That's a very interesting result for geoengineers. My interpretation of these results is that the late application of SRM may not be able to reverse Arctic thawing and keep the methane locked up. Considering the work of Robock http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/2009/2008JD011652.shtml my previous belief was that SRM geoengineering would be enough to keep the permafrost frozen and the methane locked up, no matter how bad the global temperature rise was in the medium term. However, this new research, which considers a period with lower CO2 than today (if I'm not mistaken), suggests a level of regional warming far exceeding the global rise. It is clearly the regional warming which unleashes the 'methane monster'.
I am very interested to know if the late application of SRM can reverse this profound regional warming. If we can't be certain that SRM will reverse the regional warming, we may need to look at 'emergency SRM', to be deployed ASAP. I note the outcome of the funding meeting which John sent round, and with my cursory reading it seemed that the limitations and weaknesses of the cooling powers of SRM for the Arctic needed further study. This paper serves only to strengthen my view. As a point of information, my further work over Xmas on methane leads me to believe my conclusion will be that there is no easy 'fire extinguisher' available in the event of runaway climate change. All the solutions under consideration seem to require large energy inputs or engineering infrastructure, based on a qualitative analysis. A 2010/1/2 John Nissen <[email protected]> > > “The lack of summer sea ice during the mid-Pliocene suggests that the > record-setting melting of Arctic sea ice over the past few years could > be an early warning of more significant changes to come.” > > > http://www.clickgreen.org.uk/research/trends/121010-arctic-could-face-warmer-and-ice-free-conditions,-warn-scientists.html > > > Key questions: Could SRM* geoengineering prevent this? Is there an > alternative? How long have we got? > > John > > P.S. See also decline of the carbon sinks, which might also benefit from > cooling technology: > > http://www.clickgreen.org.uk/research/trends/12975-researchers-show-major-increase-in-co2-emissions.html > > > * Solar radiation management, e.g. by using stratospheric aerosols or > cloud brightening to reflect solar radiation back into space. > > -- > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "geoengineering" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]<geoengineering%[email protected]> > . > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/geoengineering?hl=en. > > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "geoengineering" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/geoengineering?hl=en.
