Invention

In respect of the following and previously set out description and explanation, it should be understood that while the information given is considered to be correct, such explanations are necessarily somewhat speculative due to the complexity of natural systems and direct field measurement of CO2 sequestration is difficult as tools currently employed are to varying degrees operationally and theoretically limited. Applicant would not want to be bound, therefore, by the following if, subsequently, new and better information becomes available. The explanations hereinafter given are made for the purpose of full and complete disclosure of the invention but the qualification given above should be borne in mind.

The following description generally relates to systems and methods for sequestering water and CO2 in a desert environment. Such an environment may be treated to yield relatively high value commercial and sustaining food products.

The present invention significantly improves on the methodologies for sequestering CO2 and provides a method of sequestering a portion of the water from glacial runoff believed to be caused by global warming that would otherwise contribute to sea level rise. It also converts to energy a portion of the heat being transferred to the world’s oceans that would otherwise cause thermal expansion.

In this specification the following terms shall have the following meanings. The term “albedo” shall mean the extent to which an object diffusely reflects light from the Sun. The term “equilibrium line altitude” shall mean the point above which, or poleward of which, snow and ice cover the ground throughout the year. The term “evapotranspiration” shall mean the sum of evaporation and plant transpiration from the earth's land surface to the atmosphere. The term “firn” shall mean partially compacted névé that has been left over from past seasons and has been recrystallized into a substance denser than névé, where névé is a young, granular type of snow which has been partially melted, refrozen and compacted. The term “glacial mass balance” shall mean the difference between accumulation and ablation (melting and sublimation) of a glacier. The term “geoengineering” shall mean the application of technology to tackle human-induced climate change by either removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere or by managing solar radiation in order to negate the net warming effect of climate change. The term “ice-albedo feedback” shall mean the positive feedback mechanism whereby ice and snow reflect incoming short wave radiation from the sun causing the reflecting surface to cool, which in turn may cause more ice to form increasing the surface albedo even more. The term “planetary engineering” shall mean the application of technology for the purpose of influencing the global properties of a planet to make it habitable for life. The term “radiative forcing” shall mean the change in net irradiance at the tropopause. Where "Net irradiance" is the difference between the incoming radiation energy and the outgoing radiation energy in a given climate system and the tropopause is the boundary in the atmosphere between the troposphere and the stratosphere. Going upward from the surface, it is the point where air ceases to cool with height, and becomes almost completely dry. The term “thermal expansion” shall mean the tendency of matter to change in volume in response to a change in temperature.

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