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 …
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 does stratospheric aerosol injection aim to do?
Scientists are exploring new ideas to cool the planet. One is called Stratospheric Aerosol Injection (SAI). The idea is to spray particles in the stratosphere, which would reflect sunlight and reduce global temperatures. It could be relatively cheap to deploy, and quick acting.
What would be one advantage of injecting sulfate aerosols into the atmosphere?
Anthropogenic stratospheric aerosol injection would cool the planet, stop the melting of sea ice and land-based glaciers, slow sea level rise, and increase the terrestrial carbon sink, but produce regional drought, ozone depletion, less sunlight for solar power, and make skies less blue.
Do stratospheric aerosols contribute to global warming?
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.
How much would stratospheric aerosol injection cost?
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).
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.
What is stratospheric aerosol injection made of?
Materials. Various forms of sulfur were proposed as the injected substance, as this is in part how volcanic eruptions cool the planet. Precursor gases such as sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sulfide have been considered.
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).