Dutch startup receives approval for polar ice-growing experiments

Dutch startup Arctic Reflection has been given permission to test a method of adding sea ice near Spitsbergen this month. In this way, the organization, which collaborates with the research institutes TU Delft and UNIS of Norway, wants to prevent the ice sheet from disappearing too quickly. This can counteract global warming, because the ice ensures that the sun’s heat is reflected back into the atmosphere.

The governor of Spitsbergen has now agreed to conduct the first test, reports Arctic Reflections sponsor CarbonFix. Initiation seeks to ensure that the surface of the ice freezes and thereby strengthens the ice sheet by spraying glacial seawater on the surface of the ice. The system used by Arctic Reflections has been used for decades to build ice roads in Canada and Scandinavia.

Arctic Reflection collects various data during the experiment and makes it publicly available. “If the experiment is successful, this could be the first step in using Arctic Ice Thickness to preserve natural inland habitats and sea ice as a reflective surface,” CarbonFix said in a press release.