Dresden 2011 – scientific programme

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SYCE: Intersectional Symposium Foundations and Perspectives of Climate Engineering

SYCE 1: Foundations and Perspectives of Climate Engineering

SYCE 1.2: Invited Talk

Tuesday, March 15, 2011, 11:00–11:30, HSZ 01

Climate Engineering through injection of aerosol particles into the atmosphere: physical insights into the possibilities and risks — •Mark Lawrence — Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Atmospheric Chemistry Department, Mainz, Germany

Climate Engineering (CE) is the intentional manipulation of the Earth’s climate in order to counteract the effects of unintended global change due to greenhouse gases and other climate forcing agents, such as reflecting and absorbing aerosol particles. Numerous CE measures have been proposed as cost-effective means to either bypass the slow international actions towards reducing emissions of climate-active gases and particles, or as a solution for potentially impending "climate emergencies" (rapid, irreversible transitions caused by exceeding certain thresholds of climate change). Though often discussed as highly promising possibilities, each proposed CE measure of course harbors large uncertainties and significant potential side effects. The CE measures can mostly be divided into two categories: accelerated removal of carbon dioxide (CO₂, the primary greenhouse gas) from the atmosphere, and "solar radiation management" (SRM), i.e., increasing the amount of solar radiation reflected back to space. This talk gives an overview of the latter, focusing particularly on the current state of knowledge of proposed SRM measures through injection of aerosol particles, which either directly reflect solar radiation, or enhance the reflectivity of clouds.