Peer-reviewed research

In our peer-reviewed research article, Increasing Arctic Sea Ice Albedo Using Localized Reversible Geoengineering, we describe a method to preserve and restore sea ice in order to reduce the effects of climate change.

This method is benign by design, developed to restore ice in the Arctic in targeted areas to build back the reflective ice that has melted over the past several decades.

The aim is to restore the Arctic ice’s historic function of reflecting sunlight. By applying reflective materials such as glass microspheres on young, low-reflectivity sea ice, we can protect the young ice from the summer sun, much like a white shirt fends off the sun for a person on a hot summer day. This way the ice may be conserved and converted over time into highly reflective multiyear sea ice.

Climate modeling shows that this method can cool the Arctic significantly and can rebuild Arctic ice area and volume, hence reducing Arctic as well as global temperature rise.