Air Apparent: Once We Start Geoengineering, It May Be Hard to Stop

Though much is still unknown about the potential effects of intentionally saturating our atmosphere with sulfates, the authors of the recent paper thought maybe it’d be a good idea to look before we leap into the caldera of the fake-volcano business.  Using several different atmospheric models, they studied what would happen if 50 years of stratospheric solar deflection were followed by an abrupt halt.  The result, reported in the Journal of Geophysical Research – Atmospheres, could be a rapid and devastating increase in temperature.

Here’s why: If we were to start and then stop maintaining a protective layer of aerosols in the atmosphere, solar radiation would begin hitting us right where it left off — and the effect of the greenhouse gasses accumulated during our half-century in the synthetic shade would quickly become apparent.  (The paper warns of the “moral hazard” of geoengineering, letting us off the hook for the dirty emissions at the root of the problem.) Though the different climate models used by the researchers showed different rates of increase, the overall effect was squarely in the “not good” category, including shifts in weather patterns and the usual, depressing decrease in polar sea ice.  Basically, if we ever try to rely on geoengineering to save us from our own greenhouse gas emissions, we are all going to have to agree to NEVER STOP.

That means, no political squabbles, no international kerfuffles, no unforeseen consequences, no budget problems, nothing.  Good luck with that, world.

Air Apparent: Once We Start Geoengineering, It May Be Hard to Stop