Cooling: Solar Radiation Management
(Geo-Engineering)
The biggest form of geo-engineering is adding vast amounts of CO2 to the air.
That causes huge damages, most of them delayed,
Embedded Files
The graph of energy intensity (density) radiated to space by Earth, on the vertical axis, correponds to frequency on the bottom and wavelength on the top. Less is radiated to space in the absorption bands of the principal greenhouse gases (GHGs). The principal atmospheric infrared window thru GHGs is 10 to 12 µm. 320 K, the top "curve", = 47°C = 117°F. 22°C MODTRAN Model with Tropical setting = 295 K = 72°F.
The figures below show the increase in absrobed solar radiation over time and space. The left graphs shows that, over 20 years, Earth has absorbed more solar radiation - it has been getting darker (less reflective) - over the 3 major ocean basins. Especially over the North Pacififc and North Atlantic.
Changes over land are not shown.
Dr. Fry's summary of leading SRM methods.
An HPAC member's take on relative effectiveness of 9 methods to cool the planet (atmosphere mostly). Marine Cloud Brightening is rated top, followed by atmospheric methane oxidation.
Below, as above, SAI = Stratospheric Aerosol Injection (what major volcanic eruptions do) and MCB = Marine Cloud Brightening. CH4 is Methane, the leading Well Mixed Greenhouse Gas besides CO2.
2023-24 Articles
2023-24 Articles
Solar Geo-Engineering Could Save Up to 400,000 Lives per Year 1224.rtf
Plan to Refreeze the Arctic Sea Ice Is Seeing Promising Results 1224.rtf
Global Warming Is Speeding Up. Another Reason to Consider Geo-Engineering 1224.rtf
“EU Should Ban Space Mirrors and Other Solar Geoengineering” 1224.rtf
Thwaites Glacier Melting Faster than Expected. Use Giant Submarine Curtains? 1124.rtf - Preventing more land ice melt will prevent a bit of Earth darkening (albedo loss), which can slow warming. It might give a little breathing room to stop putting carbon in the air and remove what we have already put in.
Silicon Valley’s Elite Pour Money Into Blotting Out the Sun 1024.rtf
Diamond Dust in Stratosphere Could Cool Earth Better than Other Substances 1024.rtf
Now May Be the Time to Experiment with Mother Nature - Carefully! 0824.rtf
Cloud Brightening over Oceans may Stave Off Climate Change, but with Risk 0824.rtf
The Mirror Roofs Cooling Homes in Freetown, Sierra Leone 0824.rtf
Why Spraying Sulfur into the Sky is Not Crazy 0624.rtf
Click for more
Prof. David Keith Has a Plan to Cool Earth. There’s Growing Interest. 0824.rtf
Climate Engineering off US Coast Could increase Heat Waves in Europe 0624.rtf
Environmental Defense Fund to Study Effects of Artificially Cooling Earth 0624.rtf
Dimming the Sun to Cool the Earth - Is Solar Geo-Engineering the Future? 0524.rtf
Autonomous Solar-Powered Catamarans to Enhance Marine Cloud Brightening 0524.rtf
Cloud Cover Is Easier to Affect than Previously Thought 0524.rtf
Humans Might Need to Re-Engineer the Climate 0424.rtf - Washington Post editorial
Geo-Engineering Could Save the Ice Sheets – but Only if We Start Soon 0424.rtf
Radical Experiment Shows Cloud Brightening May Be Climate’s White Knight 0424.rtf
AMR’s Technical Solution to Cool Global Climate by 0.5-1.0°C within 20-25 Years 0424.rtf
Cloud Engineering Could Be More Effective against Global Warming than Previously Thought 0424.rt
Warming Is Getting Worse. So They Just Tested a Way to Deflect the Sun. 0424.rtf
How Cloud Brightening Might Save the Great Barrier Reef 0424.rtf
Warming Is Getting Worse. So They Just Tested a Way to Deflect the Sun. 0424.rtf
NOAA Calls for Urgent Investigation into Carbon Removal and Brightening Earth 0324.rtf
Geo-Engineering Faces Backlash over Regulatory Gaps and Unknown Risks 0324.rtf
Pumping Seawater over Frozen Ocean to Save the Arctic's Sea Ice 0324.rtf
Will a Dutch Startup’s Plan to Restore Arctic Sea Ice Work? 0224.rtf
Dehydrate the Stratosphere to Curb Global Warming? 0224.rtf
Could a Giant Parasol in Outer Space Help Solve the Climate Crisis? 0224.rtf
How ‘Cooling Glass’ Could Reflect Solar Radiation Back into Space 0124.rtf
What Are Main Global Solar Radiation Modification (SRM) Technologies? Why? 0923.rtf
Stratospheric Aerosol Injection (SAI) in the North Warms Ocean at Antarctic Ice Shelves, but SAI in the South Cools Them 0623.rtf
Experts Call for Global Moratorium on Efforts to Geo-Engineer Climate 0923.rtf
What You Need to Know about Reflecting Sunlight to Cool Earth 0823.rtf - emphasis on most developed method, imitating volcanoes by injecting aerosols into the stratosphere
Solar Geo-Engineering — Climate Solution or Pandora's Box? 0723.rtf
Chinese Scientists Are Trying to Shield Melting Glaciers From the Sun 0723.rtf
White House Cautiously Opens Door to Blocking Sun’s Rays to Cool Earth 0723.rtf
EU Looks into Blocking Out the Sun, as Climate Efforts Falter 0623.rtf
How Does Albedo Affect Climate? 0423.rtf
Spies Worry that a Sun-Blocking ‘Climate Solution’ Could Trigger War 0223.rtf
Study Reflecting Sunlight to Cool Earth before Climate Change Gets Much Worse, Urge 60 Scientists 0223.rtf
Why Billionaires Are Obsessed with Blocking Out the Sun 0223.rtf
George Soros Sees Arctic Threat to Civilization Survival, Wants Geo-Engineering 0223.rtf
Solar Radiation Management – Key Climate Solution or Path to Catastrophe? 0223.rtf
Simple Graph Shows Why We Must Study Ways to Reflect Sunlight to Cool Earth 0123.rtf
Startup Offers Stratospheric Geo-engineering as a Service 1222.rtf
Can Geoengineering Fix the Climate? 100s of Scientists Say Not So Fast. 1222.rtf
White House Pushes Ahead Research to Cool Earth by Reflecting Back Sunlight 1022.rtf
What Could We Do Specifically to Cool the Arctic? 0822.rtf
Can This Ice-Making Submarine Save The Arctic? 0622.rtf
Dimming the Sun Could Expose 1 Billion More People to Malaria 0422.rtf - by decreasing the area that is too hot for malaria
Weird Ideas to Fix the Climate Crisis Might Be All We Have 1021.rtf
What’s the Least Bad Way to Cool the Planet?1021.rtf
Opponents of Geo-Engineering Misunderstand Humanity’s Choices 0621.rtf
National Academy of Scientists Supports Reflecting the Sun’s Rays 0321.rtf
We Must Start Refreezing the Arctic Ocean Very Soon to Save Our Megacities 0121.rtf
As Earth Warms Faster, Scientists Eye Solar Radiation Management to Cool Off 0121.rtf
As Climate Disasters Pile Up, Solar Radiation Management Plan Gains Traction 1020.rtf
Scientists Trial Cloud Brightening Equipment to Shade, Cool Great Barrier Reef 0420.rtf
Heat the Arctic to Cool the Earth, Some Scientists Say 1219.rtf - so sea ice disappears, allowing heat from ocean below to escape into space. How does that interact with albedo change from light ice to dark water?
Pumping Seawater atop Sea Ice to Refreeze Arctic Sea Ice Isn't the Best Idea 1219.rtf
Can Arctic 'Ice Management' Combat Climate Change? 1219.rtf
Ancient Upheavals Show How to Geo-Engineer a Stable Climate 0619.rtf - in-depth (for news article) review of paleoclimate relevant to today, and of geo-engineering methods, both CO2 removal and soalr radiation management.
Geo-Engineer the Planet? More Scientists Now Say It Must Be an Option 0519.rtf
Plan to Artificially Cool Earth's Climate Could Be Safe, Study Finds 0319.rtf
Solar Radiation Management May Not Cool the Oceans, Study Says 1018.rtf
Geo-Engineering Problem - Dimming the Sky Won’t Save the World’s Harvests 0818.rtf
The Best Way to Shade Earth 0718.rtf - Inject sulfates (into stratosphere) in sub-tropics to mid-latitudes, not near the equator.
2 Audacious Plans for Saving the World’s Ice Sheets 0518.rtf
Could Sprinkling Sand Save the Arctic's Shrinking Sea Ice? 0418.rtf
Developing Nations to Study Ways to Dim Sunshine, Slow Warming 0418.rtf
What on Earth? Why Climate Change Skeptics Are Backing Geo-Engineering 0318.rtf
“Can We Refreeze the Arctic?”, Scientists Are Beginning to Ask 0318.rtf
4 Radical Plans to Save Civilization from Climate Change 0917.rtf - merely a quick summary: 3 are SRM, 1 CDR.
carbon vacuums (CDR), salt-spraying ships (clouds), sparkle-blasting ballons (stratospheric sulfates), and super-sized space mirrors
Scientists Want to Give the Atmosphere an Antacid to Relieve Climate Change 1216.rtf - calcium carbonates intead of sulfates
Ocean Warming due to Plankton Collapse 0616.rtf
Scientists Dim Sunlight, Suck Up CO2 to Cool Planet 0717.rtf
A Cirrus Cloud Climate Dial? 0717.rtf
Should We Geo-Engineer Earth to Halt Warming? Scientists Say Maybe 0717.rtf
US Scientists Launch World's Biggest Solar Geo-Engineering Study 0317.rtf
Could a £400 Billion Plan to Refreeze the Arctic before the Ice Melts Really Work? 0217.rtf
White House Urges Research on Geo-Engineering to Combat Global Warming 0117.rtf
Case against Geo-Engineering 1117 - PDF, 80 pp
How Does Albedo Affect Climate? 0423.rtf
Earth is getting darker, which makes it absorb more heat, and thus warm up. Warming is not just from greenhouse gases. However, the changing albedo was initiated by adding greenhouse gases, which were the trigger.
Can Geoengineering Fix the Climate? 100s of Scientists Say Not So Fast. 1222.rtf
At right, observe that the dark forest (mesic savanna) reflects less sunlight than the semi-arid savanna or the aird savanna. The more arid conditions will have a net cooling effect, other things equal.
What Could We Do Specifically to Cool the Arctic? 0822.rtf
2 methods reviewed: stratospheric aerosol injection and marine cloud brightening
2016 Articles and earlier
2016 Articles and earlier
Scientists Want to Give the Atmosphere an Antacid to Relieve Climate Change 1216.rtf - calcium carbonates intead of sulfates
Geo-Engineering to Alter Climate Moves Closer to Reality 1016.rtf
Ocean Warming due to Plankton Collapse 0616.rtf - The fewer plankton make correspondingly less dimethyl sulfide, which serve as important cloud condensation nuclei to form cooling cloouds near the ocean surface.
Geo-Engineer Polar Glaciers to Slow Sea-Level Rise 0318.rtf - Make them whiter, or thicker.
Sea Level Rise? Can We Pump Quadrillions of Tons of Seawater 2 Miles High? 0316.rtf
Massive Tree Farms, Soil Carbon Sequestration May Be Really Bad Climate Ideas 0216.rtf
Could Bright, Foamy Wakes from Ocean Ships Combat Global Warming? 0116.rtf
Nanostructure and Nanonet Solar Cells, CCS, SRM Could Slow Climate Change 1215.rtf
Could the Smell of the Sea Help Cool a Warming Planet? 0815.rtf
Geo-Engineering Will Not Save Ocean Life from Centuries of Acidification 0815.rtf
Cloud Brightening Experiment Tests Tool to Slow Climate Change 0715.rtf
‘Last Ditch’ Climate Change Remedies Olivine & Biochar Remove CO2 from Air 0615.rtf
Whitening Arctic Ocean Surface to Reflect Sunlight into Space Will Fail 0415.rtf
Warning over Aerosol Climate Fix 0415.rtf
Scientists Urge Global ‘Wake-up Call' to Deal with Climate Change 0215.rtf
Planet Reboot - Fighting Climate Change With Geo-Engineering 1214.rtf
Geo-Engineering - Climate Fixes ‘Could Harm Billions' 1114.rtf
Many Experts Say Technology Can't Fix Climate Change 1114.rtf
If You Start Geo-Engineering to Halt Global Warming, Don't Stop 1213.rtf
Climate Engineering- Minor Potential, Major Side Effects 0214.rtf
Earth-Cooling Schemes May Devastate, Need Global Sign-off 0313.rtf - Solar Radiation Management, chiefly sulfates in the stratosphere - spread droughts and deserts to new areas
Geo-Engineering Responses to Rapidly Shrinking Arctic Ice Cap 0213.rtf
Let's Play God- Experiments That Might Save (or Destroy) the World 1013.rtf
IPCC Climate Report Puts Geo-Engineering in the Spotlight 1013.rtf
Geo-Engineering Methods.pdf
Sowing Stratosphere with Sulfates.pdf
Earth-Cooling Schemes May Devastate, Need Global Sign-off 0313.rtf - Solar Radiation Management, chiefly sulfates in the stratosphere - spread droughts and deserts to new areas
Overview of Geo-Engineering 1112.rtf - introduction to amounts (efficacy) and costs, for 12 methods
Sulfates in Stratosphere Geo-Engineering Can Disrupt Rainfall Patterns 0612.rtf
Central Intelligence Agency Studies Geo-Engineering 0713.rtf
Geo-Engineering Responses to Rapidly Shrinking Arctic Ice Cap 0213.rtf
Get Cirrus in the Fight Against Climate Change 0113.rtf
Altering Clouds to Fight Climate Change 0113.rtf
Algae Farming for Climate Change a Big Waste of Money 1212.rtf
Overview of Geo-Engineering 1112.rtf
Geo-Engineering Interest Grows 1110.rtf
Geo-Engineering Poses Drought Risk 0809.rtf
Geo-Engineering to Slow Warming 1106.rtf - 5 methods discussed or mentioned
The figure shows 4 types of SRM and 5 types of CO2 removal. Some methods are not shown, especially for CO2 removal, notably organic farming for soils. Also CH4 removal, notably by iron salt aerosols.
SRM shown includes mirrors, aerosols, reflective crops, and cloud seeding.
CO2 removal shown includes foresting, artificial trees, biochar, ocean iron fertilization, and carbonate addition. Accelerated rock weathering, a major method, is not shown, nor is use of ocean biology.
Add to the diagram storing carbon in soils, via (1) rapid (~1 week / small pasture) rotation grazing, (2) no-till farming, especially organic farming, and (3) biochar.
LIke foresting, these requires large land areas, but they (especially grazing) work much better in dry areas, which will grow some grass but few or no trees. Like foresting, these are already being used, at negligible cost. Moreover, soils generally store more carbon per acre than standing biomass (e.g., forests), especially toward the poles. (But near the equator, standing biomass stores much more than the soil there, except in peatlands.)
Section Map: Reversing Climate Change
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