Panchaea

Panchaea (Greek: παγχαΐα) is a vast installation, located in the middle of the Arctic Ocean, designed to stem the advance of global warming by eccentric billionaire and proprietor of modern mechanical augmentations, Hugh Darrow. The Arctic installation is almost operational, and a second one is being constructed in the Indian ocean. Darrow only hires augmented workers to construct these massive installations. In an interview with Picus News, Darrow explains that the installation uses iron seeding and geothermal management to regulate the ocean's temperature.

Several people are vocally skeptical, however. One woman in Hengsha remarks that ambitious projects such as Panchaea may end up killing the human race if they fail. Lazarus believes that the installation is simply a scheme to make money, as Darrow Industries profits from global warming (though everything Lazarus says must be taken with a grain of salt).

Panchaea is a large, deep pit of over 300m in diameter. It features two docks that accommodate freighters powered by solar Turbosail from XNG Shipping Company and two tall towers surrounded by cranes and pylons with radar protected by radomes.

Function
The officially stated purpose of Panchaea is to counter the effects of the global warming. In order to do so, the facility promotes growth of phytoplankton by dispersing iron into the ocean. The underlying expectation is that more carbon will be trapped in biomass and then deposited on the ocean floor as sediment. The specifics of the implementation, however, are more vague and little is known about the exact function of the device located inside Panchaea. It contains a ring section like large particle accelerators (especially synchrotons) have. In said subsection of the station superconducting cryodipole magnets confine and accelerate what can be assumed to be iron particles for the experiment. They can be seen in-game flying through the evacuated beam pipes. The large cavity facing the server room is probably the place where they are being used in a way to influence the atmosphere.

Behind the scenes
Panchaea is the name of a fictional island, first mentioned by ancient Greek philosopher Euhemerus in the late 4th century BC.

Iron fertilization or iron seeding is a potentially viable geoengineering technique. The full spectrum of its ecological impact is uncertain at this time.