From 1880 to 2012 the globally averaged combined land and ocean surface temperatures increased 0.85 ± 0.20☌, with the last three decades warmer than the previous one and warmer than any others since 1850. According to the 2013 Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the warming of the atmosphere and ocean system is unequivocal. The climate is warming, and the rate of change is highest in the Arctic, where summer ice is vanishing at an accelerating rate. Key Pointsġ Introduction 1.1 The Urgent Need to Deal With Climate Change We propose that winter ice thickening by wind-powered pumps be considered and assessed as part of a multipronged strategy for restoring sea ice and arresting the strongest feedbacks in the climate system.
We examine the effects this has in the Arctic climate, concluding that deployment over 10% of the Arctic, especially where ice survival is marginal, could more than reverse current trends of ice loss in the Arctic, using existing industrial capacity. We show that where appropriate devices are employed, it is possible to increase ice thickness above natural levels, by about 1 m over the course of the winter. Here we investigate a means for enhancing Arctic sea ice production by using wind power during the Arctic winter to pump water to the surface, where it will freeze more rapidly. It is unlikely that CO 2 levels and mean temperatures can be decreased in time to prevent this loss, so restoring sea ice artificially is an imperative. This loss of sea ice represents one of the most severe positive feedbacks in the climate system, as sunlight that would otherwise be reflected by sea ice is absorbed by open ocean. It is likely that the late-summer Arctic will be ice-free as soon as the 2030s. As the Earth's climate has changed, Arctic sea ice extent has decreased drastically.