Does anyone know a reliable website that discusses the possibility of using man-made iceburgs to cool the oceans? It's for a Model UN reso. but I need an actual source to confirm this is at least plausible...help!!
2007-12-02 09:18:50 · 5 answers · asked by Forever_the_sickest_kids 2 in Environment ➔ Global Warming
Hi,
The problem is one of scale (and thermo-dynamics). The seas and oceans cover a massive area - about 500 times the size of Texas and each year nearly one trillion tons of ice melts and runs into the seas and oceans - it's more than 100 tons for every person on the planet or about 30,000 gallons of water.
When ice is artificially made the heat from the water has to go somewhere, in order to create massive icebergs you would end up creating a massive amount of heat as well, and you would need a huge amount of power to run the process. It would have to be on such a scale that it wouldn't be practical.
2007-12-02 10:17:43 · answer #1 · answered by Trevor 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Well, it is not plausibe to do, the energy consumption required to produce enough ice would be astronomical. Check out Popular Science's recent edition, either Nov or Dec and there was a concept about building plants to produce ice in the artic (sounds like selling swampland in florida, doesn't it). The idea was to lessen the global warming and preserve the artic environment. Again, not even remotely economically feasible nor practical.
2007-12-02 12:23:16 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's not possible. The oceans are quite large. Think of how much energy it takes just to keep your freezer cold and how small that area is. For mankind to cool the oceans with ice is impossible, sorry!
2007-12-02 10:05:49 · answer #3 · answered by qu1ck80 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's not plausible.
You don't make ice by magically making water cooler. You do it by sucking the heat out of the water, and dumping the heat some place else. The net effect on Earth is not cooling.
It's the same with your refrigerator and air conditioner. They don't make things cool, they take heat from one place and dump it somewhere else. If your house has central air conditioning, theres a large box outside which is where the heat inside your house is dumped outside.
2007-12-02 09:26:40 · answer #4 · answered by Bob 7 · 6⤊ 0⤋
What he said^
2007-12-02 10:04:25 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋