Emily Chan
Dropping diamond dust from an airplane and letting it scatter throughout the atmosphere could help cool the planet, according to newfound evidence.
A team of researchers from several institutions calculated which materials would be the most effective at cooling the planet via a stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI) method.
They used three-dimensional climate models to compare materials and found that a few hundred trillion dollars worth of diamond dust could work well.
Previously, research has shown that the warming of the Earth will worsen global weather patterns if temperatures continue on their current upward trend.
At this point, some experts argue that the only solution to this dire issue is to find a way to cool down the planet as quickly as possible. One idea has been to deploy millions of devices that extract carbon from the air.
However, if our planet is now past the point of return, removing carbon won’t help. Instead, it is necessary to inject aerosols into the atmosphere to reflect sunlight and heat back into space in order to cool down the Earth.
At first, sulfur dioxide gas was deemed the best candidate for the job. Since it is naturally spewed into the atmosphere by volcanoes, scientists have had plenty of opportunities to experiment with it.
So, they have a good idea of what would happen if humans started injecting it into the air themselves. Although the gas would likely counter the warming effects of excess greenhouse gases, it could also have undesired side effects.
Some of the consequences include damage to the ozone layer, disruption of weather patterns in the lower atmosphere, and a return of acid rain around the globe.
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