Climate tech startup Real Ice is trialing sea-ice thickening in the Arctic coastal community of Ikaluktutiak, also known as Cambridge Bay, in Nunavut, Canada, where thinning ice affects many aspects of residents’ lives.The company is attempting to thicken the ice by drilling holes in it and pumping seawater onto the surface during winter, which activates refreezing.Work has been limited to a 1-square-kilometer (0.4-square-mile) test site in Ikaluktutiak, but the team hopes to scale up the project if it proves viable and environmentally safe.While the results have been promising, geoengineering projects like Real Ice’s work have also attracted controversy for the possible risks they pose to the environment.
Indigenous peoples living in the Arctic rely on sea ice for many aspects of their lives, from hunting and fishing to travel and cultural practices. Owing to human-driven climate change, the ice is disappearing at an alarming pace. According to data compiled by NASA and the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), a research organization based at the University of Colorado Boulder, the extent of Arctic sea ice cover has decreased by more than 12% per decade since satellite records began. Scientists even predict that the region could experience its first near-ice-free summer as early as the 2030s.
