Aerially Delivered Re-forestation and Erosion Control System

The Aerially Delivered Re-forestation and Erosion Control System (ADRECS) is a proposal designed to counter and reverse desertification in any arid area but in particular the Gobi Desert and other deserts in central China. The rapidly-growing Chinese deserts are having an extremely serious effect on world food production and the environment, due to increasing agricultural land loss from overgrazing and water shortages. This phenomenon, along with China's growing appetite for red meat is causing it to import its food from other countries, such as the Amazon rain forest, to grow soya as cattle feed, putting pressure on food resources and environment world wide.
China is planning several "mega river" diversion schemes from the South to the arid North, but these are merely "Robbing Peter to pay Paul"--no fresh water is created. The ADRECS proposal envisages similar levels of pumping but creates new fresh water.
Calculations show that using existing fleets of cargo aircraft, this grid could be laid in only years arresting the vast sand storms and dune movements. Reforesting the deserts and arid areas, would of itself create and recycle moisture.
The ADRECS proposal
ADRECS is designed to address this issue by arresting the desertification and replacing it with a vast renewable energy, water desalination (based on the Seawater Greenhouse and food production system linked to Europe by HVDC lines and ammonia production as a vehicle fuel, which can be readily tankered to Europe. Calculations based on precedents such as the Berlin Airlift show that, using aeroplanes and heavy-lift helicopters, the central Chinese deserts could be transformed in a matter of decades.
The proposal is to use low flying aeroplanes and the LAPES parachute load extraction system (the standard method to drop food aid or weaponry by parachute) to deposit lines of self erecting sand fences at a sufficient density - at about 30 m lateral spacing, to first arrest the sand storms and sand movement, and then to allow the growth of hardy desert plants.
Calculations show that using existing fleets of cargo aircraft, this grid could be laid in only years, arresting the vast sand storms and dune movements.
Basic concept
The basic concept is to use parachutes to extract a continuous string of used motor tyres attached and spaced at 30 m intervals. These are modified to automatically deploy a coiled spring post, released soon after landing which carries a second line at the pole tip, from which is hung a light plastic sand fence--basically the same as a snow fence. (The same type of mesh is commonly seen as a lightweight barrier to road works and consists of a mesh of thin plastic with large holes, with a roughly 50:50 ratio of space to solid.) These fences work by slowing down the wind causing it to drop sand/dust or snow, but conveniently, not at the site of the mesh (which would otherwise be rapidly buried). In fact, a pile is formed both in front of and behind the fence, which once it has formed, becomes its own self propagating snow/sand barrier.
Ground crews in four-wheel-drive vehicles moving along the fence lines would correct any misplacement.
Hygroscopic nature of car tyres
The known hygroscopic nature of motor tyres means they would provide a self-replenishing source of water. Tyres, due to their shape, tend to collect rain water which then does not evaporate, and dew tends to condense within tyres and not evaporate.
Hygroscopic nature of sewage sludge
Tyres would also be filled with moist Surplus Activated Sludge (SAS). SAS is a variety of sewage sludge contained in a plastic pouch which is also hygroscopic, due to the presence of the tough bacterial cell wall. Sewage sludge is largely composed of dead bacterial cells, and is notoriously difficult to dry, since one of the functions of a cell wall is to retain moisture. This sludge would allow specially-selected plant species to grow, which would further act as wind-blown sand traps and take over from the sand fences. SAS is a concentrated source of nutrients.
Self excavating wind turbine bases--Grand Slam
It is then proposed to drop from high altitude self-planting wind turbine tower bases. These would be in the manner of high altitude ground-penetrating earthquake Grand slam bomb or Bunker Buster-type bombs which were used in World War II to penetrate up to 33 ft of reinforced concrete, or 100 ft into the ground without exploding. Thus, without exploding, similar projectiles could effectively drill the basis for the foundation of a wind turbine tower.
Heavy-lift helicopters would then be deployed to lower turbine towers onto the holes made by the projectiles, which would then be infilled with concrete delivered by the helicopters. The Mil Mi-26 can carry 20 tonnes, which is quite enough for a single turbine base or nacelle components.
Use of remote geophysical surveys by satellite and global positioning systems means that the correct weight and drop height of the initial "bomb" could be selected for each point, depending on soil and rock type. As stated above, "bombs" do not need to be explosive---merely dense and hard. However, shaped charge explosives and or explosively formed penetrators may be needed to get the correct depth. This would also be done using remote surveys, if the ground is hard rock, but this is possible using existing military and demolition technology.
Concentrating Solar Power Plant
Concentrating solar power plants could also be built in areas of low wind as an alternative.
Both these renewable energy technologies, in the appropriate economic quantities, as determined by detailed surveys and planning, to suit local topography and conditions, would be used to generate power exported to China, India and Europe by means of high-voltage direct current (HVDC) lines. Also energy could be converted to hydrogen then liquid ammonia which is already a viable engine fuel and shipped in liquid form to the current liquid fossil fuel markets worldwide.
Area of wind turbines required
An area about 700 miles x 700 miles of wind turbines would be sufficient to generate the entire world usage of electricity and about 3 times this to entirely cover liquid fossil fuel demand.
Wind retarding effects of turbines and cables
Once built, wind turbines would clearly have some wind retarding effect due to the inherent extraction of the wind energy. This wind retardation can be enhanced by stringing stout cables between the towers, also hung with sand fence type material. Some of these cables can double as HVDC connectors.
Precedents: Great Plains Shelterbelt
There are precedents for such large scale climate modification practices. The Great Plains Shelterbelt project, led by the United States Works Progress Administration during the administration of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, was launched in 1934 as an ambitious plan to modify weather and prevent soil erosion in the Great Plains states. By 1942 the project resulted in the planting of 30,233 shelter belts containing 220 million trees that stretched for 18,600 miles.
Seawater Green house
The Seawater Greenhouse would subsequently be used to desalinate seawater pumped thousands of miles, and allow the production of enormous amounts of food. The evaporation of this seawater would limit global warming by increasing the amount of moisture in the atmosphere and reflecting solar energy back into space. This could be a far more practical proposal than the current plans to pump fresh water from various river basins to the north, since this is merely re-distributing a scarce resource - river water - whereas the ADRECS / Seawater green house proposal is creating fresh water and fresh agricultural land.

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