GeoengineeringGlobal Climate Emergency Response Systems: A Viable Solution or Just Dangerous Science

Fiction?

Created by Maggie Embick,

Tomomi Matsuhashi,and Virdis Bala

Why?

• Warming over 2° C is considered “dangerous climate change”

• We aren’t currently on a path to avoid this 2° increase

• Even stabilizing CO2 at 450 ppm has a large range of possible forcings

Some Ways to increase Earth’s Albedo:

• Marine Stratocumulus Seeding

• Launching space mirrors

Stratospheric Sulphate Aerosols

• Mount Pinatubo as a natural analog• Continued injection of SO2 into the

stratosphere could keep global temperatures constant as CO2 levels increase.

• Important considerations include the amount of particles, particle size, method of injection, and potentially dangerous side effects.

How Much?

• The forcing from a doubling in CO2 could be countered by a 1.7% increase in albedo.

•

• This corresponds to 1.5-5 Tg S per year, 15-30% of natural sulphate levels in the stratosphere.

- amount needed depends on particle size

• Relatively small contributor to “acid rain.”

Potential Dangers

• Continued Ocean Acidification

• Slower recovery of the ozone hole

• Perturbed hydrological cycle

Conclusions