Proposed Global Warming Solution Would Kill Ozone
by Anonymous - May 6th, 2008
A proposed geoengineering solution to global warming would deplete the ozone layer and have "perilous effects" on the whole planet, according to a new study by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR).
The plan, put forth by Nobel Laureate Paul Crutzen, is one of the most discussed geoengineering proposals around. It would distribute sulfate particles into the atmosphere much like volcanic eruptions, and then scatter light back to space to cool the Earth.
But here's the problem. According to NCAR's research, sulphates launched into the stratosphere provide a surface on which chlorine gases in polar clouds can become activated. And that triggers chemical reactions that lead to the death of ozone molecules.
The predictions are startling.
A sulfur injection large enough to affect surface global warming could destroy between one to three quarters of the ozone layer above the Arctic Ocean and cause a considerable delay -- between 30 and 70 years -- in the expected recovery of the Antarctic ozone hole.
The new findings have prompted some researchers to vie for further modeling and continued geoengineering research.
Ken Caldeira, a climate modeler at the Carnegie Institution of Washington in Stanford, CA, explains in Science News:
Ozone loss due to geoengineering "is a real concern, but I don’t see it as a showstopper."
Caldeira suggests a further redesign of geoengineering to address its negative effects, perhaps designing aerosols that could drop out of the atmosphere before they reach ozone-sensitive polar regions.
Bill Chameides, an atmospheric chemist at Duke University, sees it differently:
"It’s always been clear that geoengineering would have some detrimental effect, but this paper quantifies it."
Chameides, in an argument against the geoengineering solution, contends that masking the planet-warming effects of CO2 emissions rather than reducing them won't address other harmful side effects of increased levels of CO2, such as ocean acidification.
Other geoengineering proposals in the works include putting a shield above Greenland to deflect the sun's rays and stimulating large-scale plankton blooms in the ocean to sequester underwater carbon dioxide.
Source: National Center for Atmospheric Research study
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