1. A method of slowing a melting of a polar ice shelf comprising the steps of:
selecting an area of an ice shelf that will benefit from a reduced melt rate;
drilling a hole through the ice shelf from a top surface of the ice shelf to a bottom surface of the ice shelf in contact with sea water;
conveying a quantity of air through the hole from the top surface of the ice shelf into sea water underneath the ice shelf, at least a part of the quantity of air forming a layer between the bottom surface of the ice shelf and the sea water, slowing the melting of the ice by the sea water.
2. The method of slowing a melting of a polar ice shelf of claim 1 further comprising the step of monitoring the quantity of air under the ice shelf.
3. The method of slowing a melting of a polar ice shelf of claim 2 wherein the step of monitoring the quantity of air under the ice shelf comprises measuring an area of the layer formed by the quantity of air between the sea water and ice using sonar.
4. The method of slowing a melting of a polar ice shelf of claim 2 wherein the step of monitoring the quantity of air under the ice shelf comprises tracking a movement of the layer of the quantity air under the ice shelf over time using sonar.
5. The method of slowing a melting of a polar ice shelf of claim 1 wherein the step of conveying the quantity of air comprises:
activating an air compressor; and
directing an outlet air from the air compressor into the hole in the ice shelf.
6. The method of slowing a melting of a polar ice shelf of claim 5 further comprising the step of chilling air after it exits a compressor outlet.
7. The method of slowing a melting of a polar ice shelf of claim 6 wherein the step of chilling the air comprises passing the air through a chiller device before the step of conveying the quantity of air through the hole.
8. The method of slowing a melting of a polar ice shelf of claim 1 further comprising the step of capping the hole after the step of conveying the quantity of air.
9. The method of slowing a melting of a polar ice shelf of claim 1 wherein the step of drilling the hole through the ice shelf is performed close to a grounding line of the ice shelf.
10. The method of slowing a melting of a polar ice shelf of claim 1 further comprising the steps of:
passing a probe through the hole; and
mapping the bottom surface of the ice shelf using the probe.
11. The method of slowing a melting of a polar ice shelf of claim 1 further comprising the step of directing the air conveyed at the bottom of the ice shelf.
12. The method of slowing a melting of a polar ice shelf of claim 1 further comprising the step of passing a pipe through the hole.
13. The method of slowing a melting of a polar ice shelf of claim 1 wherein the step of conveying the quantity of air is performed at a rate sufficient to overcome an escape of air from underneath the ice shelf.
14. A method of insulating a bottom surface of a polar ice shelf comprising the steps of:
drilling a hole through the ice shelf from a top surface of the ice shelf to a bottom surface of the ice shelf, the bottom surface being in contact with sea water;
conveying a quantity of air through the hole from the top surface of the ice shelf into sea water underneath the ice shelf;
wherein the quantity of air is urged between the sea water and the bottom of the ice shelf, insulating the ice shelf from the sea water.
15. The method of insulating a bottom surface of a polar ice shelf of claim 14 further comprising the step of monitoring the quantity of air under the ice shelf.
16. The method of insulating a bottom surface of a polar ice shelf of claim 15 wherein the step of monitoring the quantity of air under the ice shelf comprises measuring an area of the ice shelf insulated by the air from the sea water.
17. The method of insulating a bottom surface of a polar ice shelf of claim 15 wherein the step of monitoring the quantity of air under the ice shelf comprises tracking a movement of the air under the ice shelf over time.
18. The method of insulating a bottom surface of a polar ice shelf of claim 14 further comprising the step of passing a probe through the hole, and mapping the bottom surface of the ice shelf.
19. The method of insulating a bottom surface of a polar ice shelf of claim 14 further comprising chilling air after it exits a compressor outlet by passing the air through a chiller device before the step of conveying the quantity of air through the hole.
20. A system for use in insulating a bottom of a polar ice shelf comprising:
a drill, the drill configured to form a hole through the polar ice shelf;
an air compressor, the air compressor configured to compress ambient air and direct the compressed air through the hole and into a sea water beneath the ice shelf;
a remotely movable nozzle positionable at a bottom of the hole, configured to direct the compressed air from the hole into the sea water;
a monitoring device, the monitoring device configured to monitor a movement of a quantity of the compressed air that is beneath the ice shelf, between the ice shelf and the sea water.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A method for enabling a portlet to function with a remote consumer system, the method comprising:
detecting within a descriptor file for the portlet one or more event data structures, each of the one or more event data structures describing at least one event occurring within a web portal environment comprising at least the portlet and the remote consumer system, and each of the one or more event data structures also describing one or more actions to be taken by the portlet or the remote consumer system in response to the at least one event;
generating, for each of the event data structures in the descriptor file for the portlet, a corresponding service data structure within a service description for the remote consumer system, the service data structure including the at least one event and one or more actors corresponding to the one or more actions to be taken, the service description configured to enable the remote consumer system to communicate with the portlet; and
transmitting the service description having the service data structure to the remote consumer system, for use by the remote consumer system to create, based on the service description, a proxy for the portlet at the remote consumer system.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein detecting within a descriptor file for the portlet one or more event data structures comprises:
detecting one or more event data structures within an eXtensible Markup Language (XML) document associated with the portlet.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein detecting one or more event data structures within an eXtensible Markup Language (XML) document associated with the portlet comprises:
detecting entries associated with tags within the XML document.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein detecting entries associated with tags within the XML document comprises:
detecting within individual entries, instructions for responding to the event.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein generating, for each of the event data structures in the descriptor file for the portlet, a corresponding service data structure within a service description for the remote consumer system comprises:
generating, for each of the event data structures in the descriptor file for the portlet, an extension to a PortletDescription document.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the portlet is at least one of a pageflow portlet and a struts portlet.
7. A machine readable storage medium comprising instructions that when executed by a processor are configured to:
detect within a descriptor file for the portlet one or more event data structures, each of the one or more event data structures describing at least one event occurring within a web portal environment comprising at least the portlet and the remote consumer system, and each one of the one or more event data structures also describing one or more actions to be taken by the portlet or the remote consumer system in response to the at least one event;
generate, for each of the event data structures in the descriptor file for the portlet, a corresponding service data structure within a service description for the remote consumer system, the service data structure including the at least one event and one or more actors corresponding to the one or more actions to be taken, the service description configured to enable the remote consumer system to communicate with the portlet; and
transmit the service description having the service data structure to the remote consumer system, for use by the remote consumer system to create, based on the service description, a proxy for the portlet at the remote consumer system.
8. The machine readable storage medium of claim 7, wherein the instructions for detecting within a descriptor file for the portlet one or more event data structures comprise instructions for:
detecting one or more event data structures within an eXtensible Markup Language (XML) document associated with the portlet.
9. The machine readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein the instructions for detecting one or more event data structures within an eXtensible Markup Language (XML) document associated with the portlet comprise instructions for:
detecting entries associated with tags within the XML document.
10. The machine readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein the instructions for detecting entries associated with tags within the XML document comprise instructions for:
detecting, within individual entries, instructions for responding to the event.
11. The machine readable storage medium of claim 7, wherein the instructions for generating, for each of the event data structures in the descriptor file for the portlet, a corresponding service data structure within a service description for the remote consumer system comprise instructions for:
generating, for each of the event data structures in the descriptor file for the portlet, an extension to a PortletDescription document.
12. The machine readable storage medium of claim 7, wherein the portlet is at least one of a pageflow portlet and a struts portlet.
13. A system, the system interacting with a portlet and a remote consumer system and configured to:
detect within a descriptor file for the portlet one or more event data structures, each of the one or more event data structures describing events within a web portal environment comprising at least the portlet and the remote consumer system, and each of the one or more event data structures also describing one or more actions to be taken by the portlet or the remote consumer system in response to the event; and
for each of the event data structures in the descriptor file for the portlet generate a corresponding service data structure within a service description for the remote consumer system, the service data structure including the events and one or more actors corresponding to the one or more actions to be taken, the service description configured to enable the remote consumer system to communicate with the portlet; and
transmit the service description having the service data structure to the remote consumer system, for use by the remote consumer system to create, based on the service description, a proxy for the portlet at the remote consumer system;
wherein the system runs on one or more processors.
14. The method of claim 1, wherein:
the one or more actions described by one of the one or more event data structures include dispatching the at least one event to the portlet so that the portlet is able to handle the at least one event.
15. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
receiving, from the remote consumer system, the at least one event; and
invoking an action in response to receiving the at least one event.
16. The method of claim 1, wherein:
the proxy for the portlet references the portlet so that the portlet is accessible at the remote consumer system via the proxy for the portlet.
17. The method of claim 1, wherein:
the service description configures the proxy for the portlet so that the proxy for the portlet invokes the one or more actions in response to the at least one event.