Scientists are pushing for “radical” measures against climate change, proposing the construction of a dam across the Bering Strait that would link Alaska and Russia, according to Science.
A study by University of Utrecht academics Jelle Soons and Henk Dijkstra suggests that this would be a decisive way to protect the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), which is instrumental in regulating the planet’s sea temperature and climate.
Three separate dams would be needed across the strait, which is 51 miles (82km) wide at its narrowest point, due to the two islands that lie in the middle, with the longest section spanning roughly 24 miles (38 km), said LiveScience. Similar structures already exist in the Netherlands and South Korea, although “not in remote locations with strong currents and sea ice, or with rival geopolitical powers on opposite sides”.
Building a dam in the Bering Strait is just as “out there” an idea as “refreezing the Arctic” or “floating a giant parasol in outer space”, said The New York Times. The concern for the continuation of the AMOC is very real, however.
Acting as a “vast oceanic conveyor belt”, it carries tropical, salty currents from the Atlantic towards Europe. Once cooled, it circles back south, influencing rainfall patterns in Africa, South America and beyond.
There is a “growing body of evidence” that human-caused global warming could cause it to “shut down or slow significantly”, which would have “grave effects” on weather patterns on multiple continents.
Even if the ambitious dam project does go ahead, it does not promise an “escape hatch” or get-out-of-jail-free card. “Once you are debating mega-dams to prop up ocean currents,” it’s a clear sign that progress towards reducing emissions “has not gone nearly well enough.” |
