Stratospheric aerosol injection is a proposed method of solar geoengineering (or solar radiation modification) to reduce human-induced global warming. This would introduce aerosols into the stratosphere to create a cooling effect via global dimming, which occurs naturally from volcanic eruptions.
Do stratospheric aerosols cause global warming?
Climatic Impact of Volcanic Aerosols. Stratospheric aerosol clouds from volcanic eruptions cool the Earth's surface for several years, but produce winter warming over the continents in the NH.
How does aerosols impact global warming?
What do aerosols do to climate? Aerosols influence climate in two primary ways: by changing the amount of heat that gets in or out of the atmosphere, or by affecting the way clouds form. Some aerosols, like many kinds of dust from ground-up rocks, are light-colored and even a little bit reflective.
What are the possible risks of stratospheric aerosol injection?
In theory, injecting aerosols into the stratosphere could cool the planet at a cost of disrupting seasonal weather patterns, leading to widespread flooding or drought. We could harm our food supply, either by reducing the amount of sunlight that reaches crops or by reducing the amount of rainfall, or both.
What do stratospheric aerosols do?
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 stratospheric injection of aerosols effective?
Stratospheric Aerosol Injection is a very promising geoengineering solution to Global Warming because, based on research conducted on numerous recent and historic volcanic eruptions such as Mount Pinatubo in 1991 and complex climate model simulations, there is strong evidence that it would be very effective in cooling …
Is the troposphere cooling?
For CO2 it is obvious that there is no cooling in the troposphere, but a strong cooling effect in the stratosphere. Ozone, on the other hand, cools the upper stratosphere but warms the lower stratosphere.
Can aerosols reduce global warming?
Over a bright surface (high albedo) scattering aerosols have a reduced effect. Absorbing aerosols may, however, substantially reduce the outgoing radiation and thus have a warming effect.
What is the effect on climate of absorption of sunlight by stratospheric ozone?
Ozone in the lower part of the atmosphere acts as a greenhouse gas and is a major pollutant. Higher up, in the stratosphere, the ozone layer absorbs solar ultra-violet radiation and affects how much of the Sun's heat is radiated back into space.
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.