A United Arab Emirates Company Wants to tow Icebergs From Antarctica to Combat Drought. This concept is not new as in the mid-1800s, small icebergs were towed from Antarctica to Chile for use in breweries, and another entrepreneur suggested towing icebergs to India. By the mid-1900s, oceanographer John Isaacs proposed iceberg towing as a less energy-intensive alternative to desalination.  However, it has many challenges like, wind one challenge is determining the best route to take. Currents the wind can change direction, making it difficult to move an unwieldy and massive chunk of ice. If a ship guides an iceberg relatively quickly–half a meter per second–it would take a month to cover 1,000 kilometers (currents and storms could slow it down). The trip from Antartica to the coast of Fujairah, over 10,000 kilometers, could take a year or more. Along the way, the iceberg risks melting or breaking, while the ships that tow it operate at huge expense.

Impact

Anytime we do anything, it has environmental consequences. The ship or vessels can  cause environmental harm in various way . Emission of substances to the local air and ocean, possible incidents including sinkings and groundings, ship operations unsuitable for polar conditions and the inappropriate behavior of crew ashore are the most prominent impacts. Shipping brings impacts like noise, collisions, and potential risks from oil spills; these impacts are experienced most directly by the whales that share these Arctic waters – including narwhals, beluga and bowhead whales.

Towing ice berg will cause change in water temperature and we all are aware of fact that Changes in temperature affect aquatic life. Temperature determines which organisms will thrive and which will diminish in numbers and size. For each organism there is a thermal death point. Also there is a range of temperature of that produces optimal abundance. The effects of temperature upon life of a cold blooded or poikilotherm are profound. So towing of iceberg will seriously impact the surrounded water species as the towing speed will be slow due to its size. Similarly if they are going to use plastic to wrap it , then it will add the problem of Marine litter.

No doubt, towing the ice bergs will attract more ships thus the Arctic will see more ship traffic; that much is certain. The question is what measures, precautions, regulations, and best practices will be in place to address environment and safety concerns, so as to maximize the benefits of development for northern peoples who rely on healthy Arctic ecosystems. I think in this time when climate change is significantly impacted the arctic, we humans should not go for this idea. Indeed, the world is going to need a lot of freshwater in the coming years to quench the thirst of our growing population; it’s high time that we figured out more creative and effective ways to face this imminent challenge. This idea is insane and in my opinion not environmental friendly. The Arctic is Global Common, and  before going further on this towing idea, we should have a strict EIA first. 

It seems that there are uncertain events whose impacts are not yet imagined and this phenomenon is still out of reach for some more time ?

Kundan Sagar

Thank you for your valuable answer and contribution.

Still there are many unknown challenges you would like to highlight.

How effective it will be to solve the drinking water problem of the Gulf ?

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The waters of UAE will be diluted and hence the surface water quality will be improved.