Marine Cloud Whitening – Artificial Created Clouds to Prevent Global Warming
11 August 2009 | Green Technology | 4 Comments
An important factor influencing climate evolution and global warming on our planet, is represented by solar radiation. Many countries consider solar radiation as a very important alternative energy source but it seems that radiations emitted by the sun can have negative effects on our planet. The ozone layer is very thin today, with many interruptions in its structure, and this thing could increase solar radiation reaching the planet surface.
A very good method to stop sun rays reaching in certain places would be represented by clouds. But clouds can not appear exactly when we want!
Researchers contradict this theory, because they have recently found a way to create clouds in the sky in order to improve global climate. Their plan is to launch many wind-powered ships on seas and oceans in order to create clouds by spraying seawater into the air. This method may have an important influence on global climate and global warming.
The technology known as Marine Cloud Whitening is based on some big funnels able to spray water into the air. This project, require 2000 similar boats, if we want to feel some changes in climate evolution. Researchers have started with the following idea: any molecule of salted water from air could be a possible core for creating clouds around it.
In this way we will create a layer of clouds that can reflect sunlight back into the space. For a complicated problem, such as global warming, we need a difficult solution. Estimated costs to build these boats reach £5.3billion. I think it is still a cheap way to reduce global warming, compared to other methods developed until now(£140 billion – alternative stratospheric aerial insertion).
Tags: alternative stratospheric aerial insertion, big funnels, changes in climate evolution, create clouds, creating clouds, Global Warming, improve global climate, influencing climate evolution, Marine Cloud Whitening, ozone layer, reflect sunlight, salted water from air, spraying seawater, wind-powered ships
Am I missing something? What happens if salt laden clouds blow over land & rain salt all over vegetation & top soil, killing growth & poisoning the land for future growth unless very expensive reclamation projects are used. Haven’t we poisoned the earth enough!?
the effect of Global Warming these days is even worst. i think every government should pass stricter laws on Carbon Emissions. we should also concentrate more on renewable energy sources and avoid fossil fuels.
In response to Connie’s comment, all clouds form on some kind of salty small particles, mostly sulfate but sodium chloride is also posible. However, after forming droplets grow to sizes much larger than their original precursors, diluting their components and becoming mainly water. Acid rain and other effects do not come from the original particles that formed the droplets but from absorption of pollutants by the droplets and some liquid phase chemistry, which mainly happens in highly contaminanted cities. The particles that would be injected into the atmopshere to create the artificial clouds are too small to alter the composition of subsequent rain. Thus, the land won’t be polluted by this mechanism.
That being said, I think Marine Cloud Whitening is not a good idea. There is still a lot of uncertainty on their effect on moisture circulation and rain production. If some of the extra aerosol injected into the atmosphere does not fall out as rain, then it can be deposited on other particles or even get transported increasing pollution in the atmosphere. Furthermore, the creation of localized cold spots in the marine environment would alter marine ecosystems and water vapor circulation. I just don’t think our current knowledge is enough to even guess what really is going to happen if Marine Cloud Whitening is implemented.
Finally, I dissagree with the tone of the article. Even though some scientist have studied these ideas they are not “proposing” them. Such proposals are rather found in pseudo-scientific journals, which are not backed up by serious studies.
Marine cloud whitening will increase green house gasses by trapping them in the environment. Furthermore, can we ever hear from the 30,000 + scientists whom say climate change is a natural occurrence and not a global threat? How about the fact that governments and Al Gores of the world will be going green while industries are allowed to buy their way out of pollution by BUYING carbon credits? How about the latest study that finds that geoengineering especially SRM will hav devastating affects on the already weakened Ozone layer? This is a scheme, hence climatgate and the charges that IPCC is politically motivated. Read the Copenhagen treaty between the lines, it is nothing more than a plan for world governance! Lets use the survival of humanity to encourage people to think of it as a beautiful thing to spray sulfuric acid into the stratosphere, by the way, this is the cause of ACID RAIN!!! Wipe the sleep from your eyes please!
Veronica
Connecticutskywatch.com