The rising concentration of greenhouse gases has prompted some scientists to advocate geoengineering; however, a new study in the Journal of Geophysical Research-Atmospheres reveals the climatic cost of such projects going awry.
A team of authors used modeling studies to show that the sudden termination of large-scale geoengineering projects could drive half a century's worth of warming in just a few years.
The authors considered the example of cloud seeding, a proposed geoengineering plan to lace the Earth's atmosphere with reflective sulfate aerosols to reduce the amount of sunlight warming the atmosphere. The authors argue that such “radiation management” projects would require continuous upkeep, with more aerosols being required to cope with additional greenhouse gases.
The team tested what would happen if such a project was used to counteract a 1% annual rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide, and then the radiation management project was suddenly shut off after 50 years. They found that, in less than a decade, the average temperature would nearly match where it would have been had geoengineering never been used.
