Plan to build giant canopy over Antarctica has problems

Researchers fear plans to build a giant canopy to protect the Antarctic ice shelf could spark political tensions between countries.

As the polar regions melt at an alarming rate , scientists have come up with the idea of ​​building a giant underwater canopy around the ice shelves to protect the world from rising sea levels. In a study published in the journal International Affairs, a group of international relations experts warned that this plan could lead to unprecedented problems, IFL Science reported on November 26.

Antarctica loses about 17 million tons of ice every hour. (Photo: Mozgova).

The plan, proposed in a January 2024 paper in the journal Nature, calls for a 100-meter-high floating canopy anchored to the seabed, stretching 80 kilometers around the most at-risk ice shelves, such as the West Antarctic Ice Shelf. The paper's authors admit they're not entirely sure whether the idea will work, but say it's a solution worth exploring to stem rising sea levels in the coming decades.

In a new study, some experts say the mega-geoengineering project could turn Antarctica into a 'major international bone of contention.' Dozens of countries signed the Antarctic Treaty System in 1959, banning military activity, nuclear testing, and mining in the region. Seven countries—Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, New Zealand, Norway, and the United Kingdom—have claimed territory in Antarctica, but their claims are nullified by the treaty.

The Ice Sheet Curtain project could upset long-standing peace by stirring up new debates about sovereignty, responsibility and security, the study found . While the Antarctic Treaty System sets aside territorial claims, it does not resolve disputes, so activities like geoengineering could be seen as serving the interests of certain countries, said Shibata Akiho, an international law researcher at Kobe University in Japan.

Kobe and his colleagues looked at past disagreements to see if the situation could be resolved. For example, the team pointed to a fierce debate over mining in Antarctica that erupted in the 1980s, but was successfully resolved by the 1991 Environmental Protection Protocol to the Antarctic Treaty, which permanently banned mining there.