Scientists explore creating inland seas to combat rising ocean levels: researcher discusses bold plan to reflood desert depressions

As coastal cities worldwide face mounting threats from rising seas, scientists are exploring an ambitious geoengineering solution: creating massive inland seas by redirecting ocean water into desert depressions. The concept, which begins with Egypt’s enormous Qattara Depression, represents a potentially game-changing approach to managing one of climate change’s most pressing challenges.

The urgency behind such bold thinking is clear. According to NOAA data, global sea levels have already climbed 21-24 centimeters since 1880, with the pace accelerating as Earth’s temperature rises. The culprits are melting ice sheets and thermal expansion of seawater. Even under the most optimistic scenario—limiting global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels—seas would still rise an additional 30 centimeters by 2100. Under high-emission scenarios, the increase could reach a catastrophic 200 centimeters, displacing tens of millions of people from flooded coastlines.

The stakes grow even higher when considering potential collapse of Greenland’s ice sheet or Antarctica’s Thwaites Glacier, ominously nicknamed the “Doomsday Glacier.” Such events could affect billions globally. Against this backdrop, the idea of reflooding natural inland depressions offers a novel way to literally redirect the problem—moving excess seawater away from populated coasts into unpopulated desert basins.

While the concept remains in early research phases, it represents the kind of large-scale thinking that may become necessary as conventional mitigation efforts struggle to keep pace with accelerating climate impacts. The approach highlights how scientists are increasingly looking beyond traditional solutions to address our rapidly changing planet.