Numerous proposals to tow icebergs to the shores of the Arabian Gulf and then obtain drinking water from them require significant improvements. It seems more expedient to load onto cargo ships only parts of icebergs that were lifted aboard off the coast of Antarctica, and to process their contents on the way to Dubai. The surface layers of fragments of icebergs can produce water that requires significant processing due to their certain pollution, and is suitable mainly for technical purposes. Deeper layers can be placed in containers and begin to melt under natural exposure to sunlight all the way from the coast of the Antarctic continent to the Arabian Peninsula. The melting water will be filtered and filled in tanks, and the part that does not melt before arriving in Dubai can be used as natural ice for scientific, medical, restaurant industry, etc. Even if the efforts of mankind to overcome climate change on the planet will give a quick and significant effect, which is unlikely to happen, from the Antarctic continent, nevertheless, during the period of restoration of a normal climate, a significant amount of ice blocks can break away. They will damage the shipping company, raise the water level in the world's oceans and reduce the concentration of natural salts in it, hindering the development of the natural life cycles of the vast majority of the world's oceans. Numerous coastal settlements will gradually be flooded. In order to avoid all this, icebergs must be disposed of and transported, despite the objective high cost of this enterprise. It should be remembered that the cumulative damage from refusal to do so is likely to be much higher than the cost of transporting and processing water obtained from icebergs. And, on the contrary, given the rate of increase in the cost of fresh water, which at the moment is becoming comparable to the cost of many species of fish, and in the future may exceed them, this should be started at the earliest opportunity. At the very beginning, small fragments of icebergs can be transported, which can either be caught in the water area of the Antarctic coastal zone, or sawed off by the efforts of remotely controlled robotic manipulators and loaders, while the manned vessel will be at a respectful distance from the iceberg, given the possibility of its rapid, unforeseen movement. Then, on an automated sloop, the fragments of the iceberg will be transported to a manned ship, after which they will be delivered to the shores of Dubai. When the supply of icebergs to Dubai acquires an industrial character, the fragments of icebergs that have not completely melted on their way to the UAE will gradually begin to soften to some extent the very hot arid desert climate, making it more acceptable for people born in northern countries. Returning to the question of the unambiguously high cost of this project, one should bear in mind the objectively high interest of almost all states in the world that have access to the oceanic coast and an extended, densely built-up low coast. It is necessary to jointly finance the implementation of this project from all interested states or directly from the resources of international monetary funds. In this case, under the leadership of Dubai, the problem of the lack of fresh water will be comprehensively resolved at the same time, the preservation of the normal life cycles of marine mammals, birds, fish, mollusks, zooplankton and algae. In addition, the problems of safe navigation, mainly in the southern latitudes, as well as the preservation of the architecture of coastal cities, which in some cases are monuments of world cultural significance, will also be resolved. (From the Strategy "Dubai - Capital of the World" https://www.academia.edu/83616929/Strategy_Dubai_Capital_of_the_World_)
Delete comment?
