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THIS WEEK’S TOP SRM HIGHLIGHTS
Research Paper: Modest Arctic-only stratospheric aerosol injection could reduce Arctic warming while holding interhemispheric temperature difference constant (IOP Science)
Research Paper: Can climate geoengineering mitigate the rising threat of aviation turbulence? (IOP Science)
Preprint: Impacts of Potential Solar Radiation Modification: Systematic Review Reveals Challenges and Opportunities - Preprint (ArXiv)
Meeting Report: RMetS national meeting – deliberately cooling the planet. Could we? Should we? Would we? (RMetS)
Podcast: How conspiracy theories impact geoengineering efforts (How We Survive)
Read on to unpack more updates:
RESEARCH PAPERS
Climate intervention through stratospheric aerosol injection may partially mitigate marine heatwaves
Authors: Lala Kounta, Lifeng Luo, Gouri Anil, Daniel M Hueholt, et al.
Synopsis: Marine heatwaves (MHWs) are becoming more intense and persistent due to global warming, threatening marine ecosystems and increasing hurricane risks. Using CESM simulations, this study found that SAI could reduce the average intensity and duration of MHWs compared with a warming scenario (SSP2-4.5). However, benefits vary widely by region. While some areas, especially parts of the Atlantic, Indian, Arctic, and South Atlantic oceans, see substantial reductions, nearly 25% of the ocean remains largely unaffected, highlighting uneven local outcomes despite meeting global temperature targets.
Solar Radiation and Climate Change Research: A Comprehensive Bibliometric Analysis (1991–2025)
Authors: Ahmet Reha Botsalı
Synopsis: This bibliometric study maps global research on solar radiation and climate change using 8,473 publications from 1991–2025. The field has grown rapidly, with China and the United States producing nearly half of all research, while U.S. studies receive higher citation impact. Analysis identified five major themes: ecosystem impacts, climate dynamics, atmospheric processes, solar geoengineering, and renewable energy. Emerging topics since 2020, including machine learning, CMIP6, solar geoengineering, and heatwaves, indicate a shift toward data-driven climate research and growing interest in climate intervention strategies.
Expert Perceptions of the Viability and Importance of Solar Geoengineering and Carbon Dioxide Removal in Addressing Climate Change: A Snapshot from India and the United States
Authors: Ben Kravitz, Landon Yoder, Sangeet Nepal, Nathaniel Geiger and Shahzeen Z. Attari
Synopsis: Based on 63 interviews with climate experts in the U.S. and India, this study found strong support for mitigation and adaptation but limited enthusiasm for deploying carbon dioxide removal (CDR) and especially solar geoengineering. While 44% supported CDR deployment, only 3% supported SG, and opposition to SG (35%) was twice as high as opposition to CDR (17%). Most experts favored a precautionary approach, emphasizing the need for further research and broader interdisciplinary engagement before considering large-scale deployment of these emerging climate technologies.
Deployment Strategy Shapes the Polar Climate Response to Marine Cloud Brightening
Authors: E. J. Emme, C.-C. Chen, H. M. Horowitz
Synopsis: MCB could help restore polar temperatures and sea ice, but its effectiveness depends strongly on where and when it is deployed. Using nine CESM2 simulations, researchers found that MCB works best when applied in the same hemisphere and during local summer months. Southern Ocean deployment was essential for Antarctic sea ice recovery. Balanced, seasonally targeted MCB strategies improved sea ice and temperatures while reducing risks of major climate disruptions such as ENSO and ITCZ shifts.
Modest Arctic-only stratospheric aerosol injection could reduce Arctic warming while holding interhemispheric temperature difference constant
Authors: Natalia Okanikova, Alistair Duffey, Jared Farley, Peter Irvine, Harold Heorton and Michel Tsamados
Synopsis: SAI in the Arctic has been proposed as a lower-cost way to slow rapid Arctic warming, but concerns remain about impacts on tropical rainfall through changes in the Interhemispheric Temperature Difference (IHTD). Using 36 CMIP6 models and the CIDER emulator, researchers found that Arctic-only SAI could stabilize IHTD while reducing Arctic warming. In the median model, injections rising to 4.1 Mt SO₂/year by 2100 maintained near-constant IHTD. However, the effects on tropical precipitation remain uncertain.
Can climate geoengineering mitigate the rising threat of aviation turbulence?
Authors: Han-Chang Ko, Hye-Yeong Chun and Hyun-Kyu Lee
Synopsis: Global warming is expected to increase aviation turbulence, creating greater risks for passengers and airlines. Using simulations from three climate models, this study finds that SAI could not only offset future turbulence increases but reduce turbulence below present-day levels. Regions projected to become turbulence hotspots under continued warming may instead experience declines under geoengineering. However, results vary across models and scenarios, highlighting uncertainties and the need to weigh potential aviation benefits against the broader risks of large-scale climate intervention.
Cosmic Enframing and Atmospheric Capitalism: Toward a Critical Epistemology of Geoengineering and Climate Biopolitics in the Arab Zone of Risk - Preprint
Authors: Nadji Belkheiri
Synopsis: This article explores the philosophical, political, and scientific implications of geoengineering technologies such as SAI, MCB, and OIF. It argues that these interventions could reinforce global inequalities, concentrate technological power in the Global North, and transform the atmosphere into a managed resource. Introducing concepts including cosmic enframing, atmospheric capitalism, and cosmic biopolitics, the study highlights risks for vulnerable regions such as the Middle East and North Africa while proposing democratic governance approaches based on atmospheric commons and dynamic consent.
Ecological Humility and Geoengineering the Earth
Authors: C. Tyler DesRoches, Joan McGregor & Stylianos Syropoulos
Synopsis: This article examines geoengineering through the lens of ecological humility, a virtue emphasizing human vulnerability, interdependence with nature, and care for ecological communities. Challenging the view that geoengineering is inherently arrogant or domineering, the authors argue that ecological humility can support interventions that promote ecological flourishing. Drawing on philosophy and environmental psychology, they propose a revised, action-oriented account of ecological humility centered on care, community well-being, and responsible stewardship, suggesting that geoengineering may be ethically compatible with this environmental virtue under certain conditions.
Impacts of Potential Solar Radiation Modification: Systematic Review Reveals Challenges and Opportunities - Preprint
Authors: Zachary Decker , Lisa Moore, Brian Buma, Stavroula S. Sartzetakis, Lisa Dilling
Synopsis: This systematic review analyzed 289 peer-reviewed studies on SRM impacts published through May 2024. Research on effects on human systems (9%) and ecosystems (25%) remains limited and is dominated by global climate modeling, which carries substantial uncertainty at regional scales. Empirical studies using natural analogs such as volcanic eruptions are rare and declining despite their value for improving model reliability. The authors conclude that combining climate models, analog studies, and intermediate-scale approaches is essential for more robust assessments of SRM’s potential impacts on people and ecosystems.
Solar Geoengineering as a Status Symbol in International Politics
Authors: Joshua B. Horton
Synopsis: This article argues that SAI could become a status symbol in international politics, particularly when deployments are highly visible and controlled by a small number of powerful countries. Beyond climate considerations, governments may pursue SAI to signal technological capability, influence, and global leadership. Such status-seeking behavior could encourage larger deployments and trigger competitive “prestige races” among nations. The study calls for greater attention to how different SAI configurations may shape geopolitical incentives and international dynamics.
Solar Radiation and Climate Change Research: A Comprehensive Bibliometric Analysis (1991–2025)
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WEB POSTS
Kelly Wanser - Cooling the planet cheaply is not the primary challenge. Safety is
Russell Newman - How to Cool the Planet for $45 Billion
Peter Dynes - Before We Touch the Earth’s Thermostat, We Need to Understand Who Else Has a Hand on It
Phys.Org - Solar geoengineering could shield up to 75% of oceans from heat waves
SRM360 - Planes for SAI May Be Closer and Cheaper Than Previously Thought
Caliber - As climate crisis deepens, geoengineering emerges as next battleground
LinkedIn - Can Particles Added to the Stratosphere Be Effectively Removed?
Aether Symposium - Artificial Intelligence and Solar Radiation Management - A Legal Analysis of Governance Gaps in EU and International Law
RMetS - RMetS national meeting – deliberately cooling the planet. Could we? Should we? Would we?
Co-CREATE - A Recap of the Co-CREATE Forum
Daily Mail - Is this the key to preventing a Super El Niño? Scientists want to dim the SUN to shield the oceans from heatwaves
PODCASTS
How conspiracy theories impact geoengineering efforts | How We Survive
“Across the country, anti-geoengineering bills are being proposed in state legislatures. These bills would ban the intentional release of chemicals into the atmosphere for the purpose of affecting sunlight or weather, and could impact future research into stratospheric aerosol injection — or even cloud seeding.
But, unlike environmentalists that are advocating against the potential use of geoengineering as a climate solution, the bills’ proponents think that it’s already happening. Their proof? You can see it in the sky, they say: just look up.
In this episode of “How We Survive,” Amy Scott talks with producer Rachel Kahn about how a once-fringe conspiracy theory could impact the future of geoengineering.”
UPCOMING EVENTS
20-21 June | United States - Bridging the Knowledge Gaps in Climate Engineering with Experiments, Models, and Observations by Gordon Research Seminar
21-26 June 2026 | United States - Gordon Research Conference - Bridging Observations, Models, and Impacts in Solar Radiation Modification Research
23 June | Pavilion - Snow in the house! – What is Finland’s plan for the weakening of ocean currents? by Operation Arctic (NEW)
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
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