Glacier Mating To Create Ice: Can It Solve the Problem of Water Loss Due to Climate Change?

In Pakistan's highlands, the residents have the ancient ritual of mixing chunks of white glaciers, believed to be female, and black or brown glaciers, believed to be males. They rely on the old belief that combining the chunks will trigger the creation of a newborn glacier, which will grow big enough to serve as a potential water source for farmers.

Although the ritual faded decades ago due to modernization in Baltistan, it is getting a second look as the effects of global warming become more evident. This time, the project is backed by the United Nations with the help of an engineer who is an expert on Balti traditions.

Water Shortage in the Baltistan Region

The Baltistan region is a Pakistani territory in the far north, forming part of Asia's high mountains. It encompasses the Himalayas, the Hindu Kush ranges, and the Karakoram. It is also called the "Third Pole" because it is home to the largest ice volume outside the polar region.

For many generations, the residents in the area have relied on glacier melt to water their wheat and barley fields and their orchards of apples, cherries, and almonds. Surprisingly, the residents of this mountainous region face the threat of water scarcity.

Over the past two decades, thousands of glaciers nestling in these mountains have been melting more rapidly. As a result, hillsides had become barren and dry due to retreating glaciers.

Some form unstable lakes that collapse and send boulders and ice down the mountains, destroying roads, lands, and homes. Although devastating floods have become more common, snowfall has decreased, meaning there will be less spring snowmelt for waterways.

According to Ejaz Karim, the head of emergency for the Agha Khan Agency for Habitat, about 80,000 residents live in areas considered too dangerous for habitation due to the impacts of climate change. The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) reports that these impacts may even get worse, with Asia's high mountains possibly losing 30%-50% of their ice mass by the end of the century. This ice mass is a crucial source for ten major river systems that provide water to 1.9 billion people.

Glacial Mating Project

Glacial mating involves retrieving ice from lower down the mountain and taking it further up where it cannot melt. Then, the ice chunks are put into caves, protected from solar radiation. As the rain pours on top, the water freezes, and the ice grows. This can be done over seasons because the glaciers do not melt at that elevation.

For the glacier baby project, villagers undertake the ritual during the Himalayan winter. Men would walk for days to reach the mountain where the finest female glaciers can be found. Meanwhile, other men visited Chhoghori, the world's second-highest mountain, to see the best male glaciers. The chunks of glaciers are then taken hundreds of feet up the mountain.

Chaff would be laid down in crevices in the form of wheat husks and coal. A village cleric puts the male glacier atop the bed while the female glacier is added. Afterward, they will be poured with spring water and blanketed with more coal and chaff.

According to mountain hydrologist Jakob Steiner, adding coal, chaff, and other materials is a way to keep the glacier frozen longer. As the ice is swaddled with rougher surfaces, the melting water becomes a slurry rather than a stream. Since it moves more slowly, it has a greater chance of refreezing, especially during the evening when the temperatures fall.