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Frontiers of Engineering Reports on Leading-Edge Engineering from the 2012 Symposium (2013) / Chapter Skim
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Climate Engineering with Stratospheric Aerosols and Associated Engineering Parameters--Ben Kravitz
Pages 29-36

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From page 29...
... This prospect opens the possibility for discussion of societal goals for climate engineering. BACKGROUND Large volcanic eruptions cause cooling of Earth's surface by creating a layer of stratospheric sulfate aerosols that scatter incoming solar radiation.
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From page 30...
... Simulated climate effects depend on the method of climate engineering, namely stratospheric sulfate aerosols that are similar to the aerosols from the Mount Pinatubo eruption. Such aerosols have particular compositions (approximately 75% sulfuric acid and 25% water)
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From page 31...
... Black Carbon Aerosols Sulfate aerosols scatter nearly 100% of visible and ultraviolet light, whereas black carbon aerosols are excellent absorbers. Although both types of aerosols will prevent some amount of solar radiation from reaching the surface if placed in the stratosphere, black carbon will cause significant stratospheric heating; for example, 1 Tg of black carbon aerosols (0.08 µm radius)
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From page 32...
... . Aerosols injected extratropically tend to remain in the hemisphere of injection, and stratospheric sulfate aerosol climate engineering in only one hemisphere can shift the Intertropical Convergence Zone, a band of equatorial precipitation, potentially causing Sahelian greening or drying (J.M.
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From page 33...
... CONCLUSIONS The goal of mapping "engineering" parameters for stratospheric aerosol particles and their climate effects is to, eventually, be able to address the question of what society might want climate engineering to do. For example, if societal goals are primarily to preserve Arctic sea ice, climate engineering could be done by injecting sulfate aerosols into the Arctic troposphere during spring.
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From page 34...
... 2006, High-latitude eruptions cast shadow over the African monsoon and the flow of the Nile, Geophysical Research Letters, 33, L18711. Pierce JR, Weisenstein DK, Heckendorn P, Peter T, Keith DW.
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From page 35...
... R 2002. Arctic Oscillation response to the 1991 Mount Pinatubo eruption: Effects of volcanic aerosols and ozone depletion, Journal of Geophysical Research, 107(D24)
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Key Terms

  • black carbon
  • sulfate aerosols
  • carbon aerosols
  • geophysical research
  • climate effects

  • stratospheric aerosols
  • mount pinatubo
  • stratospheric sulfate
  • ozone loss
  • solar radiation

  • stratospheric heating
  • aerosol climate
  • stratospheric aerosol
  • aerosol size
  • surface cooling

  • atmospheric lifetime
  • stratospheric climate
  • sulfate aerosol
  • aerosol parameters
  • aerosols injected

  • research letters
  • tropical eruptions
  • aerosols tend
  • pinatubo eruption
  • arctic oscillation

  • volcanic eruptions
  • northern hemisphere
  • rain acidity
  • winter warming
  • indian ocean


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