What do you do if your nation has a severe water shortage and happens to be located in a bona fide desert?

如果你的国家严重缺水又正好位于茫茫沙漠，你会怎么做？

If you have the resources, you turn to technology, which is what a company in the oil-rich United Arab Emirates is looking to do.

如果你有资本，便可以借助技术的力量。一家位于产油大国阿联酋的公司正准备这么做。

The country, which gets less than four inches of rain per year, could solve its issue with water scarcity¹ by towing icebergs³ from Antarctica to its shores.

阿联酋这个国家的年降水量不足101.6毫米，不过只要从南极运冰山过来，就可以解决缺水问题。

It could take up to a year to bring an iceberg² from Antarctica to Fujairah.

冰山从南极运到富查伊拉（七个酋长国之一）可能花上一年时间。

Once the iceberg is at UAE shores, the ice above the waterline would be chipped off, crushed into drinking water, which would then be stored in large water tanks and filtered.

一旦冰山到达阿联酋海岸，水面以上的部分会被切下来压碎，融化成淡水，然后保存在巨大的水缸里并过滤。

The iceberg would also have a broader impact.

冰山还会发挥更大的作用。

The more icebergs, the more water vapor⁴ and clouds, creating a profound effect on the regional climate over a decade, turning the desert into “green meadows”.

运来的冰山越多，蒸发形成的水汽就越多，云量增加，会对区域气候带来深远的影响，十年后，当地的沙漠就会变成“绿草地”。

The melting icebergs would also add fresh water to the Arabian sea, returning biodiversity by balancing out the brine discharge from desalination⁵ plants.

冰山融化会为阿拉伯海注入更多淡水，逐渐抵消海水淡化厂排放的浓盐水，从而恢复当地海域的生物多样性。

There would also be a boost for tourism from all the people interested in looking at the icebergs.

冰山还会吸引众多游客前来参观，因而当地旅游业也会增长。

The company has so far ran simulations and feasibility studies and looks to start the project in early 2018.

目前，这家公司已经开展了模拟和可行性研究，预计2018年初能够开始这项运冰山的壮举。