Researchers want to refreeze polar caps with aerosols
Researchers want to use aerosols to reduce solar radiation in order to freeze the polar caps again. The geoengineering methods but doesn’t solve the actual problem. The backgrounds.
Global warming is considered a major problem. Hardly anyone would disagree with this statement nowadays. It now seems inevitable that the planet will warm up by 1.5 degrees.
Rather, we will exceed this milestone, unless drastic measures are taken soon. But how can we stop the warming or buy ourselves some time? A possible solution now comes from researchers who in the journal Environmental Research Communications published a new concept.
One area in particular is in focus: the polar caps. The main reason is that global warming is taking place at a drastic pace. Because: The poles are melting, permafrost threatens to thaw and huge amounts of methane are produced.
Geoengineering: Planes to darken poles with aerosols
However, the dispersal of microscopic aerosols in the atmosphere below the poles could represent a tipping point. Because when an airplane takes them there at an altitude of 13,000 meters, they migrate towards the poles and darken the earth’s surface. As a result, the average temperature drops.
The advantage for logistics is that the planes only have to take off in spring and early summer. The fleet can be used at both the North and South Poles, since the seasons are the same. This saves effort and money. Because they are not exactly irrelevant for the approach anyway.
Costs manageable compared to other measures
If everything goes according to plan, the deployment will cost around 11 billion US dollars per year. Compared to other possible measures to cool the planet, this accounts for about 33 percent of the total cost. Another advantage is that the poles are not heavily populated, so the risk of problems is considered manageable.
If the experiments are successful, the poles could cool back to pre-industrial temperatures. The ice sheet would freeze again. Nevertheless, the researchers see the solution only as a temporary therapy. Because: The actual problem, namely the excessively high emissions, does not decrease in the process.
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