Climate Wire | US scientists plan to begin a multi-year study of the stratosphere this month to help world leaders better understand whether solar geoengineering can be used to combat global warming. doing.
And they go back in time to do it.
The concept itself may sound futuristic. One of his methods of solar geoengineering involves artificially altering the Earth’s atmosphere to reflect more sunlight back into space.
But the new NOAA mission will use retro equipment.
Its primary vehicle will be a modified Air Force bomber designed over 70 years ago to operate in the upper atmosphere at the start of the Korean War. The latest version of this slim twin-engined jet called He WB-57, whose ancestor in Vietnam He was also used as B-57, has been modified to carry 17 different sampling instruments. .
The United States hopes that the mission will provide more data and help the United States and other UN member states conduct well-informed discussions on solar geoengineering.
Karen Rosenlof, a senior scientist at NOAA’s Institute of Chemical Sciences, said in a statement released last week, “We need a better understanding of the costs and benefits of climate interventions in terms of how aerosols act in the climate system. there is.
“The negative impacts of climate change on the biosphere and economy are already being seen and should only be expected to get worse.”
After completing research flights in Alaska and the Arctic, NOAA plans to send WB-57 to explore the tropical stratosphere in 2024 and move to the Southern Hemisphere for more flights in 2025.
Packed nose-to-tail with instruments designed by NOAA, NASA, Harvard University and the University of Vienna, the modified bomber is designed to answer questions posed last year by United Nations leaders. A report by the United Nations Environment Program last month noted that the evidence needed to make informed decisions about the large-scale deployment of solar radiation modification “simply isn’t there.”
Previous U.S. studies of what is called changes in solar radiation were conducted to examine the effects of large volcanic eruptions, large wildfires, and cuts in global emissions during the Covid-19 pandemic. I got
They showed that more learning is needed. Exploring the stratosphere, starting four miles above Alaska, may be the beginning of a much-needed learning curve.
Scientists who first explored the subject felt that dark clouds from volcanic eruptions were the most likely natural force covering the Earth, but rock particles, smoke, and the Earth’s giants pushed up into the upper atmosphere were the most likely forces. Most of the clouds returned to Earth immediately.
A study led by the National Center for Atmospheric Research, published in July 2021, tested a different theory. Reduced travel during Covid-19, lockdowns, and other emissions reductions due to lowering his CO2 emissions have had the most cooling effect.
they didn’t. The 2019 and 2020 Australian wildfires were at least four times stronger than Covid’s results, according to a study. Because they migrate to the northern hemisphere, temporarily covering the entire globe with sulfate and smoke particles, gathering in clouds, and lasting 8 months.
Major volcanic eruptions occur about once every 30 years, and major wildfires occur about once every two years, said John Faslo, a scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research and the lead author of the study. It says it will. “Clearly we need to learn more about how they affect the Earth’s climate,” he said.
A United Nations report drafted by nine scientists calls for injecting large amounts of aerosols into the upper atmosphere, painting the roofs of urban buildings white, and planting more crops that reflect the sun. We are looking at other global cooling alternatives, such as covering deserts with materials. It then launches a mirror into space that can reflect more of the sun’s rays farther from Earth.
Most projects cost billions of dollars, take years to come to fruition, and still don’t know how effective they will be. As for the UN General Assembly debate, “we need to have a more reliable assessment of ‘what if’,” said David Fahey, director of NOAA’s Institute for Chemical Sciences, in an interview.
“One of the junctures is, are you going to discuss field experiments? We are just connecting the dots and not providing solutions,” he added.
He said the next UN move would be to appoint a panel to decide how the organization would structure such discussions.
Reprinted from E&E News with permission of POLITICO, LLC. Copyright 2023. E&E News provides essential news for energy and environmental professionals.
