November 14, 2019

Geoengineering And Volcanoes

Listen Later

2 minutes

Solar geoengineering is a theoretical strategy for curbing the effects of climate change by introducing aerosol particles in the upper atmosphere to reflect some of the Sun’s radiation back into space and thereby cool the planet. It would basically be intentionally tinkering with the climate system on a global scale.

The concept is fraught with the danger of unintended consequences and

most experts consider the idea almost unthinkable. But there are those who see it as a last

resort if all our other efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change are

unsuccessful.

Proponents of the idea like to describe the technique as being like a

human-made volcano. Major volcanic

eruptions spew ash particles into the atmosphere which can linger for as long

as a few years. The result is cooler

temperatures, sometimes across much of the globe. The Krakatoa eruption of 1883 lowered average

Northern Hemisphere temperatures by more than 2 degrees and created chaotic

weather patterns until about 1888.

Researchers at the Carnegie Institution and two Chinese research

institutions used sophisticated modeling techniques to compare the effects on

the climate of a volcanic eruption with long-term geoengineering deployment.

They found that the volcanic eruption created a greater temperature

difference between the land and sea than the geoengineering and resulted in

very different precipitation scenarios.

In both cases, there would be less available water for people on land.

Overall, the study demonstrated that volcanic eruptions are imperfect

analogs for geoengineering and that scientists should be very cautious about

extrapolating too much from them. It is

important to evaluate geoengineering from an informed position, but the truth

is that it represents a great and perilous unknown.

**********

Web Links

Geoengineering Versus A Volcano

Photo, posted November 1, 2002, courtesy of the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

...more

View all episodes

View all episodes

Download on the App Store

Download on the App Store

Get it on Google Play

Earth Wise

By Randy Simon

4.7

1515 ratings

November 14, 2019

Geoengineering And Volcanoes

Listen Later

2 minutes

Solar geoengineering is a theoretical strategy for curbing the effects of climate change by introducing aerosol particles in the upper atmosphere to reflect some of the Sun’s radiation back into space and thereby cool the planet. It would basically be intentionally tinkering with the climate system on a global scale.

The concept is fraught with the danger of unintended consequences and

most experts consider the idea almost unthinkable. But there are those who see it as a last

resort if all our other efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change are

unsuccessful.

Proponents of the idea like to describe the technique as being like a

human-made volcano. Major volcanic

eruptions spew ash particles into the atmosphere which can linger for as long

as a few years. The result is cooler

temperatures, sometimes across much of the globe. The Krakatoa eruption of 1883 lowered average

Northern Hemisphere temperatures by more than 2 degrees and created chaotic

weather patterns until about 1888.

Researchers at the Carnegie Institution and two Chinese research

institutions used sophisticated modeling techniques to compare the effects on

the climate of a volcanic eruption with long-term geoengineering deployment.

They found that the volcanic eruption created a greater temperature

difference between the land and sea than the geoengineering and resulted in

very different precipitation scenarios.

In both cases, there would be less available water for people on land.

Overall, the study demonstrated that volcanic eruptions are imperfect

analogs for geoengineering and that scientists should be very cautious about

extrapolating too much from them. It is

important to evaluate geoengineering from an informed position, but the truth

is that it represents a great and perilous unknown.

**********

Web Links

Geoengineering Versus A Volcano

Photo, posted November 1, 2002, courtesy of the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

...more