SearchIt is predicted that with global warming, sea levels around the world could rise by as much as 10 feet (3 m). The result would be that many coastal cities, like New York and Tokyo, would be below sea level.
Scientists believe the time is now for nations to come up with solutions to avoid future natural disasters.
Warmer coastal water is now melting the underside of the coastal ice sheet on the Western side of Antarctica. The knock-on effect is bringing both the disintegration of the bedrock below and speeding the melting of glaciers in the area. These contribute to rising sea levels.
A group of scientists from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Research in Germany have formulated a theory to solve the problem. Their idea is to create snow, lots of snow! They would pump up water from the ocean, desalinate it (that means take out the salt) and then change it to snow and use wind turbines to blow it onto the shore. The result would be to stabilize the ice sheet and prevent it from melting.
Their computer models calculate this enormous geoengineering endeavor would need trillions of tons of snow, 12,000 wind turbines to blow it in place and about 10 years to complete.
It is just an idea, but it also reveals the seriousness of the problem and the need for solutions for the future.
