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THIS WEEK’S TOP SRM HIGHLIGHTS
Research Paper: Materials with smaller absorptivity could reduce detrimental impacts of stratospheric aerosol injection on the hydrological cycle (IOP Science)
Research Paper: The expanding roles of Global South countries in solar radiation modification diplomacy: indicators, cases, and equitable pathways forward (IOP Science)
Preprint: Deflective Sunshades: conceptual design and origami-inspired folding strategy (ArXiv)
Feature Article: Hacking the atmosphere: Geoengineering gets a reality check (MIT Technology Review)
Opinion Piece: ‘Termination shock’: trust our expert warnings on geoengineering’s planetary risks (The Guardian)
Upcoming Event: 2027 Solar Radiation Management Annual Meeting (Simons Foundation)
Podcast: The audacious plan to refreeze the Arctic (The Guardian - Science Weekly)
Read on to unpack more updates:
RESEARCH PAPERS
Performance of Solar-Sail Materials at the Photo-Gravitational Equilibrium Point L1
Authors: Marina Coco, Catello Leonardo Matonti, Giuseppe Governale, Elena Ancona, Roman Ya. Kezerashvili
Synopsis: This study examines how prolonged exposure to the harsh space environment affects solar-sail materials used near the Sun–Earth/Moon L1 point. Continuous sunlight, ultraviolet and gamma radiation, and solar particles degrade the sails' optical and mechanical properties, causing shifts from their equilibrium position. The findings are important for assessing the long-term stability and station-keeping of solar-sail satellites proposed for the Planetary Sunshade System, a space-based solar geoengineering concept.
Ideological divides around solar radiation modification geoengineering
Authors: Gareth Davies
Synopsis: Exploring the roots of opposition to SRM, this paper argues that ideological commitments, rather than concerns over safety, governance, or moral hazard, are the primary drivers of resistance. It suggests that objections are closely tied to broader views on capitalism, exploitation, and humanity's relationship with nature, implying that scientific research alone cannot resolve these fundamental political and ethical disagreements.
Legal Frameworks for Geoengineering: A Techno-Policy Perspective
Authors: Rini Adiyattil, S. Thangamayan, Srinidhi S., Kavya G, Surya Boopathy, A. Jeeva Lakshmi
Synopsis: Addressing the governance of climate intervention technologies, this paper examines whether existing international legal frameworks are equipped to regulate geoengineering. It identifies major gaps in oversight, liability, monitoring, and accountability, and argues for an integrated governance approach combining precaution, international cooperation, public participation, adaptive regulation, and technological risk assessment to balance innovation with environmental protection and climate justice.
Materials with smaller absorptivity could reduce detrimental impacts of stratospheric aerosol injection on the hydrological cycle
Authors: Manouk Geurts, Timofei Sukhodolov, Sandro Vattioni, Jan Sedlacek, D C Ayantika and Gabriel Chiodo
Synopsis: Comparing sulfur with alumina, calcite, and diamond dust, this study examines how different SAI materials influence precipitation and atmospheric circulation. Less absorptive materials reduce lower stratospheric warming, weaken disruptions to global precipitation and tropical circulation, and lessen key side effects associated with sulfur-based SAI. However, the authors note that solid-particle SAI remains subject to significant modeling uncertainties.
Impacts of stratospheric aerosol injection on extreme precipitation in Senegal, West Africa
Authors: Mamadou Ndiaye, Ibrahima Diba, Abdou Karim Farota, Abdou Karim Diallo, Bouya DIOP, and Younousse Biaye
Synopsis: Using climate model simulations from the GeoMIP G3 experiment, this research evaluates how SAI could influence extreme rainfall across Senegal. Compared with RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 scenarios, SAI moderates projected declines in rainy days and reduces shifts in extreme precipitation toward southern regions. The findings suggest SAI may help lessen future rainfall changes but should complement, not replace, emissions reductions and climate adaptation.
The expanding roles of Global South countries in solar radiation modification diplomacy: indicators, cases, and equitable pathways forward
Authors: Zachary Dove, María Inés Carabajal, Julia S Guivant, Hassaan Sipra, Portia Adade Williams and Sikina Jinnah
Synopsis: Examining a decade of developments, this paper explores how Global South countries are increasingly shaping SRM diplomacy. It identifies expanding research, leadership, public engagement, regional networks, NGO activity, and government participation, challenging the notion of a passive Global South. The authors recommend greater research funding, stronger regional representation in decision-making, and enhanced North–South and South–South collaboration.
A New Representation of Marine Stratocumulus Cloud Morphology Reveals Morphology-Dependent Variability in Cloud Susceptibilities - Preprint
Authors: Tom Goren, Goutam Choudhury, Graham Feingold
Synopsis: Proposing a new ternary framework, this study classifies marine stratocumulus cloud morphologies based on cloud optical thickness and examines how different cloud types respond to changes in droplet concentrations. The results show that cloud susceptibility varies strongly with morphology, with important implications for marine cloud brightening, highlighting the need to evaluate its effectiveness using morphology-dependent approaches.
Deflective Sunshades: conceptual design and origami-inspired folding strategy - Preprint
Authors: Benedetta Marazzato, Jonas Seiler, Harry Holt, Dolf Huybrechts, Richard Murchie, Leone Costi, Jai Grover, Dario Izzo
Synopsis: Introducing a novel sunshade concept, this study proposes "deflective" space-based solar radiation management systems that use inclined reflective surfaces to control both sunlight reduction and solar radiation pressure. The approach enables the use of conventional reflective materials while improving dynamical stability. A conical design with Miura-Ori folding is presented to enhance packaging efficiency, scalability, and deployment as a distributed satellite constellation.
Conceptual visualization of a Planetary Sunshade
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WEB POSTS
Legal Planet - Legislating Sunlight Reflection in Latin America and the Caribbean
The Guardian - ‘At first, the idea does sound crazy’: meet the scientists trying to refreeze the Arctic
MIT Technology Review - Hacking the atmosphere: Geoengineering gets a reality check
Harvard Center for International Development - Examining How Solar Geoengineering Changes Global Crop Outcomes: CID Faculty Research Insights
MIT Technology Review - Geoengineering still faces major practical challenges
The Guardian - ‘Termination shock’: trust our expert warnings on geoengineering’s planetary risks
The Degrees Initiative - Science-policy dialogue at PARLATINO anchors Latin American SRM discussions in regional evidence
Department of Meteorology - Frida Bender awarded Formas funding for research on climate intervention
What is this thing called “Governance”?
ACIRhub - From Pinatubo to Policy: ACIRH Meets in Accra to Discuss Climate Intervention
UPCOMING EVENTS
23 June | Pavilion - Snow in the house! – What is Finland’s plan for the weakening of ocean currents? by Operation Arctic
24 June | United Kingdom - Overshoot: What’s the climate strategy above 1.5°C? by Theo Cox
29 June | Lauterpacht Centre - May We Engineer The Climate? An International Law Perspective by Centre for Climate Repair
30 June | Online - How Should Solar Geoengineering Research Be Governed? by SRM360
10 July | University of Cambridge, UK - Climate Repair: Can we Refreeze the Arctic? by Centre for Climate Repair
10-11 September | Washington, DC. - 2026 RFF and Harvard SRM Social Science Research Workshop
12-15 October | Malaysia - Global Tipping Points 2026 | Abstract Deadline: 15 May
10-14 January 2027 | Denver, CO & Online | 19th Symposium on Aerosol–Cloud–Climate Interactions (NEW)
08-09 April 2207 | United States - 2027 Solar Radiation Management Annual Meeting by Simons Foundation (NEW)
Solar Geoengineering Events Calendar
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PODCASTS
Inevitable & Obvious - A Sunshade For Earth, And Who Controls It — Ross Centers and Morgan Goodwin
”A planetary sunshade is one of those ideas that gets filed under science fiction and left there. A constellation of thin reflectors, parked at the gravitational balance point between the Earth and the Sun, shading the planet by a percent or so and buying us time on warming. The reason to take it seriously now is that the industrial base required to build one is the same base that SpaceX, NASA, and a handful of startups are already racing to stand up for entirely commercial reasons. Ross Centers and Morgan Goodwin of the Planetary Sunshade Institute have been working on this since before it was a field, and in this conversation we trace the whole path: from why even clean energy eventually hits a planetary limit, to how you’d manufacture forty-kilometer solar sails out of moon dust, to who would actually be in charge of the global thermostat once it exists.”
Bad Idea #57 “Hands off Mother Earth” with Anni Pokela | Saving the World From Bad Ideas
“In this episode of Saving the World from Bad Ideas, Mark Lynas speaks with Anni Pokela of Operaatio Arktis about why “Hands off Mother Earth” is no longer a serious response to the climate crisis. The conversation explores how humans are already deeply entangled with planetary systems, whether through emissions, land use, or atmospheric pollution, and why the real question is no longer whether we intervene, but how we do so responsibly. From Arctic tipping points and AMOC collapse risks to solar radiation management, social license, indigenous engagement, and the politics of research, this is a probing discussion about climate intervention in a world where inaction is itself a form of intervention.”
The audacious plan to refreeze the Arctic | The Guardian - Science Weekly
“Sea ice is melting fast and worsening the climate crisis. But what if there were a way to thicken it again? Madeleine Finlay is joined by environment editor Damian Carrington to discuss a bold attempt to refreeze the Arctic which is showing early signs of success. He visited the project to find out how it will work, how much it will cost and whether it really has potential to improve the fate of the Arctic’s ice.”
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