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RESEARCH PAPERSHernandez-Jaramillo, D. C., Harrison, L., Kelaher, B., Ristovski, Z., & Harrison, D. P. (2023). Evaporative Cooling Does Not Prevent Vertical Dispersion of Effervescent Seawater Aerosol for Brightening Clouds. Environmental Science & Technology.AbstractMarine cloud brightening (MCB) is a potential intervention to mitigate the effects of climate change by increasing the reflectance of low-level maritime clouds, including those over the Great Barrier Reef. The technique involves dispersing a plume of submicrometer seawater droplets over the ocean, which evaporate, generating nanosized sea-salt aerosols (SSAs) that disperse through the atmosphere with some fraction incorporated into clouds. Droplet evaporation, which occurs in the immediate vicinity (meters to tens of meters) of the source, has been theorized to produce a negatively buoyant plume hindering the mixing of the sea-salt aerosol to cloud height and compromising the effectiveness of MCB. We characterized in situ for the first time the nearfield aerosol dispersion from a point source of atomized seawater produced using the effervescent technique. We observed consistent vertical mixing of the plume up to 150 ± 5 m height at 1 km downwind. The extent of vertical dispersion was influenced by wind velocity and atmospheric stability. We found no evidence that negative buoyancy due to the evaporation of the 0.068 kg/s water fraction significantly suppressed vertical mixing. Our results can be attributed to the small droplet sizes generated by the effervescent spray technology and associated low flow rates required to generate around 1014 droplets s–1. We estimate that, for a hypothetical implementation producing up to 1016 s–1 similarly sized SSAs, evaporative cooling is unlikely to significantly suppress the vertical dispersion of aerosol for MCB.
Pasztor, J. (2023). Solar Radiation Modification Governance in the Context of Temperature Overshoot. New England Journal of Public Policy, 35(2), 7.AbstractAs the climate crisis escalates, governments—and recently even those in the wealthier countries in the Global North—are struggling to manage the impacts we are experiencing around the world in frightening abundance, including record-setting temperatures, fires, floods, and glacial and ice melt. Behind closed doors, policymakers are concerned as they contemplate the increasing likelihood, even under the most ambitious emission reduction pathways, that the world will overshoot the goal agreed upon in the Paris Agreement to limit global average temperature rise to 1.5oC beyond pre-industrial levels.It is in this “overshoot context” that interest is growing in an emerging, potentially supplementary technique that could be used as an emergency measure to intentionally alter the climate called solar radiation modification (SRM), also referred to as solar geoengineering. This article explores what SRM is; why interest is growing in better understanding the potential risks, benefits, and governance challenges of making use of such techniques compared to not making use of SRM; and why SRM urgently needs governance. Governance refers to structures, processes, and actions through which private and public actors interact to address societal goals at national and international levels.
Merk, Christine and Gernot Wagner. “Presenting balanced geoengineering information has little effect on mitigation engagement.” Climatic Change (Forthcoming).Abstract‘Moral hazard’ links geoengineering to mitigation via the fear that either solar geoengineering (solar radiation management, SRM) or carbon dioxide removal (CDR) might crowd out the desire to cut emissions. Fear of this crowding-out effect ranks among the most frequently cited risks of (solar) geoengineering. We here test moral hazard versus its inverse in a large-scale, revealed-preference experiment (n~340,000) on Facebook and find little to no support for either outcome. For the most part, talking about SRM or CDR does not motivate our study population to support a large U.S. environmental non-profit’s mission, nor does it turn them off relative to baseline climate messaging, except when using extreme messengers and framings. Our results indicate the importance of actors and reasoned narratives of (solar) geoengineering to help guide public discourse.
Tew, Y. L., Tan, M. L., Liew, J., Chang, C. K., & Muhamad, N. (2023, September). A review of the effects of solar radiation management on hydrological extremes. In IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science (Vol. 1238, No. 1, p. 012030). IOP Publishing.AbstractSolar radiation management (SRM) is one of the proposed climate mitigation strategies to cool the planet rapidly. The injection of aerosol particles into the stratosphere for reflecting solar radiation back to the space is one of the SRM methods that are widely discussed. Theoretically, SRM might lower the earth's temperature within a few months of deployment, reducing the impacts of climate change on natural disasters, i.e., floods and drought, which lead to huge losses in economic and human life. Solar radiation variability was identified to be a substantial factor that induced the hydrological changes, particularly in precipitation extreme. The effects of SRM on hydrological cycles, however, fluctuate depending on the location and environment. Hence, this article reviews the past SRM studies that related to the analysis of the hydrological cycle changes. A total of 17 articles were identified and collected from the Web of Science and Scopus databases. The results show that there have been an increasing number of articles in recent years studying the effects of SRM on the hydro-climatic changes. The Geoengineering Model Intercomparison Project (GeoMIP) and the Geoengineering Large Ensemble (GLENS) are two commonly used SRM-based general circulation models. In general, SRM is projected to slow down the global hydrological cycle. In comparison to the RCP 8.5 scenario, SRM generally tends to lower flood risk in many parts of the world. However, the majority of SRM research in hydrology has been conducted on a global scale, which results in a lack of robust basin-scale assessment needed for flood control policy formulation. In addition, more SRM climate models and scenario experiments should be considered to minimize the uncertainty in the framework for hydro-climatic modelling framework.
Hussain, A., Sipra, H. F., Waheed, A., & Ukhurebor, K. E. (2024). Exploring the academic perceptions of climate engineering in developing countries. Atmósfera, 38, 311-325.AbstractThe idea of climate engineering still remains elusive, particularly in several of those developing countries that are most affected by climate change. This knowledge gap can be addressed by knowing the perception of climate change and then introducing and getting feedback on its modification via climate engineering, from the select group of developing countries. Building upon an earlier attempt to achieve these aims, a new group of three developing countries in the global South (Pakistan, Nigeria, and Kenya) is selected to examine their perspective via a total of more than 1000 responses. Descriptive and inferential results indicate that there are significant differences within the global South on awareness of global warming and climate engineering, as well as on the deployment of sulfate aerosols as a measure to delay the harshest effects of global warming.
WEB POSTS Plan A+It’s becoming increasingly clear that we will fail to meet our climate goals. We were already at 1.26°C of warming in 2022 and are on track to blow through 1.5°C in the mid-2030s. Research even suggests that current climate policy will lead to more than 2.5°C… 4 days ago · 1 like · 2 comments · Pete Irvine
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JOB OPPORTUNITY“The University of Chicago invites applications from scholars who will make significant contributions to Climate Systems Engineering. The University is building a world-leading Climate Systems Engineering initiative with multiple faculty hires addressing solar geoengineering, open-system carbon removal such as enhanced weathering, and interventions to limit loss of glacial ice. We seek individuals who will lead research programs that will produce significant contributions to their field and to this research initiative.Applications are welcome from all relevant academic disciplines including the physical and biological sciences, social sciences, engineering, and humanities at the rank of tenure-track Assistant Professor. Applications are welcome from scholars who have not previously worked on climate systems engineering and from scholars who focus on the physical or social risks of Climate Systems Engineering. Appointments will be made in an appropriate primary department based on field, with secondary appointment(s) in another unit possible.Research on Climate Systems Engineering is inherently interdisciplinary, so we seek individuals with a track record of collaboration beyond their discipline; the University’s culture is highly collaborative.”
UPCOMING EVENTS
PODCASTS“NPR's Ayesha Rascoe speaks with climate scientist Peter Irvine about proposals to temper rising heat through geosolar engineering, which involves increasing the reflection of sunlight back to space.”
YOUTUBE VIDEOSAndy Reisinger: How could the world govern new approaches to tackle climate change? | C2G Carnegie Climate Governance Initiative “The world is due to exceed 1.5°C warming, and countries will face more extreme consequences in the near -term, warns Andy Reisinger in a C2GTalk. Significant levels of carbon dioxide removal will be required, and policies are needed to reduce adverse consequences. Solar radiation modification is more uncertain, and would reflect a failure of global governance to cut emissions. Andy Reisinger is an independent consultant specialising in the science-policy interface of climate change, with particular expertise in livestock agriculture and the role of methane as part of mitigation strategies. He was vice-chair of Working Group III (Mitigation) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) during its 6th Assessment cycle completed in 2023, and previously served as coordinating lead author in the IPCC focusing on impacts and adaptation for Australia and New Zealand. He currently is also one of eight Commissioners on the New Zealand Climate Change Commission, an independent expert body providing advice on adaptation and mitigation policies to the government. Prior to this, Andy served as Principal Scientist, Climate Change, at the Ministry for the Environment, and as Deputy Director (International) of the New Zealand Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Research Centre, focusing on international research collaboration to reduce New Zealand’s and global agricultural greenhouse gas emissions. His research focuses on the role of agriculture in domestic and international climate change policy, the treatment of methane as part of comprehensive climate policies, climate risk and adaptation strategies, and the implications of uncertainty for decision-making.”
Planetary Restoration Action Group 4 December 2023 | Robbie Tulip “Discussion on COP 28, SAI, MCB, climate strategy.”
What is the future of Solar Radiation Modification research in Australia? | SRM Youth Watch “Holly Scoble shares insights on the future of solar radiation modification research in Australia during the SRM Youth Watch launch event in New York.Holly Scoble is a Master’s student at QUT (Queensland University of Technology), which is a research partner within the Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program (RRAP). Her background is in environmental science, and her focus within her research project is applying marine cloud brightening and fogging technologies to targeted areas within the Great Barrier Reef as a way to prevent coral mortality from heat stress and bleaching events.”
Why are indigenous peoples' perspectives important? | SRM Youth Watch “Uula Jouste shares insights on why indigenous people’s perspectives are important in the governance of SRM at the SRM Youth Watch Launch event during New York Climate Week.Uula Jouste is a 22-year-old northern sámi who studies microbiology at the University of Helsinki. He works for Operaatio Arktis – a youth organisation whose goal is to promote discussion and ethical research on climate intervention techniques in Finland and abroad. They are based in Helsinki and are mainly focused on preserving the Arctic summer sea ice.”
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