Solar geoengineering could protect crops from climate change effects
Siobhan Treacy | May 26, 2021Researchers from Harvard’s John A Paulson School of Engineering evaluated the effects of solar geoengineering on crop growth.
Solar geoengineering injects aerosols into the atmosphere to reflect sunlight and reduce global warming effects. It’s not a fix-all for climate change, but one method that could help curb the risks and physical changes. According to the team, there is little known about how solar geoengineering could affect the ecosystem and agriculture but they believe it could be key to alleviating the worst impacts of global warming on crops.
Source: Unsplash
Three types of solar engineering were examined: stratospheric aerosol injection, marine sky brightening and cirrus cloud thinning. The study focused on the impact of these methods on the global yield of maize, sugarcane, wheat, rice, soy and cotton where emissions continue at the current levels.
According to the team, the most effective way to protect crops against the worst effects of global climate change is by reducing surface temperature. All three potential solar geoengineering methods have a strong cooling effect that would benefit crop yields.
In the past, studies suggested that cooling temperatures with stratospheric aerosol injection could lead to less rainfall and loss in rainfed crops. But, these studies did not consider humidity, one of the most important factors in crop transpiration and productivity. Relative humidity and vapor pressure have stronger control over plant water use and crop productivity over precipitation. The team compared agricultural productivity affected by solar geoengineering methods and emissions reduction. Emissions reductions have strong cooling and humidity benefits with a smaller benefit in crop yields than solar geoengineering. This is because the reduction of carbon dioxide fertilization also reduced productivity of most crops compared with solar geoengineering, which achieves the same temperature reduction results.
The study was published in Nature Foods.
I think it would be best to stop looking at ways to control the climate, and start studying ways to adapt...
About the
Milankovitch cycle....
..."Currently, perihelion occurs during the southern hemisphere's summer. This means that solar radiation due to both the axial tilt inclining the southern hemisphere toward the Sun, and the Earth's proximity to the Sun, will reach maximum during the southern summer and reach minimum during the southern winter. These effects on heating are thus additive, which means that seasonal variation in irradiation of the southern hemisphere is more extreme. In the northern hemisphere, these two factors reach maximum at opposite times of the year: the north is tilted toward the Sun when the Earth is furthest from the Sun. The two effects work in opposite directions, resulting in less extreme variations in insolation.[citation needed]
In about 13,000 years, the north pole will be tilted toward the Sun when the Earth is at perihelion.[citation needed] Axial tilt and orbital eccentricity will both contribute their maximum increase in solar radiation during the northern hemisphere's summer. Axial precession will promote more extreme variation in irradiation of the northern hemisphere and less extreme variation in the south.[citation needed] When the Earth's axis is aligned such that aphelion and perihelion occur near the equinoxes, axial tilt will not be aligned with or against eccentricity.[citation needed] "....
https://en.wikipedia
In reply to #1
I think it would be best to stop looking at ways to control the climate, and start studying ways to adapt...
Amen. The one huge factor that no one seems to take into account is the advancement of technology. I have no idea what will be possible in 20-30 years, but many things we can do today were undreamed of 20-30 years ago.
Just sayin'.
Interesting concept which clearly has been trialed somewhere, such that they have gained results for the concept. However, is it wise to play god with nature, again! I know that South Africa was great at seeding clouds to make it rain and the USA was good at de-seeding clouds to make it stop raining. It is now China who leads the way in this rain making endeavour.
It seems that man just wants to prove a point of being superior in everything. Bit what are the downfalls to all of this? As we all know the super moon this month has brought up tide levels resulting i flooding in many countries, causing much devastation and loss of lives and homes for many.
To start messing with weather for the world population could induce further catastrophes for people who don't need more catastrophes. Nature runs its course and people need to understand that is life, especially the west who comes up with all these wonderful ideas. They may be 'looking after themselves' but don't care much about anyone else, in my opinion.
There are other ways to gain land for planting and there are many forest that are being chopped down to replace them with palm plantations which service the food industry and fuel industry. Nothing stopping people growing there own home crops in their gardens or pots, increasing CO2 uptake, if that is so important to everyone.
Its not new to the world and reality could be, that previous manipulation has resulted in the problems we have now.
https://www.japantim