Researchers are claiming that a proposed fix for climate change, which would see clouds whitened after being sprayed with seawater, could actually warm the planet, instead of cooling it down.
The fix, which is currently an unproven theory, involves spraying clouds with seawater causing salt crystals to thicken the clouds, making them whiter. This could potentially reduce the amount of solar radiation that reaches the planet’s surface. Problem is, if the water droplets used aren’t large enough, it may actually make things worse.
“If the particles are too small, they will not brighten the clouds — instead they will influence particles that are already there, and there will be competition between them,” researcher Kari Alterskjaer told BBC News.
“Obviously the particle size is of crucial importance, not only for whether you get a positive or negative effect, but also whether particles can actually reach the clouds — if they’re too large, they just fall to the sea.”
According to computer simulations, if cloud whitening were to be done, the best places would be the west of North and South America and to the west of Africa.
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