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/12/2955/2018/tc-12-2955-2018.pdf |
id |
ftnonlinearchiv:oai:noa.gwlb.de:cop_mods_00004626 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftnonlinearchiv:oai:noa.gwlb.de:cop_mods_00004626 2023-05-15T13:34:49+02:00 Stopping the flood: could we use targeted geoengineering to mitigate sea level rise? Wolovick, Michael J. Moore, John C. 2018-09 electronic https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2955-2018 https://noa.gwlb.de/receive/cop_mods_00004626 https://noa.gwlb.de/servlets/MCRFileNodeServlet/cop_derivate_00004583/tc-12-2955-2018.pdf https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/12/2955/2018/tc-12-2955-2018.pdf eng eng Copernicus Publications The Cryosphere -- ˜Theœ Cryosphere -- http://www.bibliothek.uni-regensburg.de/ezeit/?2393169 -- http://www.the-cryosphere.net/ -- 1994-0424 https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2955-2018 https://noa.gwlb.de/receive/cop_mods_00004626 https://noa.gwlb.de/servlets/MCRFileNodeServlet/cop_derivate_00004583/tc-12-2955-2018.pdf https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/12/2955/2018/tc-12-2955-2018.pdf https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ uneingeschränkt info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess CC-BY article Verlagsveröffentlichung article Text doc-type:article 2018 ftnonlinearchiv https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2955-2018 2022-02-08T22:59:59Z The Marine Ice Sheet Instability (MISI) is a dynamic feedback that can cause an ice sheet to enter a runaway collapse. Thwaites Glacier, West Antarctica, is projected to be the largest individual source of future sea level rise and may have already entered MISI. Here, we use a suite of coupled quasi-2-D ice–ocean simulations to explore whether targeted geoengineering using either a continuous artificial sill or isolated artificial pinning points could counter a collapse. Successful interventions occur when the floating ice shelf regrounds on the structure, increasing buttressing and reducing ice flux across the grounding line. Regrounding is more likely with a continuous sill that is able to block warm water transport to the grounding line. The smallest design we consider is comparable in scale to existing civil engineering projects but only has a 30 % success rate, while larger designs are more effective. There are multiple possible routes forward to improve upon the designs that we considered, and with decades or more to research designs it is plausible that the scientific community could come up with a plan that is both effective and achievable. While reducing emissions remains the short-term priority for minimizing the effects of climate change, in the long run humanity may need to develop contingency plans to deal with an ice sheet collapse. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctica Ice Sheet Ice Shelf The Cryosphere Thwaites Glacier West Antarctica Niedersächsisches Online-Archiv NOA Misi ENVELOPE(26.683,26.683,66.617,66.617) Thwaites Glacier ENVELOPE(-106.750,-106.750,-75.500,-75.500) West Antarctica The Cryosphere 12 9 2955 2967 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Niedersächsisches Online-Archiv NOA |
op_collection_id |
ftnonlinearchiv |
language |
English |
topic |
article Verlagsveröffentlichung |
spellingShingle |
article Verlagsveröffentlichung Wolovick, Michael J. Moore, John C. Stopping the flood: could we use targeted geoengineering to mitigate sea level rise? |
topic_facet |
article Verlagsveröffentlichung |
description |
The Marine Ice Sheet Instability (MISI) is a dynamic feedback that can cause an ice sheet to enter a runaway collapse. Thwaites Glacier, West Antarctica, is projected to be the largest individual source of future sea level rise and may have already entered MISI. Here, we use a suite of coupled quasi-2-D ice–ocean simulations to explore whether targeted geoengineering using either a continuous artificial sill or isolated artificial pinning points could counter a collapse. Successful interventions occur when the floating ice shelf regrounds on the structure, increasing buttressing and reducing ice flux across the grounding line. Regrounding is more likely with a continuous sill that is able to block warm water transport to the grounding line. The smallest design we consider is comparable in scale to existing civil engineering projects but only has a 30 % success rate, while larger designs are more effective. There are multiple possible routes forward to improve upon the designs that we considered, and with decades or more to research designs it is plausible that the scientific community could come up with a plan that is both effective and achievable. While reducing emissions remains the short-term priority for minimizing the effects of climate change, in the long run humanity may need to develop contingency plans to deal with an ice sheet collapse. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Wolovick, Michael J. Moore, John C. |
author_facet |
Wolovick, Michael J. Moore, John C. |
author_sort |
Wolovick, Michael J. |
title |
Stopping the flood: could we use targeted geoengineering to mitigate sea level rise? |
title_short |
Stopping the flood: could we use targeted geoengineering to mitigate sea level rise? |
title_full |
Stopping the flood: could we use targeted geoengineering to mitigate sea level rise? |
title_fullStr |
Stopping the flood: could we use targeted geoengineering to mitigate sea level rise? |
title_full_unstemmed |
Stopping the flood: could we use targeted geoengineering to mitigate sea level rise? |
title_sort |
stopping the flood: could we use targeted geoengineering to mitigate sea level rise? |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2955-2018 https://noa.gwlb.de/receive/cop_mods_00004626 https://noa.gwlb.de/servlets/MCRFileNodeServlet/cop_derivate_00004583/tc-12-2955-2018.pdf https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/12/2955/2018/tc-12-2955-2018.pdf |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(26.683,26.683,66.617,66.617) ENVELOPE(-106.750,-106.750,-75.500,-75.500) |
geographic |
Misi Thwaites Glacier West Antarctica |
geographic_facet |
Misi Thwaites Glacier West Antarctica |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctica Ice Sheet Ice Shelf The Cryosphere Thwaites Glacier West Antarctica |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctica Ice Sheet Ice Shelf The Cryosphere Thwaites Glacier West Antarctica |
op_relation |
The Cryosphere -- ˜Theœ Cryosphere -- http://www.bibliothek.uni-regensburg.de/ezeit/?2393169 -- http://www.the-cryosphere.net/ -- 1994-0424 https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2955-2018 https://noa.gwlb.de/receive/cop_mods_00004626 https://noa.gwlb.de/servlets/MCRFileNodeServlet/cop_derivate_00004583/tc-12-2955-2018.pdf https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/12/2955/2018/tc-12-2955-2018.pdf |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ uneingeschränkt info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2955-2018 |
container_title |
The Cryosphere |
container_volume |
12 |
container_issue |
9 |
container_start_page |
2955 |
op_container_end_page |
2967 |
_version_ |
1766058273538048000 |