What chemicals are used in solar geoengineering?
Using models and testing simulated conditions in the lab, Keutsch and his colleagues hope to find particles capable of trapping less heat in the atmosphere and of reflecting more light skyward. Among the chemical candidates are diamond, titanium dioxide, and calcium carbonate.
Do stratospheric aerosols contribute to Global Warming?
MacMartin (Kravitz et al., 2017) of the National Center for Atmospheric Research it’s partners (NCAR) show that stratospheric aerosol injection has the potential to prevent further atmospheric warming and maintain a relatively stable climate.
Is stratospheric aerosol injection a good idea?
Research into climate intervention methods, including stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI), is controversial for good reason. It has to be clear that at best SAI would be a complement to emission reductions, which have to be the absolute priority, and probably carbon dioxide removal.
Has stratospheric aerosol injection been tested?
Outdoors research In 2015, David Keith and Gernot Wagner described a potential field experiment, the Stratospheric Controlled Perturbation Experiment (SCoPEx), using stratospheric calcium carbonate injection, but as of October 2020 the time and place had not yet been determined.
What are stratospheric aerosols?
Stratospheric Aerosol Injection (SAI) is a theoretical solar geoengineering proposal to spray large quantities of tiny reflective particles into the stratosphere, an upper layer of the Earth’s atmosphere, in order to cool the planet by reflecting sunlight back into space.
Is geoengineering a bad idea?
“So, geoengineering is a very, very, very, very, very bad idea. It should form no part of any sensible strategy to mitigate the expected effects of climate change. However hard it might be, cutting our greenhouse gas emissions is the only sane way to stop anthropogenic climate change…
Is geoengineering good or bad?
Stratospheric geoengineering is technically feasible and inexpensive, but could lead to substantial destruction of stratospheric ozone. Earth’s hydrological system responds differently to solar forcings than longwave forcings from GHGs, so geoengineering cannot simultaneously restore temperature and precipitation.
Is stratospheric aerosol injection expensive?
Smith and Wagner concluded that pre-start costs of less than $4 billion would be sufficient to launch such an operation; that costs per lofted ton of sulfate aerosols would be in the range of $1500; and that annual operating costs in the first 15 yr would average $2.3 billion (all figures in 2018 USD).