||| FROM MSN.COM |||
Scientists have proposed an ambitious plan of refreezing the north and south poles as a way to reverse ice loss.
In a new study, the experts say high-flying aircraft could spray microscopic aerosol particles into the atmosphere at latitudes of 60 degrees north and south.
If released at a height of 43,000 feet (above airliner cruising altitudes), these aerosols would slowly drift poleward, slightly shading the surface beneath.
This extra shade would allow the melting poles to refreeze, alleviating the issues of melting glacial ice and rising sea levels.
The technique would ‘abate climate change by deflecting back into space a small fraction of the incoming solar radiation’, the scientists say.
The concept, called stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI), would cost a whopping $11 billion (£9.6 billion) a year – but the researchers say this would be cheaper than other climate mitigation methods.
Researchers propose a system of high-flying jets that spray microscopic aerosol particles into the atmosphere at latitudes of 60 degrees north and south© Provided by Daily Mail
Scientists laid out a concept whereby high-flying jets would spray microscopic aerosol particles into the atmosphere at latitudes of 60 degrees north and south.
If injected at a height of 43,000 feet (above airliner cruising altitudes), these aerosols would slowly drift poleward, slightly shading the surface beneath.
The technique would ‘abate climate change by deflecting back into space a small fraction of the incoming solar radiation’, the scientists say.
The concept has been laid out in a new study, published in Environmental Research Communications and led by Wake Smith at Yale University.
Researchers acknowledged that the concept is controversial, but argued that it would be ‘feasible’ and that $11 billion a year is ‘extraordinarily cheap’ compared to other climate responses such as carbon capture.
‘There is widespread and sensible trepidation about deploying aerosols to cool the planet,’ said Smith, a lecturer at Yale.
‘But if the risk/benefit equation were to pay off anywhere, it would be at the poles.’
Cooling at the poles would provide direct protection for only a small fraction of the planet, though the mid-latitudes should also experience some temperature reduction too, the team admit.
‘Nonetheless, any intentional turning of the global thermostat would be of common interest to all of humanity and not merely the province of Arctic and Patagonian nations,’ said Smith.
According to Smith and colleagues, particle injections from the jets would be performed seasonally in the long days of the local spring and early summer.
The same fleet of jets could service both hemispheres, ferrying to the opposite pole with the change of seasons.
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