-LSB-...] following a major volcanic eruption (emitting
sulfate aerosol in the stratosphere).
After a large volcanic eruption, the layer of
sulfate aerosols in the stratosphere gets thicker, and we see, in the historic record, that the Earth cools down in response.
That is contradicted by climate models providing a very decent match to the observed cooling following a major volcanic eruption (emitting
sulfate aerosol in the stratosphere).
Not exact matches
Funded by the U.K. government, SPICE was set up
in 2010 by British research institutions to investigate whether
aerosols, such as
sulfate particles, could be injected into Earth's
stratosphere to scatter sunlight back into space, thereby stalling global warming.
In my mind, the most serious peril of sulfate geoengineering is one that stems from a problem that is not at all in dispute: the fact that the lifetime of CO2 in the atmosphere is centuries to millennia, whereas the lifetime of aerosols in the stratosphere is at best a few year
In my mind, the most serious peril of
sulfate geoengineering is one that stems from a problem that is not at all
in dispute: the fact that the lifetime of CO2 in the atmosphere is centuries to millennia, whereas the lifetime of aerosols in the stratosphere is at best a few year
in dispute: the fact that the lifetime of CO2
in the atmosphere is centuries to millennia, whereas the lifetime of aerosols in the stratosphere is at best a few year
in the atmosphere is centuries to millennia, whereas the lifetime of
aerosols in the stratosphere is at best a few year
in the
stratosphere is at best a few years.
Not it is not similar because one event injected
sulfate aerosols into the
stratosphere where they stayed for years and affected the globe while the other («human particulates and
aerosol pollution») were produced
in the troposphere and have a residency time
in the atmosphere of about 4 days and had only a regional effect.
In fact, the major effect of significant volcanic eruptions is cooling due to the sulfate aerosols that they release (although in order to have a significant cooling effect, the eruption has to be large enough that it injects the aerosols into the stratosphere where they can stay around longer... and it apparently helps if the eruption is reasonably near to the equator
In fact, the major effect of significant volcanic eruptions is cooling due to the
sulfate aerosols that they release (although
in order to have a significant cooling effect, the eruption has to be large enough that it injects the aerosols into the stratosphere where they can stay around longer... and it apparently helps if the eruption is reasonably near to the equator
in order to have a significant cooling effect, the eruption has to be large enough that it injects the
aerosols into the
stratosphere where they can stay around longer... and it apparently helps if the eruption is reasonably near to the equator).
Here I summarize two recent papers that model solar radiation management: the practice of offsetting global warming by partially blocking sunlight, whether by seeding clouds, adding
sulfate aerosols to the
stratosphere, or placing giant mirrors
in space.
In other words: Proposed strategies to alter the amount of sunlight hitting the Earth's surface by (for example) deliberately injecting millions of tons of
sulfate aerosols into the
stratosphere pose enormous risks and uncertainties and don «t address the underlying causes of global warming or other major risks from rising concentrations of carbon dioxide, such as ocean acidification.
During this period, the
aerosol amount varied with dust export from Africa, but also from major eruptions by two volcanoes (El Chichon
in 1982 and Pinatubo
in 1991), each of which left a reflective layer of
sulfate droplets
in the lower
stratosphere for a couple of years.
Volcanic eruptions emit
sulfate aerosols via volcanic plumes, which may stay
in the
stratosphere for months to years, reflecting sunlight back into space, cooling the Earth's lower atmosphere or troposphere over a long time...