As a matter of fact, a preliminary version of that paper was first presented at this very location eleven years ago during the Glaciological Society symposium on the hydrology of glaciers. However, before I start to inflict my personal opinions upon you, I feel that it is only fair that I attempt to state my particular sources of bias so that you can temper my comments with the appropriate amount of salt.Īs many of you know, I was co-author with Bill Campbell of one of the papers ( Reference Weeks and CampbellWeeks and Campbell 1973) that led to the present meeting. Assuming that we are not as a group bereft of our senses, I think it is safe to say that we all have considered iceberg water as sufficiently possible to have devoted some time to investigating the subject. Is it or is it not a realistic possibility worthy of serious study? This question is to some extent answered by looking around this room.

Whatever the ultimate resolution of the iceberg-water proposal may prove to be, research stimulated by this idea has already resulted in a major improvement in our knowledge of the life and times of real icebergs in real oceans.ĭuring the next few minutes, I will attempt to give you my assessment of the current status of the subject of iceberg water. Tows to sites in the northern hemisphere such as Saudi Arabia and California are significantly more difficult and will remain so until an effective and operationally-realistic method is developed for isolating the iceberg from the warm sea-water that will be encountered during part of the tow. It is concluded that successful tows to Australia, clearly the most easily-reached potential delivery site, are a possibility if icebergs can be demonstrated to retain their structural integrity during tows in high seas and if favorable schemes can be developed for docking and processing. Both the progress that has been made and the problems that have either just surfaced or never been adequately addressed are discussed. This review of the idea of using icebergs as a source of fresh water starts with a historical survey covering the period up to April 1980 and stresses how the approach to the subject has changed with time.

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