Scientists try to change Britain's clouds to let in less sunlight in controversial experiment to combat global warming
In the battle against climate change, controversial experiments are set to take place in Britain within the next five years.
The UK government 's Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA) has allocated £57 million for so-called 'geoengineering' projects that aim to slow global warming.
Outdoor trials expected to start as soon as 2027 will include 'brightening clouds' in order to reflect sunlight away from Earth.
Marine Cloud Brightening involves ships spraying saltwater into the sky to enhance the reflectivity of low-lying clouds.
The salt will force water droplets in the clouds to come together or 'coalesce', which will make them more reflective and stop so much sunlight reaching Earth.
'You may indeed not be able to see any effect from the ground at all, but you should be able to measure it using equipment that flies through the cloud,' said Professor Mark Symes, programme director for ARIA.
Scientists will build the required sprayers and carry out indoor tests before any outdoor trials take place, at as yet undecided locations in the UK, in the winter of 2027 to 2028.
Initially, the saltwater sprays will cover an area 330 feet wide, but the outdoor trials could be scaled up to several miles before the end of the decade.
According to Professor Symes, such an outdoor trial will be essential to determine the widespread feasibility of Marine Cloud Brightening.
'Modelling and indoor studies are vital, and they can tell us a lot, but they can't tell us everything that we wish to know about feasibility or the impacts of these approaches,' he said.
'Really, to fill that missing gap requires doing real world experiments and collecting real world data, which means experiments that are outdoors.'
However, some scientists are concerned that expensive endeavors could fail or even backfire, causing destructive weather patterns and making climate change worse.
Mike Hulme, a professor of human geography at the University of Cambridge, warned that Aria is leading the world down a 'slippery slope'.
'£57 million is a huge amount of taxpayers' money to be spent on this assortment of speculative technologies intended to manipulate the Earth's climate,' he told the Telegraph.
'Just because they 'work' in a model, or at a micro-scale in the lab or the sky, does not mean they will cool the climate safely, without unwanted side-effects, in the real world.
'There is therefore no way that this research can demonstrate that the technologies are safe, successful or reversible.
'The UK Government is leading the world down what academic analysts call "the slippery slope" towards eventual dangerous large-scale deployment of solar geoengineering technologies.'
Meanwhile, Dr Naomi Vaughan, professor of climate change at the University of East Anglia UEA, said sunlight reflecting methods could create a 'new risk' to society.
'Scientists are cautious about solar radiation management research because of how it could be used or misused in the future,' she said.
In all, £57 million has been allocated by ARIA for 21 geoengineering projects which will include five outdoor trials, The Telegraph reports.
Another University of Cambridge-led project receiving part of the funding is described as an early exploration for the potential of Stratospheric Aerosol Injection (SAI).
It would involve a study on how milligram quantities of mineral dusts age in the stratosphere while contained in an air balloon.
During this controlled experiment, none of these materials will be released into the atmosphere, and all the materials will be returned to the ground for recovery and analysis by scientists, ARIA said.
Scientists at Yale University in Connecticut have already proposed Stratospheric Aerosol Injection at the north and south poles to reverse ice loss.
Stratospheric Aerosol Injection is where tiny particles, typically sulfur dioxide (SO2), are released into the stratosphere by planes to reflect sunlight. Scientists at Yale University have already proposed this approach at the north and south poles to reverse ice loss
Typically, Stratospheric Aerosol Injection involves the release of tiny sulfur dioxide (SO2) particles into the stratosphere by planes to reflect sunlight.
In March 2023, it was revealed scientists had conducted two open-air experiments to test solar radiation management – reflecting sunlight away from the Earth.
This project, not funded by ARIA, launched a high-altitude weather balloon that released sulfur dioxide in the stratosphere – the second layer of the atmosphere.
Once injected into the stratosphere, sulfur dioxide forms sunlight-reflecting sulfate aerosols, said to have a cooling effect similar to that of a major volcanic eruption.
However, in high levels, sulfur dioxide can cause nausea, vomiting, stomach pain and corrosive damage to the airways and lungs.
Globally, other geoengineering projects include sucking carbon dioxide (CO2) out of the air with giant fans.
There's also 'ocean fertilization' (adding nutrients to the upper ocean to stimulate plant growth) and 'afforestation' (planting trees in areas where there was previously no forest).
But there's concerns countries will pursue poorly-regulated geoengineering projects in secret – especially sun-blocking which could have 'unintended consequences'.
These could include regional droughts, crop failures and shifts to the Atlantic jet stream, which could drag hurricanes and tropical diseases north.
A Bill Gates-backed project has already launched balloons over Baja, Mexico releasing sunlight-reflecting aerosols into Earth's stratosphere.
ARIA said in a statement that all experiments being funded are 'subject to an environmental impact and legal assessment, which will be made publicly available before any outdoor experiment takes place'.
'[They will be] developed through engagement and consultation with local communities and in line with local regulations and requirements.
'[They will be] limited in size, scale, and time-bound, so the effects dissipate within 24 hours or are fully reversible.'
WHAT ARE THE SIDE EFFECTS OF GEOENGINEERING STRATEGIES?
Scientists have proposed all sorts of solutions to fight climate change, including a number of controversial geoengineering strategies.
Among the many include:
Afforestation: This technique would irrigate deserts, such as those in Australia and North Africa, to plant millions of trees that could absorb carbon dioxide.
Drawback: This vegetation would also draw in sunlight that the deserts currently reflect back into space, and so contribute to global warming.
Artificial ocean upwelling: Engineers would use long pipes to pump cold, nutrient-rich water upward to cool ocean-surface waters.
Drawback: If this process ever stopped it could cause oceans to rebalance their heat levels and rapidly change the climate.
Ocean alkalinisation: This involves heaping lime into the ocean to chemically increase the absorption of carbon dioxide.
Drawback: Study suggests it will have of little use in reducing global temperatures.
Ocean iron fertilisation: The method involves dumping iron into the oceans to improve the growth of photosynthetic organisms that can absorb carbon dioxide.
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