How the UK is testing a radical plan to refreeze the Arctic
F or much of his career, Dr Shaun Fitzgerald of the University of Cambridge worked on trying to cut the amount of carbon we pump into the atmosphere. Five years ago, he shifted his focus. 'We've been talking about reducing emissions for decades,' he said. 'The truth is, they're still rising.'
He turned his attention to something more radical. Could we, he wondered, refreeze the Arctic?
The idea has serious backing. In June the UK's Advanced Research and Invention Agency (Aria) — a government body created to back 'ideas on the edge of what's possible' — awarded a team led by Fitzgerald £10 million in funding.
The money will be spent on exploring whether it might be possible to use hundreds of thousands of robots to thicken and prolong the life of a portion of the sea ice that forms each winter across the High Arctic.
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How the UK is testing a radical plan to refreeze the Arctic
F or much of his career, Dr Shaun Fitzgerald of the University of Cambridge worked on trying to cut the amount of carbon we pump into the atmosphere. Five years ago, he shifted his focus. 'We've been talking about reducing emissions for decades,' he said. 'The truth is, they're still rising.' He turned his attention to something more radical. Could we, he wondered, refreeze the Arctic? The idea has serious backing. In June the UK's Advanced Research and Invention Agency (Aria) — a government body created to back 'ideas on the edge of what's possible' — awarded a team led by Fitzgerald £10 million in funding. The money will be spent on exploring whether it might be possible to use hundreds of thousands of robots to thicken and prolong the life of a portion of the sea ice that forms each winter across the High Arctic.
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