WO2009123654A1 - Method to manage sea level rise - Google Patents

Abstract

A method to control sea level rise comprises moving seawater from a sea (42) to an area of land. In one embodiment, the seawater is placed in a natural depression (11). In another embodiment, the water is placed in an area of land (12) having soil with an unused water carrying capacity. In another embodiment, the area of land is a natural bowl (10). In yet another embodiment, the area of land is modified to create a bowl 10a. In specific embodiments, channels such as canals, aqueducts (44, 60), or pipelines are used to move the water. The water may be moved by gravity or pumped (66), and may be used to generate (54) electricity. In a specific embodiment the land used is the desert near the border (30) of Libya (16) and Egypt (14) that contains the Qattara Depression (11) and the Great Sand Sea (12).

Description

METHOD TO MANAGE SEA LEVEL RISE

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[001] This application claims priority to Provisional U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 61/072,608 filed April 01, 2008 (now pending), the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

FIELD QF THE INVENTION

[002] This invention relates to a method to manage sea level rise due to ice melt.

BACKGROUND

[003] Reading the Scientific American, (February, 2008) feature article, "The Sea- Level Threat from Sliding Ice Sheets" by Robin Bell (60-67), leads one to realize the sliding ice sheets are real and occurring in Greenland and Antarctica. This can lead, in a few years, to flooding the state of Florida and the coastal cities of New Orleans, New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, San Francisco, and Portland. Other cities such as Rome, London, Hamberg, Cairo, and Venice can also be flooded as can be Hong Kong and Macao. Shanghai, Tokyo, and Tientsin can all be under the rising seawater. hi the U.S. alone, according to "Maps of Lands Vulnerable to Sea Level Rise," 2001, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Global Warming Publications by Richman, James G. and Charlie Titus, if the sea level rises by 1-3.5 meters, the East Coast will lose 33,435 square kilometers to the sea.

[004] Sea level rise is considered a result of global warming. The release into the atmosphere of CO2 generated by millions of factories and motor vehicles burning fossil fuel is believed to create a greenhouse effect comparable to 1 billion automobiles running 24 hours a day, thus causing global warming. An alternative theory to the greenhouse effect causing global warning is an increase in sun flaring and its associated extra heat energy. This heat energy, reaching earth, heats the ice sheets in Greenland and the Antarctic causing sea levels to rise. Adding to ice melt caused by global warming is a hole in the ozone layer, caused by man-made Freon gas released into the atmosphere, allowing ultraviolet rays to come through the hole and melt the ice sheets. Freon is now banned in the U.S. and Europe, but not in the rest of the world.

[005] For whatever reason, the world's ice appeal's to be melting. The North Pole ice cap is significantly losing mass. During a fly over of an area of the Arctic Ocean in the summer of 2007, no floating ice was observed.

[006] Since humankind may have damaged the environment, causing global wanning and the melting of the ice sheets, humankind has an obligation to fix the environment or control the damage caused by rising sea levels. Prior to the recent increase in global temperatures, new snow falling onto Greenland and the Antarctic approximately balanced the loss of ice sheets that fell into the ocean. Global warming has tipped the balance such that the rebuilding of the ice sheets by annual snowfall appears no longer capable of keeping up with the loss of ice sheets. If we do not reduce the volume of ice sheets that fall into the ocean eveiy year, and if both the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets melt, the sea level may rise as much as 170 feet in height, or more. [007] Static (meaning in-place) melting of the entire Greenland and Antarctica ice sheets is improbable. However, even as static melting has increased in recent years, it is not the most worrisome scenario since the ice sheets may become destabilized and slide into the ocean at a faster rate as global wanning increases. The discoveiy of lakes beneath the great ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica gives new insight into the process of destabilization. The imbalance between ice sheet renewal and ice sheet loss is exacerbated because the ice sheets are sliding in an unstable manner. [008] There are two major theories on the melting of the Antarctic ice sheets. The first theoiy, as presented in the Scientific American, February 2008 issue, is based on the assumption that the ice sheet is sitting on the bedrock of Antarctica which slopes into the ocean floor. Geothermal heat from the center of the earth rises into the bedrock, melting the bottom of the ice sheet, thus creating large lakes between the bed rock and the ice sheet. The water acts as a lubricant and reduces the friction between the ice and the bedrock, allowing the ice to more readily slide into the ocean. The West Antarctic ice sheet would likely slide rapidly into the sea under gravitational pull but for the bracing effect of the floating ice shelves that surround the continent However, due to recent climate change caused by global warming, the floating ice shelves are melting veiy quickly, and the ice shelves are breaking up. When the bracing force of the ice shelves is gone, there will be nothing keeping the giant ice sheets from sliding into the ocean as giant icebergs. When icebergs enter the water, they create an immediate increase in the sea level. The ice, carried into warmer ocean areas by ocean currents, eventually melts. The rise in sea level caused by the sliding of ice sheets into the ocean, and the corresponding melting of icebergs, will flood the world's low-lying areas. [009] Another theory is documented by the University of Texas, Jackson School of Geosciences; in "Crystal Ball: Scientists Race to Foretell West Antarctica's Future," 5 November 2007. Jackson School of Geosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, 1 March 2008 by Airhart, Marc. This theoiy is that the bedrock under the West Antarctica ice sheet is sliding inland to the South Pole instead of toward the ocean. The geothermal heat from the earth's center is melting the bottom of this 2.5 km thick ice sheet and is creating a large lake under the ice sheet. This lake is unfrozen due to the enormous pressure of the ice sheet above. Using core drilling samples, airplane observations, and NASA satellite information, the researchers plotted the topographic profile of the bedrock under the West Antarctic ice sheet. They discovered that the Amundsen Sea Embayment, a large block of ice that is 33% of the volume of the West Antarctic ice sheet, is in danger of melting and flowing into the ocean. They also discovered that part of the Amundsen Sea Embayment, known as Thwaites Glacier, is experiencing accelerated thinning. Normally, the Thwailes Glacier acts as a sort of plug in the bathtub holding the ice sheeting in place. Once the equilibrium and the balance of counter pressure against the lake is released, the sudden change of outflow will promote further retreat, destabilizing the ice sheet.

[0010] Ice sheet pressure can also cause the ice sheet to fall into the interior lake, pushing the lake water out to the ocean from beneath the Thwaites Glacier thereby destabilizing the glacier. The movement of the glacier, and correspondingly, the ice sheet, would act like the pulling of the plug in a bathtub allowing one-third of the West

Antarctica ice sheet to slide into the ocean. Such an event would result in an iceberg the size of the state of Texas with an average thickness of 2500 meters (7500 ft). This iceberg could cause the sea level to rise up to 19 feet, causing major flooding around the world's low-lying cities.

[0011] Regardless of the reasons for, or sequence of events leading to, sea-level rise, there exists a need for a method of controlling its impact on existing populated areas.

Preferably, such a method would lessen or eliminate the increase in sea levels at these populated areas.

Summary of the Invention

[0012] Accordingly, this invention has embodiments that contemplate the concept of moving water from the oceans to be stored on land, so that water and ice that is currently frozen on top of land can enter existing ocean without the sea level rising. The embodiments contemplate the following three geological/geographical considerations or conditions:

[0013] Fii-st, not all land that is below sea level is covered with water.

[0014] Second, not all soils are tightly packed or have moisture filling the spaces between grains of soil. In fact, there are large areas of loosely packed soils, with almost no moisture content. [0015] Third, some areas of land, although above sea level, have natural barriers that surround them and keep them isolated from the world's oceans, in all directions. These lands may be large, relatively unpopulated, and relatively close to an ocean. [0016] All three of these geological/geographical areas of land can be used to store water, and particular methods and parcels of land are described in the detailed description of embodiments that follow.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0017] The present invention will be readily appreciated from the following written description and from the drawings in which;

[0018] FIG. 1 is a schematic view illustrating the current invention;

[0019] FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of one embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG 1 ;

[0020] FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the embodiment of FIG. 2;

[0021 ] FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the invention of FlG. 1;

[0022] FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of another aspect of the invention of FIG. 1.

Detailed Description

[0023] Turning now to FIG. 1 three types of geographical/geological configurations are described: 1) a natural bowl 10, surrounded by natural barriers, capable of retaining water as-is, or after only a small amount of modifications, 2) an area below sea level not presently covered by water, i.e., the Qattara Depression 11 , and 3) an area of loosely packed soils capable of holding additional water, i.e., the Great Sand Sea 12. [0024] An exemplary natural bowl 10 is found in an area from 18° E longitude to 29° E longitude, and 25° N latitude to 31° N latitude. The bowl extends over 750 miles X 500 miles and covers an area of about 375,000 square miles. This exemplary natural bowl 10 encompasses a part of the Sahara Desert in North Africa. It is specifically in Egypt 14 and Libya 16. The exemplary natural bowl 10 is surrounded by the Libya Plateau 18 on the north, the Sahara Plateau and mountain range 20 on the south, by Hamadat al Hamrah 22 on the west, and by the Geber Qatrani foothills 24 on the east Most of the bowl's elevation varies from -20 meters to +20 meters above sea level with hills and ranges at 100 to 200 meters.

[0025] This exemplary natural bowl 10 may be modified to a bowl 1 OA so that it has continuous walls better capable of retaining a greater volume of water. It would then have a volumetric capacity of 750 miles X 500 miles X 0.01 miles deep for 3750 cubic miles of volume (0.01 miles, or 52 ft., was selected as a reasonable fill height for 60 foot dams that will be later described). This volume can hold the excess water from melting, ice sheets and glaciers in the Arctic and Antarctic during a time span that will be described. The calculations used to determine the time span described herein use an average net rate of melting of the ice sheets and glaciers in the Arctic and Antarctic. For calculation purposes, it is assumed this rate is constant, although the embodiments will work even if the rate of change of these ice sheets and glaciers changes. [0026 J The exemplary natural bowl 10 encompasses a few villages 26 and some oil fields 28 on the Libyan side. Both of these are indicated as to general existence, with their exact location not being important, in FIG 1. There are also deserts, including the Great Sand Sea 12 near the Libya/Egypt border 30, the Sirte Desert 32 in north Libya, and the Sahara desert 34 on the south. The coastal cities from Tripoli (Tarabulus), Libya 36 to Alexandria (Allskandariyah), Egypt 38 are separated from the bowl by ridges and plateaus (not shown). Any gaps in the perimeter of the exemplary natural bowl 10 are less than 100 miles, and could be filled with dams to complete the modified bowl 1OA and limit the escape of water.

[0027] Inside the exemplary natural bowl 10 is an example of an area below sea level that is not presently covered by water, specifically the 160 mile X 60 mile Qattara Depression 11 (great depression), which has a maximum depth of 133 meters (0.075 miles) below sea level for a 720 cubic mile depression below sea level. This area is relatively close to the sea. In FIG. 1 this area is shown with water for illustrative puiposes, but prior to implementation of an embodiment of the current invention it is actually substantially diy.

[0028] Also, at least partly inside the exemplary natural bowl 10, is the Great Sand Sea 12, an example of an area of land having loosely packed soils, specifically sand 40, capable of holding additional water. The Great Sand Sea 12 is about 250 miles X 250 miles or 62,500 square miles and has an average topography of +20 m to -20 m with sand dunes up to fifty meters high standing up from site to site. The Great Sand Sea 12 straddles the Libya/Egypt border 106, and is a part of the over one million square miles of the Sahara Desert in those two countries. Further, the Sahara dessert totals about three million square miles of sand and sandstone, so the Great Sand Sea 12 makes up about 2% of the overall Sahara dessert.

[0029] The sand 40 in the Great Sand Sea 12 is capable of absorbing a large amount of water. The spaces or voids between the sand grains is called pore space, and as a percentage of the whole sand stone block, it is known as porosity. For example, if one fills a 100 ml cup with this sand 40, there will still be room to pour about 48 ml of water into the cup. Thus, one finds that the accumulation of sand 40 in the Great Sand Sea 12 can contain another 48% volume of water in the spaces or voids between sand grains. The capacity to hold an additional 48% of water is not available in all sands and is dependent on the size and shape of the sand grains. This region has sand 40 that is round and smooth in shape. The sand 40 became round and smooth after millions of years of movement and travel and robbing against each other in the desert sand dunes. The sand 40 and sandstone in the Great Sand Sea 12 are more porous than many sands, for instance the sand on the ocean floor, which is mixed with silt and siltstone. [0030] The additional volume of water that the Great Sand Sea 12 can hold can be calculated as follows: If it is assumed that the Great Sand Sea's 62,500 square miles has a 10 meter (32 feet) average depth of sand 40, it can hold 62,500 square miles X 0.0028 miles (15 feet, being 48% of 32 feet) which is equal to about 175 cubic miles of water volume. [0031 ] Thus, three exemplaiy geographical/geological areas having the desired characteristics to carry out the current invention have been described with their respective volumes. They are the:

[0032] Great Sand Sea 12 with 175 cubic miles,

[0033] Qattara Depression 11 with 720 cubic miles, and

[0034] the natural bowl 10, with 3,750 cubic miles.

[0035] With regards to FIGS. 1-5, three embodiments of methods for managing sea level rise are described. These embodiments are described in an exemplaiy order, however they could be implemented in any order. They can be implemented in combination or individually.

[0036] As mentioned above, one embodiment of the current invention is to use an area below sea level that is not already covered by water, such as the Qattara Depression

11 , to store seawater transported from a nearby ocean or sea, such as the Mediterranean

Sea 42. This could be done at any chosen rate of flow, but preferably would be at the same rate as the difference between the loss of ice sheets and replenishment by snow. Pn other words, at a rate approximately equal to a rate sufficient to prevent sea level rise.

This is the rate at which the sea level would rise in the absence of any of these embodiments.

[0037] The rate sufficient to prevent sea level rise can be determined with a number of methods. For example, one method is to examine changes in ice coverage and thickness, and convert this to volumetric water quantities. Studies using ground based and/or satellite based observations would be suitable for this method. Another method is Io measure and trend the sea level at one or several chosen places, taking into account tidal and storm system related influences. If the trend shows the sea level is remaining constant, then the current rate of water movement into the storage area is the rate sufficient to prevent sea level rise. If the trend shows the sea level is not constant, the rate sufficient to prevent sea level rise can be calculated by (addition if the sea level is rising) or subtraction (if the sea level is lowering) of the observed difference in level, taking into account the square miles of ocean surface. This same method of calculation may be used to determine the rate consistent with any goal deemed appropriate, including lowering or raising of the sea level. A lowering of sea level may be desired, for instance, if the ocean basin is being prepared for a sudden sliding of an ice sheet from land into the ocean.

[0038] Transportation of large volumes of water can be energy intensive if done against gravity. Therefore, gravitational assistance is exemplified in one embodiment (FIGS. 2 and 3). For example, digging a 140-meter wide by 10-meter deep by 60 miles long channel or canal, also known as an aqueduct 44, to accommodate a flow rate of two meters/second near the eastern end 46 of the Qattara depression 11 near Lake Maghra 48, to the Arab Gulf 50 of the Mediterranean Sea 42, would allow the water to be moved by gravity. A pipeline (not shown) is another example of a channel that could be used to convey large volumes of water. Along the aqueduct 44, at least one control device such as a gate 52 could regulate the flow of water. At the end of the aqueduct 44, hydroelectric generators 54 may generate electricity, and this electricity can be used to run the facilities that regulate the flow of water in aqueduct 44. The electricity can also be sent through power lines 56 to be used to power North Africa, and power lines 58 to power facilities related to another embodiment that will be described with reference to FIG. 4 below. The idea is that filling the Qattara Depression 11 at a rate of seventeen cubic miles of water per year (the estimated increase in ocean volumes caused by the imbalance between ice sheet formation and melting) may provide as much as forty-two (720 cubic miles divided by 17 cubic miles per year) years of capacity to prevent sea level rise.

[0039] In a second embodiment, water from the oceans is pumped or channeled into an area having soil capable of absorbing excess water. For example, a l 4O m X lO m canal, pipeline, or aqueduct 60 could be built from Tubruq 62, Libya to the Libyan Great Sand Sea 12 two hundred miles away. This water will enter the porous sand 40. Using the same rate of seventeen cubic miles of extra melting ice entering the ocean per year, the Great Sand Sea 12 will provide enough capacity (175 cubic miles divided by 17 cubic miles per year) to protect low lying areas from rising sea levels for another ten years. In this embodiment, gravity alone would not be sufficient to transport the water due to obstacles in the path the aqueduct 60 takes, however pumping station 64 (FIG. 1 and FIG. 4) having pump 66 can move the water over obstacles.

[0040] After the estimated fifty-two years (42 + 10 described above) of controlling global warming induced sea level rise provided by the first and second embodiments, it is hoped that mankind will have solved the global warming problem that caused the decreasing ice pack and resulting rise in sea levels. However, a third embodiment is available. [0041 ] The natural bowl 10 previously described can be made into the modified bowl 1OA. Alternatively, the bowl 10 could be excavated to become modified bowl 1OA. For example, many earth dams 68 (FIG. 1 and FIG. 5) approximately sixty feet tall could fill gaps on the north coast of Libya, and a gap on the west of the Nile River 70 between the Libya Plateau 18 and the Geber Qatrani Foothills 24 that separates the Nile area 72 from the Sahara desert. The dams 68 could be built of a variety of materials well known to one of ordinary skill in the art, but the dam 68 shown in FIG. 5 has concrete 74 with a rock fill backing 76 with counterforts for added barrier strength. The dams 68 shown in FIGS. 1 and 5 are only a general representation. If this project were undertaken, more exact surveying and placement of dams would be a normal procedure in the building of a water-retaining project such as modified bowl 1OA. Using the same rate of seventeen cubic miles of extra melting ice entering the ocean per year, the modified bowl 1OA will provide an additional 221 years (3750 cubic miles divided by seventeen cubic miles per year) capacity. In total, there is the capacity to store the water melted by the ice sheets and glaciers in the artic and Antarctic during an estimated time span of 42+10+221=273 years. If the dams 68 are built to a one hundred foot height, twice the amount of water could be contained. A one hundred foot high dam is not difficult to build. China's Three Gorge Dam is six hundred feet high and two miles long. The cost of operating this embodiment is related to the natural gas fuel to generate electricity to run the pumps, for example pump 66. Or the natural gas may be used directly in a gas-fueled pump. Since the Qattara Depression 11 will be full before this embodiment is implemented, it will no longer produce hydroelectric power at a substantial rate. Libya has enough natural gas to last a thousand years. All these projects will require international cooperation from Egypt, Libya, and the United Nations

[0042] These and other modifications will become readily apparent from the foregoing to one of ordinaiy skill in the art without departing from the scope of the invention and applicant intends to be bound only by the claims appended hereto.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A method of counteracting rise in sea level comprising the steps of: moving seawater from a sea into an area of land, capable of retaining the seawater, at a rate sufficient to maintain a desired sea level.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the area of land comprises a natural land depression.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the sea is the Mediterranean Sea and the natural land depression is in North Africa.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the natural land depression is the Qattara Depression.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the moving step uses a sloping seawater carrying channel so that gravity is the predominant force moving the seawater.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of generating electrical power by harnessing the flow of the moving seawater.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the electrical power generated is used to power diversion of seawater at another location.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the area of land comprises a natural land area having soil with an unused water carrying capacity.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the moving of sea water begins near Tubraq, Libya.

10. The method of claim 9 further comprising operating a pump station to move the seawater against the force of gravity.

11. The method of claim 8 wherein the sea is the Mediterranean Sea and the natural land area is an area of desert in North Africa,

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the area of desert in North Africa is the Great Sand Sea.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein the area of land comprises a natural bowl.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the sea is the Mediterranean Sea and the natural bowl is in North Africa.

15. The method of claim 1 wherein the area of land comprises an area of land modified to retain sea water.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the modifying step comprises raising structures above the existing land height to retain the moved seawater.

17. The method of claim 15 wherein the modifying step comprises removing existing soils to make a depression for the storage of the moved seawater.

18. A method of counteracting rise in sea level comprising the steps of: moving seawater from a sea into an area of land, capable of retaining the seawater, at a rate approximately equal to the difference between a rate of loss of ice sheets and a replenishment of the ice sheets by snow.