Project to tow polar icebergs to South Africa to cope with drought
South Africa's capital Cape Town could escape the risk of running out of water if it turns Antarctic icebergs into a water source.
|
Antarctic icebergs could help South Africa overcome its water crisis. Illustration photo:Pinterest. |
South African salvage expert Nick Sloane plans to tow an iceberg from Antarctica to the capital Cape Town to solve the problem of water scarcity caused by drought.Business InsiderThe difficult mission involved a 1,900-kilometer (1,200-mile) journey across the ocean, delivering millions of liters of clean water to residents, the report said yesterday.
South Africa is facing its worst water shortage in a century. Sloane said he is seeking investment from the government and private companies to get the plan off the ground. “We want to prove that if there is no other way to solve the water crisis, we have an idea that no one else has thought of,” Sloane said.
According to Sloane, his Southern Ice team can pull up giant icebergs using underwater dragnets. Using soft fabric geotextiles could prevent the iceberg from melting before it reaches South Africa by slowing the rate of evaporation. However, the team admits the iceberg will inevitably become about 30% smaller after its journey north.
More than 2 trillion tons of ice break off Antarctica every year, and the Southern Ice team estimates that about 7 percent of the ice is suitable for towing. The project is targeting icebergs that are flat and steep-sided, said Olav Orheim, former director of the Norwegian Polar Institute and a member of the Southern Ice team.
Large tanks will be used to funnel the iceberg into the Benguela Current, which flows along the southern coast of Africa. A crusher will then turn the ice into a paste, accelerating its natural melting. The big hurdle for the Southern Ice team is desalination, making the seawater fit for human consumption. Desalination requires a lot of capital investment to build large desalination plants that can process thousands of tons of ice.
South Africa's capital, Cape Town, is in danger of running out of water. Officials have warned that all taps will stop running next year if there is no winter rain. Sloane believes his project "could produce about 150 million litres of clean water a day for about a year", meeting 30% of Cape Town's needs.
