A bold new proposal aims to “hold back” the Doomsday Glacier. In this episode three leading voices discuss the Seabed Curtain Project, which is exploring whether a seabed‑anchored curtain could slow the warm ocean water melting Antarctica’s Thwaites Glacier and delay up to several meters of global sea level rise.
This video was recorded on January 7th, 2026, and published on January 12th, 2026, and represents the opinions of the discussion participants.
Joining us are Marianne Hagen, co‑lead of the Seabed Curtain Project and former Deputy Foreign Minister of Norway, John Moore, founder and co‑lead of the project and a glaciologist at the Arctic Centre of the University of Lapland, and David Holland, speaking directly from an icebreaker off Thwaites Glacier, where his team is deploying instruments to understand how warm deep water reaches and melts the ice at rates up to 100 meters per year from below. Together they explain the science, the engineering challenges, and the real‑time risks and opportunities of working “on a knife’s edge” in one of the most remote and dangerous parts of the planet.
The discussion also tackles governance, ethics, and geopolitics: who should decide if such a climate intervention goes ahead, how the Antarctic Treaty System and Arctic communities might be involved, and why the team hopes their research either proves a curtain unnecessary—or delivers a clear recipe for future decision‑makers if it becomes essential. Stay to the end for Herb’s roundup of recent climate headlines, and please like, subscribe, and share your thoughts on whether projects like this should be part of our global climate response.
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John Moore - is founder and co‑lead of the Seabed Curtain Project and a research professor at the Arctic Centre of the University of Lapland in Finland. A renowned glaciologist and member of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters, he has led numerous polar expeditions, including six to Antarctica, and authored over 200 peer‑reviewed papers on ice sheet dynamics, sea level rise, and climate interventions.
Marianne Hagen - is co‑lead of the Seabed Curtain Project and is affiliated with the Norwegian Institute for Water Research. She is a former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Norway, former Head of Communications at the Royal Court, and advisor to the CEO of the Norwegian Shipowners’ Association, bringing extensive experience in strategic communications, politics, and sustainability.
David Holland - is a professor of mathematics and atmosphere–ocean science at New York University’s Courant Institute, director of the Environmental Fluid Dynamics Lab in New York City, and director of the Center for Sea Level Change at NYU Abu Dhabi. He is a leading expert on polar ice–ocean interactions and sea level rise and has carried out multiple field campaigns to Antarctica’s Thwaites “Doomsday” Glacier.
Paul Beckwith - Climate Systems Scientist. Professor at the University of Ottawa’s Paleoclimatology Laboratory as well as at Carleton University
Herb Simmens - Author, Co-founder of the Healthy Planet Action Coalition (HPAC), Climate Emergency Board Member and former college instructor.
Charles Gregoire - Electrical Engineer, Webmaster and IT prime for FacingFuture.Earth & the Climate Emergency Forum; Climate Reality Leader
Heidi Brault - Climate Reality Leader, BA(Psychology), Library & Information Technician Diploma - Video production and website assistant - Organizer and convener, Metadata technician, COP Team Lead for FacingFuture.Earth and the Climate Emergency Forum.
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