A giant dam between the United States and Russia to save the climate: a false good idea?

Verdict: a giant dam could possibly prevent the disaster, but under certain conditions. If the meridional circulation of the Atlantic overturning only experiences a slight slowdown, then closing the Bering Strait could indeed support the AMOC and allow it to continue functioning despite climate change. However, if the ocean current system is already weakened, the closure of the passage between the Pacific and Arctic would only accelerate the ongoing collapse process. In other words, timing is crucial: in order to ensure the effectiveness of the dam, it would need to be built before 2050, according to the authors.

But is such a significant infrastructure technically feasible? On paper, researchers believe it is. The presence of two small islands in the middle of the strait would allow the structure to be divided into two sections, with a maximum depth of about 59 meters. Significant constraints, but not unheard of: for comparison, the Saemangeum dike in South Korea stretches for 33 kilometers with a depth of up to 54 meters. The issue lies in the fact that these dams would need to be built in a remote region, subject to ice and geopolitical tensions – the Bering Strait being a strategic point for access to the Arctic.