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Sounds like most of the brighter clouds generated would be over the ocean in this particular scenario, so shouldn’t affect plants too much.
by qzw 5y ago
Sounds like most of the brighter clouds generated would be over the ocean in this particular scenario, so shouldn’t affect plants too much.
- privong 5y ago> Sounds like most of the brighter clouds generated would be over the ocean in this particular scenario, so shouldn’t affect plants too much. Phytoplankton rely on photosynthesis and are the food for a large fraction of marine life (either directly or indirectly).
- robbedpeter 5y agoJust plankton and algae and the largest ecosystem on the planet, right? There's always a gotcha, because nature is a chaotic, complex system that is mathematically impossible to account for all the consequences of exercising leverage.
- qzw 5y agoI did think of that, but then also thought that since oceanic plant life move around with currents, they wouldn't be deprived of sunlight all the time. But yes, as you point out, nobody knows all the consequences. It sounds like they're actually doing research and experiments to validate their idea, so whatever model they use will hopefully take these kinds of secondary and tertiary effects into account.
- ratww 5y ago"Scientists estimate that 50-80% of the oxygen production on Earth comes from the ocean. The majority of this production is from oceanic plankton — drifting plants, algae, and some bacteria that can photosynthesize" https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/ocean-oxygen.html https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/ocean-oxygen.html