Description

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Context:

A new study has argued that spraying millions of tonnes of diamond dust in the Earth’s upper atmosphere every year could help cool down the Earth and combat global warming.

*Aspect*	Details
*Proposal*	Injecting five million tons of diamond dust annually into the stratosphere to cool the Earth.
*Potential Temperature Reduction*	1.6 degrees Celsius
*Inspiration*	Past volcanic eruptions caused global cooling by releasing particles into the atmosphere.
*Concept*	Diamond dust in the stratosphere would reflect sunlight, reducing heat on Earth.
*Geoengineering Context*	Similar to methods like ocean iron dumping and space mirrors to fight global warming.
*Method*	Solar geoengineering – Stratospheric Aerosol Injection (SAI)
*Historical Example*	1991 Mount Pinatubo eruption cooled Earth by 0.5 degrees for several years.
*Problems with Sulfur Dioxide*	Leads to sulfuric acid rain, damages ozone layer, disrupts weather and climate patterns.
*Diamond Dust Findings*	Reflects radiation effectively, remains airborne longer, doesn’t produce acid rain.
*Cooling Effect*	Injecting 5 million tons of diamond dust annually could reduce global temperature by 1.6°C.
*Cost of Diamond Dust*	$200 trillion by 2100, 2,400 times more expensive than sulfur dioxide.
*Alternative Option*	Sulfur dioxide – cheaper but has harmful environmental impacts.

About Stratospheric Aerosol Injection (SAI)

It is a proposed method of solar geoengineering (or solar radiation modification) to reduce global warming. This would introduce aerosols into the stratosphere to create a cooling effect via global dimming and increased albedo, which occurs naturally from volcanic winter.

It appears that stratospheric aerosol injection, at a moderate intensity, could counter most changes to temperature and precipitation, take effect rapidly, have low direct implementation costs, and be reversible in its direct climatic effects.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concludes that it "is the most-researched [solar geoengineering] method that it could limit warming to below 1.5 °C (2.7 °F).

About Diamond:

Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Diamond as a form of carbon is a tasteless, odourless, strong, brittle solid, colourless in pure form, a poor conductor of electricity, and insoluble in water.

Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, but diamond is metastable and converts to it at a negligible rate under those conditions.

Diamond has the highest hardness and thermal conductivity of any natural material, properties that are used in major industrial applications such as cutting and polishing tools.

About the Stratosphere:

It is the second-lowest layer of the atmosphere of Earth, located above the troposphere and below the mesosphere. The stratosphere is composed of stratified temperature zones, with the warmer layers of air located higher (closer to outer space) and the cooler layers lower (closer to the planetary surface of the Earth).

About Ocean Iron Dumping:

Ocean iron fertilization is an example of a geoengineering technique that involves intentional introduction of iron-rich deposits into oceans, and is aimed to enhance biological productivity of organisms in ocean waters in order to increase carbon dioxide (CO 2) uptake from the atmosphere.

Space Mirrors:

Space mirrors are satellites that are designed to change the amount of solar radiation that impacts the Earth as a form of climate engineering. The concept was first theorized in 1923 by physicist Hermann Oberth and later developed in the 1980s by other scientists.

Space mirrors can be used to increase or decrease the amount of solar energy that reaches a specific point of the earth for various purposes. They have been theorized as a method of solar geoengineering by creating a space sunshade to deflect sunlight and counter global warming.

Source:

INDIAN EXPRESS

PRACTICE QUESTION

Q.Define the concept of Stratospheric Aerosol Injection (SAI). Evaluate the challenges associated with implementing SAI and its potential interactions with other climate mitigation strategies. (150 words)