Solar Radiation Management | PWOnlyIAS 2023

Subject: GS3: Environment 

Context:

• Solar radiation management (SRM) is gaining attention as a climate mitigation approach.

About Solar Radiation Management:

• It involves blocking incoming solar radiation to cool the Earth’s surface. It includes:
  • Using gigantic pumps to introduce microbubbles into reservoirs or other bodies of still water
  • The genetic engineering of crops to make leaves shinier
  • The spreading of reflective films on the ocean’s surface or on vulnerable ice flows.

Methods of Solar Radiation Management:

• Stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI): It involves increasing the concentration of aerosol particles in the stratosphere to reduce the amount of solar radiation reaching Earth’s surface
• Marine cloud brightening (MCB): It refers to an albedo modification technique that aims to increase the reflectivity of clouds. It injects naturally occurring sea salt into cloud updrafts.
• Cirrus cloud thinning (CCT): It includes eliminating or thinning cirrus clouds by injecting ice nuclei or aerosol particles to allow heat to escape into space.

Concerns with Solar Radiation Management: 

• Solar Radiation Managementcarries inherent risks, as it disrupts natural processes and can have global consequences.
• An SRM experiment in one country that increases rainfall over the Horn of Africa might inadvertently trigger locust swarms, harming crops in Pakistan and India.
• Currently, there is no international mechanism to hold geoengineering governments accountable for transboundary effects or allow affected nations to seek compensation.
• There’s limited research on how various global weather systems interact and their sensitivities to interventions like SRM.

News Source: The Hindu

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