Iceberg - Solution for the water resource crisis

As a 'nightmare' of ships moving near the Arctic, icebergs are now seen as an effective solution for countries that are scarce in fresh water.

Once the cause of sinking the Titanic into the ocean floor, now icebergs are carrying hope, becoming a source of fresh water for the world.

The only difficulty scientists currently face is how to pull huge blocks of ice from polar regions to the right areas to use. However, the dream of exploiting water from icebergs has taken an important step, increasing the feasibility of this study, thanks to a survey of experts from France.

Tugboat model on computer (Source: Innovationnewsdaily)

The ambition to turn huge, cold icebergs into freshwater streams appears from the time of Muhammed al Faisal in the 1970s. Al Faisal, the grandson of King Khalid, cooperated with the French architect. Georges Mougin to establish a company specializing in producing and trading drinking water from ice.

However, the company soon closed down because of its recklessness, daring to invest in a business that was judged to be lack of practicality. After more than 30 years, starting in 2003, architect Georges Mougin continued to pursue his passion, restoring ideas that had not previously been realized with the help of computer models from the Company. Dassault Systemes, France.

Recent tests based on this computer model outline a plan to bring fresh water from the North Pole to Africa. Under the proposed program worth up to 11.5 million USD (equivalent to 8 million EURO), an ice sheet will be pulled from Greenland (the largest island in the world, spread in the northernmost region) to the Canary Islands , off the coast of northwestern Africa.

Simulation results on the computer showed that just a tug boat could carry out the above distance within about 140 days, dragging ice sheets weighing 7 million tons, enough to meet the demand Use clean water every year for more than 35,000 people.

View from above .

'Easily recognizable, we have created a virtual world that can provide a way for Mr. Mougin to understand how to transport an iceberg in practice, while tracking course. Data consumption and melting of icebergs during migration , 'said Cedric Simard, Dassault Systemes Project Director.

Stretching tape may face great risks in the case of large waves. However, Mougin architect has thought of a solution to overcome, to minimize possible bad cases, that is to use a 12m high shield to protect the iceberg from corrosion of seawater.

The actual test will be conducted in 2012 or 2013. And Mougin is currently targeting some ice sheets in Greenland and many other ice sheets in Antarctica.

The first thing that researchers need to do now is to build and test the shields, to ensure the safest level of implementation.

In an interview on the InnovationNewsDaily website, Simard emphasized: 'Currently Mougin is working on revising the technical design of the shield, all of which will depend on the materials you use eventually.'

Any ocean-related research needs to be carefully prepared to deal with the worst situations when the weather is harsh or rough. Therefore, with this study, scientists also need more time to test and test before applying widely.