Climate change | Scientists propose a magic solution to the problem of melting polar ice by blocking the sun's rays

Weather of Arabia - With the intensification of the effects of climate change, the melting of ice in both the north and south poles has become a major problem that threatens the world, as it leads to a rise in sea levels, which threatens to flood coastal areas around the world, but new research has suggested a solution to this dangerous problem.

According to research published in the scientific journal Environmental Research Communications , refreezing the poles by reducing incoming sunlight would be viable and economically viable.

(Coastal areas are at risk of drowning as sea levels rise due to the melting of the polar ice caps)

How will the sun's rays be blocked to refreeze the poles?

According to scientists, high-altitude jets will spray microscopic aerosol particles (microscopic sulfur dioxide particles) into the atmosphere at latitudes 60 degrees north and south by pumping them at an altitude of 43,000 feet.

The molecules will slowly drift towards the pole, shading the surface a little bit, protecting the polar regions from the sun's heat and preventing them from continuing to thaw.

"There is a fear about spreading aerosols to cool the planet, but if the risk-benefit equation is going to pay off anywhere, it will be at the poles," says study lead author Wake Smith.

On the importance of this process, Smith says: "Aerosol injections treat the symptoms of climate change but not the underlying disease. It's aspirin, not penicillin, and it's not a substitute for decarbonization efforts."

The same fleet of aircraft can serve both hemispheres, move to the opposite pole as the seasons change, and the particles are injected seasonally on spring and early summer days.

Last year, a group of researchers at Harvard University proposed testing a similar idea by using weather balloons to collect raw data about northern Sweden. But even this early experience proved very controversial, as local groups forced them to abandon the idea, but the polar regions, unlike northern Sweden, are very sparsely populated.

(Balloon launch experiment at Esrange Space Center near Kiruna, northern Sweden, where it will make the first flight for the Stratospheric Controlled Perturbation Experiment (SCoPEx) i.e. spraying particles into the upper atmosphere to reflect sunlight . Image Credit SSC - 2021)

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The importance of bipolar cooling

Cooling at the poles will provide direct protection for only a small part of the planet, although middle latitudes should also see some drop in temperature.

Because less than 1 percent of the world's population lives in the target areas, any deliberate shift of the global temperature regulator would be of common interest to all of humanity, not just the Arctic and Patagonia.

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How much does the operation cost?

Existing military refueling tankers such as the KC-135 and A330 MMRT do not have sufficient payload at the required altitudes, and a fleet of 125 tankers can lift enough payload to cool the polar regions by 2°C per year, bringing them back close to average temperatures. which it was before the industrial age.

According to the study, the costs are estimated at $11 billion annually, which is less than a third of the cost of cooling the entire planet by the same amount by 2°C and a fraction of the cost of reaching net zero emissions.

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The current study, according to its team, is only one small, initial step towards understanding the costs, benefits, and risks of undertaking climate intervention at high latitudes.

It provides additional reason to believe that such tools could be useful in maintaining the cryosphere near the poles and slowing sea level rise globally.

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