It is not the first time we talk about this type of projects, but in general these are private or universities initiatives, but now it is somewhat more serious. A team of scientists from the Aria project (created by a law of Parliament and sponsored by the United Kingdom Science, Innovation and Technology Department) is prepared to release particles aerosolized to the stratosphere. Its objective is to reflect sunlight and cool the planet.
This is not a Hollywood plot and it is expected to happen in the coming weeks. In fact, the United Kingdom government is ready for Give a project to a project to divert a small fraction of solar energy from the Earthallocating 50 million pounds sterling to prove this geoingenier technique soon.
This experiment, on a small and rigorously evaluated, will provide crucial data to evaluate the potential of geoyngenieryaccording to the Agency for Advanced Research and Invention (ARIA) of the United Kingdom government.
It should be noted that geoengineering remains a controversial field, and Previous outdoor experiments have been canceled due to strong opposition. Most of the geoingenier proposals focus on blocking sunlight, such as the launch of reflecting particles to the atmosphere or seawater spray to illuminate the clouds.
However, experts warn that solar radiation management (GRS) could have serious and unforeseen consequences, such as the alteration of rain patterns, vital for agriculture. Some scientists claim that Geoingeniería could also reduce the urgency of addressing the problem of burning fossil fuels, The fundamental cause of climate change.
For his part, Mark Symes, who directs the Aria program, said The imminent threat of climate change is a key reason to investigate geoingeniery techniques. “The awkward reality is that our current warming trajectory makes several of these inflection points clearly possible during the next century – says Symes – after talking with hundreds of researchers, We conclude that a critical lagoon in our understanding lies in the physical data of the real world. This experiment will help determine if any of these approaches would work and what could be their effects. While modeling and interior studies are essential, its scope is limited. Toxic substances will not be released, in fact, an environmental impact assessment will be carried out. ”
The agency is expected to provide more details in the coming weeks. Earlier this month, the National Environmental Research Council (NERC) of the United Kingdom He also announced a research program in 10 million pounds to investigate the impact of these interventions.
The investigation will be based on computer models, existing and analogous data, such as volcanic eruptions and changes in maritime transport emissionsto perform the evaluation. You will not perform any outdoor experiment.
“Our function is to provide the best possible and solid evidence, But without defending geoengineering in any sense”Said Kate Hamer, director of the NERC.