Australian Southern Cross University researchers, ‘Ocean cloud whitening’ project
Sunlight reflected by wide, brightened clouds… Create shade at sea level
Danish Global Climate Policy Minister: Interference with nature must be cautious
As global warming is rapidly progressing and disasters are occurring one after another, a research team has announced that a so-called ‘ocean cloud whitening’ research project is underway as a way to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on the 14th (local time), this project, in which many environmental protection groups and academic institutions, led by Southern Cross University in Australia, participated, makes clouds brighter, so that the clouds reflect sunlight and shade the sea surface, thereby reducing seawater pollution. This is done by lowering the temperature.
The experiment is part of a coral reef restoration project and will be conducted near the Great Barrier Reef, a coral reef area in northeastern Australia where large numbers of corals are dying due to warming.
In an experiment conducted this month, researchers sprayed a salt water mixture into low-altitude clouds forming over the ocean through a generator equipped with a high-pressure nozzle. They used the principle that when the salt water mixture touches the cloud, the cloud area becomes larger and the brightness increases.
According to a research team at the University of Washington, spraying salt water on just 20% of Earth’s clouds can cool the entire planet by about 2 to 3 degrees Celsius. Foreign media reported that international cooperation and enormous costs would be required for the experiment, which will be conducted only in Australia, the United States and Israel this year, to be distributed globally.
There are also opinions that are conscious of adverse effects.
Michael Diamond, an assistant professor of meteorology and environmental sciences at Florida State University, said of the cloud-whitening experiment, “I wonder if it will be able to stay on top of the clouds and brighten it enough to make a difference.”
Dan Jorgensen, Denmark’s Minister of Global Climate Policy, said, “If we start interfering with nature, there is a risk of very negative consequences that we cannot control and cannot predict.”
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.