Outrageous $200 trillion climate hack proposes blasting diamonds into the atmosphere

The large picture: Researchers are leaving nary chromatic unturned successful nan title to find ways of putting nan brakes connected world warming – moreover if that intends pulverizing trillions of dollars' worthy of diamonds to sprinkle successful nan atmosphere. A caller study published successful Geophysical Research Letters has earnestly examined this audacious "sun-dimming" script arsenic a imaginable (albeit extreme) instrumentality successful nan ambiance situation fight.

The premise is based connected nan thought of star geoengineering via stratospheric aerosol injection. Basically, it involves seeding nan precocious ambiance pinch tons of mini particles that tin bespeak immoderate of nan sun's incoming rays backmost into abstraction earlier they scope nan surface, creating a cooling effect. It's been theorized that dispersing astir 5 cardinal tons of pulverized gem particulate per twelvemonth could little world temperatures by astir 2.9°F.

Before you commencement stashing distant your family jewels, cognize that pulling this disconnected would require a mind-boggling $200 trillion finance complete 45 years to person nan desired effect of keeping warming conscionable nether nan 2.7°C (4.9°F) threshold. Past that point, nan risks of catastrophic ambiance alteration spiral retired of control.

As reported by Science, nan researchers tested gem particulate on pinch six different aerosol particle candidates specified arsenic sulfur utilizing analyzable machine modeling. They looked astatine factors for illustration really good nan particles disperse without clumping up, their atmospheric lifetimes, and whether they defy turning into acerb rain.

Surprisingly, nan gem particulate crushed nan title – staying finely distributed without coagulating and sticking astir for a while. Sulfur, 1 of nan much applicable options being considered, tended to clump up much easily.

Of course, dumping monolithic amounts of aerosols into nan entity doesn't travel without risks and imaginable broadside effects that would request to beryllium cautiously studied. There are besides evident economical hurdles fixed nan exorbitant value tag.

"If you inquire maine coming what's going to get deployed, it's gonna beryllium sulfate," Douglas MacMartin, an technologist astatine Cornell University who studies ambiance science, told nan Science magazine. Sulfur contamination from volcanoes gives america real-world examples to study, and arsenic a state it would beryllium easier to disperse from craft than gem micro-particles.

As already mentioned, it'd beryllium importantly cheaper too. Another study estimated that synthetic gem would costs astir $500,000 per ton, making it astir 2,400 times much costly than sulfur.

However, moreover if raining diamonds isn't nan solution, activity that explores "out-there" options for illustration this 1 is still valuable, according to experts.

"You request to understand nan early-stage physics of imaginable particles to past person nan conversations astir broader impacts," 1 ambiance argumentation interrogator told nan magazine.