An innovative new “floating igloo” concept can help to protect endangered penguins and slow the melting of polar ice in Antarctica, according to the architect who dreamed up the design.
“The lower igloo features crater-like holes that mimic a sea sponge and is connected to a submerged swinging pendulum.”
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
As waves move this pendulum, it produces electricity to cool the surrounding ice and help prevent the melting of the frozen sheets on which penguins live and breed.
The concept, called the Penguin Protection System, is the brainchild of Iranian architect Sajjad Navidi. In a post on his Instagram page, he writes: “This system is independent in nature and, when needed, smartly separates and moves towards [the penguins] by identifying melting ice areas.”
If funding can be secured for a mass rollout of the igloos, Navidi’s system could help save emperor penguins from extinction. A 2019 study by the Massachusetts- based Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) found that a warming climate could see the species wiped out within decades.
“If global climate keeps warming at the current rate, we expect emperor penguins in Antarctica to experience an 86% decline by the year 2100,” said seabird ecologist Stephanie Jenouvrier, who led the study. “At that point, it is very unlikely for them to bounce back.”
According to the Financial Times, “the struggle of Antarctica’s animals to adapt to global warming holds lessons for us all”.
Antarctica is home to 70% of the world’s fresh water, and 90% of its ice - and if the continent melted completely, global sea levels could rise by 60 metres.
-
Political cartoons for January 17Cartoons Saturday’s political cartoons include hard hats, compliance, and more
-
Ultimate pasta alla NormaThe Week Recommends White miso and eggplant enrich the flavour of this classic pasta dish
-
Death in Minneapolis: a shooting dividing the USIn the Spotlight Federal response to Renee Good’s shooting suggest priority is ‘vilifying Trump’s perceived enemies rather than informing the public’
-
The former largest iceberg is turning blue. It’s a bad sign.Under the radar It is quickly melting away
-
How drones detected a deadly threat to Arctic whalesUnder the radar Monitoring the sea in the air
-
‘Jumping genes’: how polar bears are rewiring their DNA to survive the warming ArcticUnder the radar The species is adapting to warmer temperatures
-
Environment breakthroughs of 2025In Depth Progress was made this year on carbon dioxide tracking, food waste upcycling, sodium batteries, microplastic monitoring and green concrete
-
Crest falling: Mount Rainier and 4 other mountains are losing heightUnder the radar Its peak elevation is approximately 20 feet lower than it once was
-
Death toll from Southeast Asia storms tops 1,000speed read Catastrophic floods and landslides have struck Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia
-
Can for-profit geoengineering put a pause on climate change?In the Spotlight Stardust Solutions wants to dim the sun. Scientists are worried.
-
How will climate change affect the UK?The Explainer Met Office projections show the UK getting substantially warmer and wetter – with more extreme weather events
