"Soft"geo-engineering solution to ice loss - Ice911

[jonthed]

I hadn't come across this organisation or their proposal before and a search of this site didn't find the name, so just in case anyone's not aware...

http://www.ice911.org

According to my understanding, an engineer alarmed by global warming set about trying to come up with a materials science solution to the amplifying feedback of melting ice and diminished albedo in the Arctic.

They've come up with a bright white environmentally friendly silicate "sand" that can be sprinkled over the ice, boosting its reflectivity. Apparently they've done field trials and it does indeed lead to the ice thickening more. They say their solution is cheap and scalable, and by applying a large scale solution to specific places in the Arctic, namely the Beaufort Gyre and the Fram Strait, they believe they can magnify the impact by minimising additional ice loss.

This sounds pretty feasible to me, and certainly one of the better solutions I've heard to try to reduce/reverse ice loss.

Had you already seen this? What are your opinions?

Seems worth a shot to me!

[SteveMDFP]

Spreading white sand on white snow-covered ice to reduce solar energy absorption?  The obvious question is how much the albedo can increase, how many grams of material per square meter of ice?

I can't imagine it's possible to get that much whiter than ice that's covered with white snow.

The vastness of the arctic makes the idea utterly unworkable, it seems to me.

And what's the impact on melt pond formation?  Probably the silica sinks to the bottom of the melt pond.  Maybe it plugs the openings that ultimately drain the melt ponds.  Maybe by doing so it accelerate melt under the melt pond.

Floating white stuff on open arctic ocean would have a much bigger effect in the summertime.  But really, that's still pretty crazy.

To me, it smacks of trying to use unworkable geo-engineering schemes to make profits.

[oren]

I am very far from convinced. As Steve said, white snow is already extremely white, so the solution fails the initial common sense test. It reminds me strongly of Solar Roadways, and I suspect with the same driving goal, a mixture of initial naivette and good salaries from grants and donations while it lasts.
I notice that their web site totally lacks details though it's very strong on presentation. No word anout albedo or any other hard numbers for current test sites or past  tests. No before-and-after photos though quite a few very nice general photos. They have a proprietary buoy on ice in Barrow, but zero details. Supposedly they are a non-profit so they could share lots of details if they chose to. Count me in the suspicious naysayers camp, at least for now.