Scientists consider the possibility of adding aerosols or modifying clouds to slow global warming
(Phys.org)—Scientists looking at alternative approaches to staving off global warming have published two Perspective pieces in the journal Science. In the first, Ulrike Niemeier and Simone Tilmes with the Max Planck Institute and the National Center for Atmospheric Research in the U.S., respectively, address the possibility of injecting aerosols into the atmosphere as a means to limit heat passing through. In the second, Niemeier has paired up with Blaž Gasparini with the Institute of Atmospheric and Climate Science in Switzerland to look at the issues involved with attempting to disperse clouds that prevent heat in the atmosphere from escaping back into space. In an editorial in the same journal issue, Janos Pasztor, Cynthia Scharf and Kai-Uwe Schmidt consider how we might govern geoengineering attempts to prevent a reckless few from possibly destroying the planet they are trying to save.