Ecocopter, March 23, 2024 - Santiago de Chile - In Chile there are more than 26 thousand glaciers, covering 2.8% of the national territory (excluding Chilean Antarctica), with an estimated ice volume of 2,710.7 km3 and its equivalent in water in 2,301.5 km3, (DGA 2022).
Also, more than 80% of the glaciers in South America are in our country and are part of the main environmental heritage, as they play a key role in water supply, becoming one of the fundamental strategic reserves of this vital resource.
In this context and inspired by the ice-stupas that exist in the Himalayas of India, a group of experts in Chile developed a system that seeks to reserve the precipitated winter water for use in the warmer months.
This is the Nilus project, a geoengineering solution based on nature that forms artificial ice reserves to store water and protect the resource in a sustainable manner.
The innovative initiative is supported by Ecocopter's Guardianes de la Montaña environmental program, who have collaborated in the transfer of equipment and research material to places that are difficult to access, such as the Arenas Park sector in the Cajón del Maipo near the El Morado glacier.
Armando Weinberger, general manager of Ecocopter Chile emphasizes "Guardianes de la Montaña is a key pillar in Ecocopter's sustainability policy and allows us to support with helicopter services for research missions and/or environmental protection care as is the case of the Nilus project, which has surprised us for its revolutionary and simple concept at the same time, and we really believe that its implementation will positively impact our Cordillera and communities"
Nilus is a project whose ultimate goal is to rehabilitate the foothill ecosystems through the implementation of artificial glaciers and an AI model for water and climate management, to manage the resource in an optimal and efficient way, as well as to promote a cultural change to recognize water as an essential element for life.
Sebastián Goldschmidt, CEO of Nilus says "Today we are moving forward with the goal of creating the first water park in Chile, which will allow us to investigate and evaluate the real impact of this innovation on high mountain ecosystems. Ecocopter's support has been fundamental, since we have moved the necessary infrastructure for the implementation of eight artificial ice reserves this season, which has allowed us to save at least two months of work in transportation alone,"
Francisco Díaz, Ecocopter's operations manager explains; "We support with our aircraft and crews various projects, providing our expertise to organizations that require helicopters to achieve their purposes aligned with the strategic environmental objectives of our company".
Thus, the generation of these ice reserves and the possibility of scaling up with advanced technologies will allow multiplying this type of initiatives throughout Chile and the world, with the purpose of recovering mountain ecosystems, having new water sources for communities, and in the medium term, dreaming of the recovery of glaciers.
Also, more than 80% of the glaciers in South America are in our country and are part of the main environmental heritage, as they play a key role in water supply, becoming one of the fundamental strategic reserves of this vital resource.
In this context and inspired by the ice-stupas that exist in the Himalayas of India, a group of experts in Chile developed a system that seeks to reserve the precipitated winter water for use in the warmer months.
This is the Nilus project, a geoengineering solution based on nature that forms artificial ice reserves to store water and protect the resource in a sustainable manner.
The innovative initiative is supported by Ecocopter's Guardianes de la Montaña environmental program, who have collaborated in the transfer of equipment and research material to places that are difficult to access, such as the Arenas Park sector in the Cajón del Maipo near the El Morado glacier.
Armando Weinberger, general manager of Ecocopter Chile emphasizes "Guardianes de la Montaña is a key pillar in Ecocopter's sustainability policy and allows us to support with helicopter services for research missions and/or environmental protection care as is the case of the Nilus project, which has surprised us for its revolutionary and simple concept at the same time, and we really believe that its implementation will positively impact our Cordillera and communities"
Nilus is a project whose ultimate goal is to rehabilitate the foothill ecosystems through the implementation of artificial glaciers and an AI model for water and climate management, to manage the resource in an optimal and efficient way, as well as to promote a cultural change to recognize water as an essential element for life.
Sebastián Goldschmidt, CEO of Nilus says "Today we are moving forward with the goal of creating the first water park in Chile, which will allow us to investigate and evaluate the real impact of this innovation on high mountain ecosystems. Ecocopter's support has been fundamental, since we have moved the necessary infrastructure for the implementation of eight artificial ice reserves this season, which has allowed us to save at least two months of work in transportation alone,"
Francisco Díaz, Ecocopter's operations manager explains; "We support with our aircraft and crews various projects, providing our expertise to organizations that require helicopters to achieve their purposes aligned with the strategic environmental objectives of our company".
Thus, the generation of these ice reserves and the possibility of scaling up with advanced technologies will allow multiplying this type of initiatives throughout Chile and the world, with the purpose of recovering mountain ecosystems, having new water sources for communities, and in the medium term, dreaming of the recovery of glaciers.
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