14 DAY TRIAL // A group of British investigators from the University of Reading have published a new study today, arguing that the type of geoengineering scheme proposed by the father of the hydrogen bomb will not produce beneficial effects on our planet.
US nuclear physicist Edward Teller proposed nearly 17 years ago that light-reflecting particles could be injected into the stratosphere – an atmospheric layer above the troposphere and below the mesosphere – to reduce the influence of greenhouse gases on the planetary climate.
The new investigation, published in the January 8 issue of the journal Environmental Research Letters, suggests that applying this geoengineering scheme could lead to the utter destruction of the weather systems currently in play at the tropics. The approach would only help parts of Asia and northern Europe, but would harm the Equator, PhysOrg reports.
If massive amounts of aerosols were inserted in the stratosphere, then this layer would begin to warm, which would, in turn, weaken the upward convection patterns originating in the troposphere. The first, and most important, effect would be a massive drop in rainfall levels across the equatorial belt, leading to widespread drought, desertification and biodiversity loss.