“To slow the melting of Arctic ice, researchers have proposed a number of innovative but controversial solutions, including spreading glass beads across the ice to bounce sunlight back into space, and spraying sea-salt aerosols into low-lying clouds to increase their reflectivity to slow down heating effects. In 2017, astrophysicist Steven Desch also proposed what was then considered a wild idea: Using millions of wind-powered pumps to draw seawater onto the surface of the ice during winter, allowing it to freeze and thicken the ice sheet.

Now, Real Ice is pursuing a variation of Desch’s original concept in the Arctic community of Ikaluktutiak, also known as Cambridge Bay, in Canada’s northernmost territory of Nunavut…

From 2023 onward, the team at Real Ice worked alongside community members in Ikaluktutiak to drill holes through the sea ice and pump seawater onto the surface during winter so it refreezes into a thicker layer, according to Ceccolini.

So far, the treated ice has stayed thicker throughout the summer melt seasons during the past three years and has experienced less melting than untreated ice. It has also become more reflective, enhancing the 'albedo effect,' the process through which bright surfaces reflect sunlight into space, helping to keep temperatures low.”

From Mongabay.