Global average quantities resulting from injections of 5 Mt/year of the corresponding material (a) and (c) and quantities normalized by radiative forcing (RF) (b) and (d) net as a global average of the entire sky of the atmosphere (ToA). Credit: Geophysical research letters (2024). DOI: 10.1029/2024GL110575
A multi-institutional team of climate scientists, meteorologists and Earth scientists has found that dropping diamond dust from an airplane into the atmosphere could cool the planet. In their study published in the journal Geophysical research lettersthe group used 3D climate models to compare aerosols that could be used to cool the planet.
Previous research has shown that Earth is near a tipping point: Global warming has led to changes in global weather patterns that could only get worse as the planet warms. If true, some argue the only solution at this point is to quickly find a way to cool the planet. Some scientists have proposed deploying millions of devices to extract carbon from the air, which could then be sequestered.
The problem is that if we reach a tipping point, removing carbon won’t do any good: we need to find a way not only to reduce warming, but also to actively cool the planet. The only way to do this, most experts agree, is to inject aerosols into the atmosphere to reflect sunlight and heat back into space.
The leading candidate for such a venture at present is sulfur dioxide. Because it is released naturally into the atmosphere from volcanoes, scientists have a pretty good idea of what would happen if humans started injecting it artificially. The downside is that it could cause acid rain all over the world. It could also damage the ozone layer and possibly disrupt weather patterns in the lower atmosphere.
In this new effort, the researchers wondered what type of material would best serve as a means of cooling the planet. To find out, they built a 3D climate model showing the impact of adding aerosols to the atmosphere. The software also included the effects of different aerosols, such as the reflection of light and heat, how the aerosols would eventually settle on the ground, and whether they would clump together in the atmosphere, trapping more heat .
The research team then modeled the impact on Earth of injections of seven candidates: calcite, diamond, aluminum, silicon carbide, anatase, rutile and sulfur dioxide. This showed that diamond dust would be the best option: the particles would reflect the most light and heat, stay aloft for a reasonable amount of time, and were unlikely to clump together. The researchers note that because they are chemically inert, they are unlikely to react to form acid rain.
The model suggests that injecting 5 million tonnes of synthetic diamond dust into the atmosphere per year could cool the Earth by 1.6°C in 45 years. The downside, of course, would be the enormous cost: around $200 trillion.
More information:
S. Vattioni et al, Microphysical interactions determine the effectiveness of solar radiation modification via the injection of stratospheric solid particles, Geophysical research letters (2024). DOI: 10.1029/2024GL110575
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