Frequently Asked Questions
Below are some of the questions we are often asked when we discuss our initiative.
Q. What is your method that you will use to restore & preserve Arctic sea ice?
Our method is intended to achieve ‘biomimicry’ by encouraging the natural process of sea ice generation in ambient temperatures that allow for the thickening of the ice. We can achieve this by pumping seawater from below the ice to the surface during the winter months whilst also encouraging snow cover at the end of Winter to insulate the ice during the summer months to enable it to last to the following Winter.
Q. Is the latent heat generated by making ice going to create, as a side effect, ice melting in nearby locations or, in general, a significant warming of the region or the planet?
A. No, For several reasons:
Q: What is the contribution of the Arctic sea-ice to the cooling of the planet, or, conversely, what would be the impact on global warming if the Arctic sea-ice disappeared?
A: We can answer this question in many ways, from an energy balance perspective, calculating the amount of energy that the sea-ice can reflect to space, when compared to the open ocean, or calculating the equivalent amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere required to trap the same amount energy in the Earth system. Finally, we can also look at what research found when simulating the impact of the Arctic sea-ice vs. the human activities’ induced warming of the planet.
Q. How will you mitigate the impacts of your technology on the wildlife & environment of the Arctic?
Real Ice will be designing our technology with potential impacts to environment and wildlife in mind to strive to design a scalable device that will go unnoticed by wildlife and focuses on eliminating negative impacts on the environment during operation. Through these initiatives we are looking to build local knowledge into the deployment of our pumps and so minimise negative impacts on biodiversity and support positive impacts (such as increased ice thickness for better hunting).
Q. What steps will you be taking to effectively engage with Arctic communities?
Real Ice will begin by engaging with local communities with public demonstrations, open-dialogue workshop sessions and visits to local research institutions and schools.