These scientists are trying to refreeze the Arctic

Can a group of scientists refreeze the Arctic?
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The Guardian’s environment editor, Damian Carrington, accompanied a team from Real Ice, a company funded by the UK government, as they carried out a bold geoengineering experiment aimed at thickening Arctic sea ice at a test site in northern Canada.

“The ice is very important to us,” says Kyle Weese, an Inuit guide working with Real Ice, who told Carrington that Inuit communities were involved in establishing the project and selecting the area where the experiment took place.

Weese says he is only 34, and that he has seen the effects of the climate crisis up close: “The ice is thinner. The freeze-up takes longer than normal and the thaw happens faster.”

Summer sea ice across the Arctic could disappear as early as the 2030s as a result of the climate emergency. The region’s sea ice has already shrunk by about 40% over the past 45 years, triggering one of the climate system’s most dangerous vicious circles: while sea ice reflects 70% of the sun’s heat back into space, open ocean reflects just 7%.

Real Ice estimates that halting the annual decline of Arctic sea ice would cost about $10bn over the longer term. For comparison, Carrington notes that is equivalent to the windfall profits generated by the world’s 100 largest oil companies in less than a fortnight after the Iran war sent oil prices soaring.

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