The United Arab Emirates is planning to tow icebergs from Antarctica to its coast to solve its drinking water problem.The National Advisor Bureau Limited company plans to provide a new source of freshwater for the region by towing the iceberg from Antarctica to the coast of the eastern emirate of Fujairah, the Independent reported. The company then plans to mine the iceberg for drinking water.
Blocks of ice will be chipped off the iceberg that lies above the waterline and then crushed into water. It will then be stored in large tanks and filtered through a water processing plant.
An average iceberg contains more than 20 billion gallons of water, or enough for one million people over five years, Abdullah Mohammad Sulaiman Al Shehi, the company’s managing director, told Gulf News.
He said the iceberg could create micro-climates in the region and bring rain to the arid landscape. Also, it could become a tourist attraction, he added.
Mr Al Shehi said his company’s simulations predict it will take up to one year to tow an iceberg to the UAE and said the project will start in early 2018.
Icebergs typically take a long time to melt, as around 80 per cent of their overall mass usually remains underwater, while the exposed white ice above reflects sunlight and thus heat, reducing the amount of water that evaporates.
