The low and thick hanging clouds in our sky, reflecting sunlight back into space, are melting in thin air like the heat of the world.
These losses will not only bring about more climate change than we expect, but new research suggests that it may also undermine the prospects for future geoengineering solutions.
The idea of seeding clouds with the injection of light-reflecting particles to reflect sunlight back into space – it gives the planet ‘cooling’ – is controversial, which could prove useful in the real world or even possible.
Some scientists worry about the unforeseen dangers of interfering with our planet’s atmosphere, while others say that this weather-hacking solution does nothing to curb ocean acidification or adverse ecosystem effects.
It is as good as the clouds in our sky, and in the next century, there may be many less of them. Even in the very ideal scenario, where solar geoengineering works without any side effects, a new model suggests that it may not be enough on its own.
If the world’s carbon emissions continue unabated, we will start a massive cascade of wimming – cloud seeding or no.
“Therefore, by reducing the concentration of elevated greenhouse gases, the cooling effect provided by stratocumulus clouds can significantly stimulate global warming,” writes the authors of the new study, “while all or most of the greenhouse gas impact at the top of the atmosphere is compensated. By. ”
This is an extreme scenario where carbon dioxide continues to accumulate in the atmosphere at four times higher concentrations than it does today.
Researchers say it will take about a century, and even if we’ve spent decades planting rosols in the atmosphere, it could still be very good.
Today, stratocumulus clouds cover vast parts of the subtropical ocean, and recent evidence suggests that they are responsible for reflecting 5 degrees Celsius of global warming back into space.
As greenhouse gases rise into the atmosphere, high-resolution simulations show that these clouds will thin out and probably disintegrate completely. Even under moderately warm scenarios, the results are that tropical stratocumulus clouds gradually thin and separate.
Without this protective ield, all of the sun’s heat, then free of charge, could sink freely into the atmosphere and oceans of our planet, further raising the world’s temperature.
In this way, solar geoengineering can only work to a point, and in the long run, researchers say it is no substitute for cutting carbon emissions.
The authors conclude, “Solar geoengineering is not a fail-safe alternative to preventing global warming, as it does not reduce the risks to the weather system arising from the direct influence of greenhouse gases on the cloud cover.”
His model explains what happens when CO increases2 Concentrations occur at the same time as cloud cooling increases. As such, it assumes that solar geoengineering actually works and our emissions will continue unchecked.
But while the potential tipping point of thinning of cloud cover due to frequent notices in atmospheric models due to increased research is linked to greenhouse gas emissions, it is not yet clear what clouds seem to thin or how their light-reflecting abilities are affected.
Surface warming on Earth leads to evaporation and atmospheric humidity, which seems to impair cloud-top cooling, how to take the ground for night cooling in humid environments as opposed to dry conditions.
The new model is an interesting exploration of what happens when a stimulus continues when cloud cooling improves, but it is still a simple explanation that does not take into account seasonal cycles, weather information or ‘noise’ in regional differences.
“The lack of spatial specificity and temporal diversity in our similarities makes it difficult to quantify the range of COs more accurately.2 Concentration at which stratocumulus breakup may occur, or when clouds improve after CO2 “Concentrations decrease,” the authors admitted.
“Despite the caves and limitations, the results show a far-reaching risk of solar geoengineering.”
The risks and benefits of solar geoengineering are uncertain, and we need more research before we can say for sure whether it is worth finding. The cloud is really hard to imitate; Giving them seeds is the whole point.
For now, reducing our emissions is undoubtedly the best option.
The study was published in P.N.A.S..
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