Phys.org February 8, 2023 A team of researchers in the US (University of Utah, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory) explored the potential of using dust to shield sunlight. They analyzed different properties of dust particles, quantities of dust and the orbits that would be best suited for shading Earth. They found launching dust from Earth to a way station at the “Lagrange Point” between Earth and the sun (L1) would be most effective. To achieve sunlight attenuation of 1.8%, equivalent to about 6 days per year of an obscured Sun, the mass of dust in the scenarios they considered must exceed 1010 […]
Tag Archives: Global warming mitigation
Solar geoengineering might work, but local temperatures could keep rising for years
Phys.org September 28, 2022 Stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI), the theoretical deployment of particles in the stratosphere to enhance reflection of incoming solar radiation, is one of the strategies to slow, pause, or reverse global warming. SAI is likely be for a specific aim, such as affording time to implement mitigation strategies, lessening extremes, or reducing the odds of reaching a biogeophysical tipping point. A team of researchers in the US (Colorado State University, US Naval War College, RI) used an ensemble climate model experiment that simulated the deployment of SAI in the context of an intermediate greenhouse gas trajectory quantifying […]
‘Sky is not the limit’ for solar geoengineering
Science Daily March 14, 2022 In a report a team of researchers in the US (Yale College Harvard University, AIAA, industry) responded to a question posed by the US National Academy of Science, Engineering, and Medicine in a landmark study in March 2021 which recognized the need for additional research on the viability of depositing aerosols well above 20 km to deflect incoming sunlight and countervail global warming. According to the team airliners and military jets routinely cruise near 10 km, whereas 20 km is the realm of high-flying spy planes and drones. Planning to fly hundreds of thousands of […]
New research finds way to scrub carbon dioxide from factory emissions, make useful products
Phys.org January 3, 2022 An international team of researchers (USA – Oregon State University, Columbia University, UK) has developed lanthanide based MOFs catalyst and loaded with propylene oxide to catalyze the production of cyclic carbonates while scrubbing CO2 from factory flue gases. Structural analysis of the propylene oxide (PO)loaded MOF revealed the binding of PO to Ce3+, confirming the key role of open Ce3+ sites in reducing the activation energy of the PO chemical transformation. They reported high catalytic activity toward Propylene carbonate production. The catalyst showed no catalytic deterioration after three cycles…read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Reflecting sunlight could cool the Earth’s ecosystem
Science Daily April 7, 2021 Solar radiation modification (SRM) is one potential approach to partially counteract anthropogenic warming by reflecting a small proportion of the incoming solar radiation to increase Earth’s albedo. An international team of researchers (USA – Michigan State University, Stony Brook University, UC Riverside, City University of New York, industry, UT Rio Grande Valley, University of Minnesota, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, University of Tennessee, University of Minnesota, Rutgers University, Cornell University, Canada, Hong Kong) studied the stratospheric aerosol intervention (SAI), a well-studied and relatively feasible SRM scheme that is likely to have a large impact on Earth’s […]