4 ms·

Mind somewhat blown by the phenomenon of "ship tracks" presented in the article. I knew we could seed clouds to induce rainfall, but apparently we can make the

by danw1979 6y ago

Mind somewhat blown by the phenomenon of "ship tracks" presented in the article. I knew we could seed clouds to induce rainfall, but apparently we can make them more reflective too. So, let's discuss my idea for a huge fleet of diesel-powered drones where the exhaust gases will be used to induce very reflective cloud formation to tackle global warming.

aeroman 6y ago
Shiptracks are pretty cool, not only as a really great 'natural experiment' on cloud processes, but also as they are a meteorological formation that was only discovered with the advent of weather satellites. https://journals.ametsoc.org/jas/article/23/6/778/17319/Anomalous-Cloud-Lines https://journals.ametsoc.org/jas/article/23/6/778/17319/Anom...
fennecfoxen 6y ago
Broadly speaking, the preferred approach to albedo modification seems to be sulphate aerosols in the higher atmosphere. A notable secondary approach is to modify built-up areas like cities to be more reflective: mixing recycled glass into pavement, using light colored roofs, and other passive modifications. This has the special advantage of reducing the urban heat island effect, reducing emissions associated with cooling.
- sp332 6y ago
  Globally sure, but it would be nice to have something more localized. Maybe we could dim an area over warm ocean in front of a hurricane or something.
14 6y ago
Wouldn’t it be easier to start with something like roof tops and start making roofs reflective?
Cactus2018 6y ago
> So, let's discuss my idea for a huge fleet of diesel-powered drones where the exhaust gases will be used to induce very reflective cloud formation to tackle global warming. So this is how we get the sky from Highlander II (1991)(electromagnetic shield, so not really) and the Matrix https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/12377/in-the-matrix-why-did-humans-scorch-the-sky-to-block-sunshine https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/12377/in-the-matri... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highlander_II:_The_Quickening#Plot https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highlander_II:_The_Quickening#...
julienb_sea 6y ago
This is already being researched albeit in a much more subtle manner. Essentially add very mildly reflective gases to the mid/upper atmosphere to reduce solar radiation and combat climate change. https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2019/09/harvard-groups-research-planet-cooling-aerosols/ https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2019/09/harvard-group...

aeroman 6y ago

Shiptracks are pretty cool, not only as a really great 'natural experiment' on cloud processes, but also as they are a meteorological formation that was only discovered with the advent of weather satellites. https://journals.ametsoc.org/jas/article/23/6/778/17319/Anomalous-Cloud-Lines https://journals.ametsoc.org/jas/article/23/6/778/17319/Anom...

fennecfoxen 6y ago

Broadly speaking, the preferred approach to albedo modification seems to be sulphate aerosols in the higher atmosphere. A notable secondary approach is to modify built-up areas like cities to be more reflective: mixing recycled glass into pavement, using light colored roofs, and other passive modifications. This has the special advantage of reducing the urban heat island effect, reducing emissions associated with cooling.

sp332 6y ago
Globally sure, but it would be nice to have something more localized. Maybe we could dim an area over warm ocean in front of a hurricane or something.

14 6y ago

Wouldn’t it be easier to start with something like roof tops and start making roofs reflective?

Cactus2018 6y ago

> So, let's discuss my idea for a huge fleet of diesel-powered drones where the exhaust gases will be used to induce very reflective cloud formation to tackle global warming. So this is how we get the sky from Highlander II (1991)(electromagnetic shield, so not really) and the Matrix https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/12377/in-the-matrix-why-did-humans-scorch-the-sky-to-block-sunshine https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/12377/in-the-matri... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highlander_II:_The_Quickening#Plot https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highlander_II:_The_Quickening#...

julienb_sea 6y ago

This is already being researched albeit in a much more subtle manner. Essentially add very mildly reflective gases to the mid/upper atmosphere to reduce solar radiation and combat climate change. https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2019/09/harvard-groups-research-planet-cooling-aerosols/ https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2019/09/harvard-group...