Geoengineering the planet may quell climate change but harm crops
When Mount Pinatubo violently erupted in 1991, the volcano blasted millions of tons of gas well over 20 miles into Earth's atmosphere. After condensing into little droplets, the particles reflected sunlight back into space and cooled the planet by about 1 degree Fahrenheit for over a year.
Nearly three decades later, some scientists wonder if humans could effectively do the same thing -- by using blimps, rockets, or planes -- in the name of combating the increasingly ruinous consequences of global warming.
This geoengineering concept, however, may carry some unintended consequences -- particularly when it comes to the world's future food supply.
SEE ALSO:California's Mendocino Complex fire just became the largest wildfire in state historyIn a study published Wednesday in the journal Nature, researchers examined how massive volcanic eruptions like Pinatubo's affected the growth of crops. The scientists found that while edible plants grow much better when it's cooler, the diminished sunlight stymied the growth of wheat, rice, corn, and soy.
In short, artificially cooling the planet might not save vast croplands imperiled by accelerating, human-caused climate change.
"If we think of geoengineering as an experimental surgery, our findings suggest that the side effects of the treatment are just as bad as the original disease," Jonathan Proctor, a study coauthor who researches the potential impacts of geoengineering on agriculture at the University of California, Berkeley, said in a press call.
Mount Pinatubo's ash cloud, in 1991.Credit: usgsThere are different ideas of how to geoengineer, or intervene in, Earth's climate. And one of the most studied concepts is solar geoengineering. That idea hinges on reflecting sunlight into space, keeping the Earth cooler.
The most realistic way to accomplish this is to try to mimic the effects of volcanoes and repeatedly send reflective particles, or gases that become reflective particles, into the high atmosphere.
However, the science around solar geoengineering -- and how it might affect the planet -- is not nearly settled.
Engineering our climate is a largely conceptual, almost science fiction-like idea, at least for now.
"Different people have talked about this technology as if it's something of a last resort," Solomon Hsiang, also a study coauthor, said in an interview. "I think we really don’t know how risky it might be."
To better understand the risk of intentionally reflecting sunlight back into space -- which reduces the amount of heat that enters Earth -- Hsiang's team looked at wheat, rice, maize, and soy production in over 100 countries between 1979 and 2009. Then, they used satellite measurements of the reflective particles spewed from volcanoes, known as sulfate aerosols, to determine that the blocked sunlight canceled out any benefits crops receive from growing in cooler conditions.
That said, the way volcanoes cool the planet are quite different than how human-engineered cooling would likely impact the climate, said David Keith, a physicist at Harvard University's Solar Geoengineering Research Program.
"Yet, this study implies in its introduction and conclusion that volcanic eruptions are more or less synonymous with geoengineering. That's false," said Keith, who wasn't involved with the new study.
An animation of aerosol particles from Mount Pinatubo shrouding portions of Earth between June 1991 and September 1993.Credit: Jonathan Proctor and Solomon HsiangFor one, unlike a volcanic eruption, geoengineering would involve a continuous loading of aerosols into the atmosphere, which will have substantially different climatic consequences, Keith added.
Volcanoes cool the land much more quickly than the oceans, leading to a global temperature imbalance that has significant effects on rainfall. Secondly, volcanic eruptions like Pinatubo's often don't spread reflective particles evenly around the globe, so the dimming might be concentrated in one hemisphere, which brings other shifts to global weather and rainfall.
"Bottom line: Solar geoengineering will produce a different climate response than a volcano making it difficult to use this volcanic data to directly assess the agricultural impacts of possible solar geoengineering," said Keith.
Hsiang makes clear that they're not in support of or opposed to geoengineering, but that they're attempting to reveal the realities of sending clouds of reflective particles into the upper atmosphere.
Geoengineering, emphasized Hsiang, is by no means the best, nor easiest, solution to combating a global disruption of Earth's climate, which has been stoked by human emissions of potent greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
"The surest way to deal with that [climate change] is to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions — that's a matter of simple science," said Hsiang.
Geoengineered sulfate particles would be loaded miles up in the atmosphere, well above the clouds.Credit: nasaThis largely means generating electricity with renewables, like solar, wind, and geothermal energy, rather than fossil fuels, and driving vehicles that don't run on gasoline.
"I would say these results suggest that both warming and geoengineering pose risks to the global food supply," Nathan Mueller, an assistant professor of Earth System Science at the University of California, Irvine who had no role in the study, said in an interview.
"I would say that the best way to ensure a food secure future is to invest in reducing emissions and supporting farmers as they adapt to a warming climate."
The climate is already loaded with the highest concentration of carbon dioxide than at any time in the last 800,000 years, meaning that Earth's climate is already locked in for future warming, well beyond this century.
This is why solar geoengineering might one day be seriously considered by governments, even as renewables become more prevalent, and solar panels are fitted on millions of rooftops.
"The intuition we think about is that it [geoengineering] is a parachute," said Hsiang, referencing geoengineering as a last-resort option. "You want to understand that you have a parachute, and know you can use it."
Featured Video For You
This "horror" was spotted off the coast of the Carolinas
(责任编辑:关于我们)
-
Expanded police surveillance will get us “broken windows” on steroids.
Across the United States, cities are spending a larger share of the money at their disposal buying a ...[详细] -
本报讯1日,天全县人民检察院提起公诉及刑事附带民事诉讼,在天全县仁义镇公开开庭审理,30余名仁义镇村民到场旁听。庭审中,天全县检察院指控王某等二人在禁渔期、禁渔区携带电瓶、逆变器、竹竿等工具,采用电击 ...[详细]
-
工商银行青岛分行大力开展“工商银行杯”全国大学生金融创意设计大赛
为积极响应国家“大众创业 万众创新”的号召,传导“聚焦本源,因势而变,革故鼎新,引领同业”的创新文化理念,中国工商银行在共青团中央支持指导下,在全国范围 ...[详细] -
中国园林美学思想特别注重园林建筑与自然环境的共生同构。以万物同一、天人和合的哲学思维关照天地山川,山为天地之骨,水为天地之血,山水是天地的支撑和营卫,是承载、含育万物和人类的府库和家园。人必有居,居而 ...[详细]
-
Webb telescope just snapped image of huge black hole gobbling material
Black holes are misunderstood.They're almost inconceivably dense objects, which grants them immense ...[详细] -
8月29日,世界品牌实验室研究发布的“亚洲品牌500强”榜单在香港揭晓,青饮集团旗下的“崂山”品牌以385位的排名再次入选,较去年提升14位。抢抓重大历 ...[详细]
-
浜ら€氶摱琛岄潚宀涘競鍗椾簩鏀:鍋氭偍鐨勬渶浣宠储瀵岀鐞嗛摱琛宊涓浗灞变笢缃慱闈掑矝
銆€銆€鏃跺厜鑽忚嫆銆傛棤璁烘槸鍦ㄤ竴鎶婄畻鐩樹竴鏀瑪鐨勬椂浠o紝杩樻槸濡備粖绉戞妧鍏冪礌婊℃弧鐨勬櫤鑳介摱琛屾椂浠o紝浼樿川鐨勬湇鍔°€佽壇濂界殑鐢ㄦ埛浣撻獙鎰熸案杩滄槸閾惰涓氳拷姹傜殑鐩爣銆 ...[详细] -
全国首创!人保财险在粤发布“强芯保”汽车芯片专属保险_南方+_南方plus9月20日下午,中国人民财产保险股份有限公司以下简称“人保财险”)在珠海横琴召开“强芯保”汽车芯片专属保险产品发布会暨全国首批 ...[详细]
-
广东超一半的北运淡水鱼来自这里!全链发力打响“南海鱼”金字招牌
广东超一半的北运淡水鱼来自这里!全链发力打响“南海鱼”金字招牌_南方+_南方plus8月下旬,位于佛山市南海区的广东何氏水产有限公司车水马龙,一辆辆活鱼运输车整装待发,热闹非凡。立秋过后,我国华北、西 ...[详细] -
入伏之后,岛城进入了炎炎夏季。为打造最佳客户体验银行,为客户提供舒适的业务办理环境,招商银行青岛分行感动服务再创新举措,各营业网点纷纷推出了夏日感动服务,给客户带来了不一样的“清凉&rdq ...[详细]