Geoengineering
Trials Get Under Way
Field trials for experiments to engineer the climate
have begun. Next month a team of UK researchers will
hoist one end of a 1-kilometre-long hose aloft using a
balloon, then attempt to pump water up it and spray it
into the atmosphere. The water will not affect the
climate. Rather, the experiment is a proof of
principle to show that we can pump large quantities of
material to great heights. If it succeeds, a
larger-scale version could one day pump sulphate
aerosols into the stratosphere, creating a sunshade
that will offset the greenhouse effect.