The Inside Story of China’s Experiment To Save A Melting Glacier

Recent studies have demonstrated that covering areas of glaciers with specific materials can cut down on the melting of ice and snow by as much as 50% to 70% when compared to unprotected surfaces.

The atmosphere was drizzly as scientists traversed through the snow at the top of Dagu Glacier in southwestern China on a rainy, dreary early June morning. There was no noise three miles higher than the sea, aside from the sounds of flowing water that was constantly a reminder of melting ice just beneath their feet.

When they began their climb with oxygen canisters in their fleece jackets. Porters strolled by carrying large rolls of white material. Researchers planned to distribute the sheets over more than 4300 acres (400 meters) on the summit. The idea behind the film was to reflect the sun’s light to the earth which effectively protects the glacier from scorching the sun’s heat, and possibly preserving a portion of the frozen ice.

Since the beginning, Dagu has supported the life of hundreds of thousands of residents living within its vicinity. Dagu’s meltwater supplies drinking water as well as helping to produce hydropower. In addition, the breathtaking landscapes from Dagu’s Tibetan Plateau can attract more than 200,000 visitors each year. This fuels an industry that has more than 2,000 employees employed. The entire ecosystem is currently in danger as the climate gets warmer.

The Chinese researchers were not under any doubt that their research could bring back Dagu. Dagu has gone through over 70 percent of its ice during the last half-century. A researcher described these efforts in a local paper as being similar to doctors simply trying to prolong the lifespan of a dying patient for several years. The only solution could be to significantly reduce the emissions of carbon dioxide. China is the largest emitter.

“All the interventions being developed regardless of whether they are efficient, will only serve to reduce” the melting process, claimed Zhu Bin, the 32-year-old Nanjing University associate professor leading the research. “If the Earth continues to warm at the end of the day, there’s nothing we can do to preserve the glaciers forever.”

It was not the type of work in the field that Zhu wanted to complete.

An engineer by trade The majority of his time in research labs at Nanjing as well as New York, including more than a decade of research on the storage of batteries in the labs of Columbia University. This switch to glaciers frightened many of his colleagues in academia who scolded him for moving away from the ease of conducting studies in an air-conditioned space. Family members worried about his safety. However according to him, the change changed their minds because they saw the preservation of glaciers as “something which is difficult, but it’s right.”

The idea of covering glaciers with sheets of reflective material isn’t a novel concept. European Ski resorts used blankets of white to safeguard their snow for more than two years. However, China is just beginning to explore the idea. A few small tests of a glacier located in Xinjiang as well as Dagu from 2020 onwards appear to have helped slow the retreat of these glaciers.

The team tested a brand new material they discovered may reflect over 93% of the sun’s rays and aid in helping Dagu effectively shed heat. The material is comprised of cellulose acetate which is a natural plant-based fiber that helps to reduce its impact on the environment. It is also placed as small particles by drones that are unable to access glaciers.

The initial day of the trip didn’t take off as planned. It was the intention to fix white sheets of snow onto the glacier by using steam drills wood frames, wooden ones and nail guns. The group suffered from headaches as well as nausea at high altitudes. While they were moving deeper into the glacier deep snow grew to the point that it became dangerous to move further. They decided to stop as the forecast for weather showed an imminent rain storm in the coming half hour.

Recent studies have demonstrated that covering glaciers by using specific materials could reduce the melting of snow as well as Ice by between 50 percent or 70% as compared to non-protected areas. However, the plastic or chemicals of the sheets may harm local ecosystems and the quality of water flowing downstream as per Matthias Huss, a professor of glaciology at ETH Zurich. Large glacial regions could be a huge risk with unexpected effects.

“It’s an excellent method to fight locally against the impact of climate change” added Huss in particular in the case of certain economic benefits. The real reason is “very simple,” he said: “It’s for the sake of saving the climate.”

The sheets Zhu and his team threw up Dagu won’t work even on bigger glaciers because they move constantly in accordance with Johannes Oerlemans, a climatologist at Utrecht University. “For smaller glaciers that have a slow decline that don’t move they can be covered quickly,” he said. “But once the glacier changes direction it will destroy the cover.”

In addition, the infrastructure necessary to set up the sheets on top of a massive glacier is impractical, the dirt would probably build up as time passes, darkening the glacier’s surface, and diminishing the ability of them to reflect sunlight According to Oerlemans. He instead advocates for depositing artificial snow. One project Oerlemans was involved in aimed to distribute snow from meltwater with no electric power – over the glacier of Switzerland.

On the Fourth day of the Dagu Expedition, Zhu’s crew eventually managed to put down solar-reflecting sheets, when the weather got better. In September, they’ll be back to tear off the protective shields and measure them to assess how well they performed. They also gathered water samples to assess their environmental impacts. The study is expected to last for 3 to 5 years at which point the researchers are expected to decide if they want to continue applying their findings to other glaciers within China and possibly even transfer these materials to other countries.

The project is backed by the local tourism board and the tech company Tencent Holdings Ltd., which contributed money through an initiative to promote sustainability. Although there is a financial incentive to conserve Dagu however, all involved reiterate the same mantra that the main factor is to curb carbon emissions, which are what caused the melting of Dagu initially.

It took 10s of millions of years to allow the Tibetan Plateau to rise to the height it is today. In the past, Indian and Asia plates collided and left the surface cool enough to support the glaciers and snow which provide the majority of major rivers that flow through the region, such as the Ganges, Mekong, and Yangtze. They provide lifelines to millions of people throughout Asia. Contrary to this, the opposite has been happening at a rapid pace The plateau has lost nearly 15 percent of its glaciers within just 50 years.

The majority of glaciers across the globe are rapidly retreating and causing rising waters and devastating floods. Covering some of them with solar-reflecting blankets would be like putting a bandage on an open wound. If the world is able to reduce global warming by 2C in comparison to preindustrial times – a goal most countries have set in the Paris Agreement in 2015 – just a quarter of the 4,000 glaciers located in the Alps are expected to remain at the time the century is over.

Huang Shihai, deputy head of the Dagu Glacier Management Bureau, has witnessed firsthand the effects that changes in the climate have caused in Heishui County, which sits on the base of the glacier. Since his move to the area in 2006 the county has seen warmer winters came earlier and summers became warmer, rivers grew dirty, and severe weather phenomena occurred more frequently.

Being amidst the cold mountain, Huang never had much reason to wear short-sleeved shirts. He now wears these shirts from as early as early as May. He has a constant fear about the possibility that Dagu will disappear completely as well as the effects this will cause on users. “There there is a feeling of danger,” the man said.