All articles tagged with #cloud brightening
Researchers in California planned a large-scale, secretive experiment to test solar geoengineering techniques like cloud brightening to potentially dim sunlight and combat climate change, but faced public backlash and regulatory hurdles after initial small-scale tests were conducted without community engagement or transparency.
Scientists are exploring the idea of cooling the Earth by injecting seawater droplets into clouds to increase their reflectivity and offset global warming caused by increased CO2 levels. Efforts to reduce pollution from ship exhaust using particles have brightened clouds enough to offset 5% of climate warming, but now researchers are focusing on using sea salt aerosols for cloud brightening. A $10 million Solar Radiation Modification experiment has been launched to study the effects of creating salt particles of the right size and number to potentially cool the Earth, with the hope of understanding the real-world implications before cloud brightening becomes a necessity.
Scientists conducted the first outdoor test in the United States of technology designed to brighten clouds and reflect some of the sun's rays back into space as a way to temporarily cool the overheating planet. The goal is to hold global warming to a relatively safe level, but as carbon dioxide emissions continue to rise, the idea of deliberately intervening in climate systems is becoming more realistic. If successful, the next stage would involve attempting to change the composition of clouds above the Earth's oceans.
Scientists have discovered that the reduction in ship tracks, caused by regulations to cut down on sulfur pollution emitted by ships, has inadvertently led to the warming of the planet. Ship tracks, formed from the exhaust of vessels, were found to brighten low-lying ocean clouds, reflecting sunlight away from the Earth and cooling temperatures. However, the sulfur dioxide emitted by ships also contributed to air pollution. These findings have sparked interest in geoengineering, particularly the concept of marine cloud brightening, which aims to replicate the cooling effects of ship tracks without the harmful emissions. While the research is still inconclusive, experts believe that further investigation and investment in geoengineering research are necessary to understand the potential risks and benefits of such technologies.