By Alton Parrish.
Prof. Jost Heintzenberg, Leibniz Institute Leipzig, is warning other scientists they don’t know enough to begin tinkering with Earth’s atmosphere with geoengineering experiments to influence climate change. If they do, the results could be disastrous for every living thing. Heintzenberg is a scientist at prestigious Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research, a part of the Leibniz Association (WGL) in Germany, which is named after Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646 – 1716), philosopher and universal scholar.
Prof. Jost Heintzenberg
Credit: Leibniz Institute Leipzig
Carbon dioxide is not the only problem we must address if we are to understand and solve the problem of climate change. According to research published this month in the International Journal of Global Warming, we as yet do not understand adequately the role played by aerosols, clouds and their interaction and must take related processes into account before considering any large-scale geo-engineering.
There are 10 to the power of 40 molecules of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Those carbon dioxide molecules absorb and emit radiation mainly in the infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum and their presence is what helps keep our planet at the relatively balmy temperatures we enjoy today.
Too few absorbing molecules and the greenhouse effect wanes and we would experience the kind of global cooling that would convert the whole planet into a lifeless, ice-encrusted rock floating in its orbit. Conversely, however, rising levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide lead to a rise in temperature. It is this issue that has given rise to the problem of anthropogenic climate change. Humanity has burned increasing amounts of fossil fuels since the dawn of the industrial revolution, releasing the locked in carbon stores from those ancient into the atmosphere boosting the number of carbon dioxide molecules in the atmosphere.
Nevertheless, Heintzenberg sees a conundrum in how to understand atmospheric aerosols and how they affect cloud formation and ultimately influence climate. There are multiple feedback loops to consider as well as the effect of climate forcing due to rising carbon dioxide levels on these species and vice versa. “The key role of aerosols and clouds in anthropogenic climate change make the high uncertainties related to them even more painful,” says Heintzenberg. It is crucial that we understand their effects.
A conceptualized image of an unmanned, wind-powered, remotely controlled ship that could be used to implement cloud brightening.
Contacts and sources:
Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research
