Scientists are exploring ‘ice freezing’ to reduce water vapor and cool Earth

According to a study published in Science Advances, researchers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and NASA plan to put snow high in the air so that water vapor in the upper atmosphere dries up slightly and this can counteract the effect of a small . The amount of human-generated heat.

In particular, water vapor is a powerful player in Earth’s greenhouse effect that ultimately causes the planet’s surface temperature to rise.

According to NASA, Earth’s surface temperature would be about 59 degrees Fahrenheit (33 degrees Celsius) cooler without greenhouse gases.

What is the Greenhouse Effect?

The greenhouse effect is a natural process that helps maintain Earth’s temperature within habitable limits. But in recent years, surface temperatures have been rising due to human activities such as burning fossil fuels and deforestation, leading to global warming. Now, scientists have discovered a new way to cool the overheating Earth – by reducing the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere.

How does water vapor trap heat?

NASA has reported that water vapor increases the warming of the Earth’s surface due to carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases like methane.

When the amount of methane and CO2 increases in the atmosphere, water vapor is produced, which increases evaporation. Since warm air contains more moisture, the concentration of water vapor in it increases. Specifically, this happens because water vapor does not condense at high temperatures and does not escape from the atmosphere easily, NASA said.

The water vapor then absorbs the heat from the Earth and prevents it from escaping into space. This causes the atmosphere to warm further, resulting in even more water vapor in the atmosphere – what the agency has dubbed a “positive feedback loop.”

What is the ‘new plan’ to reduce the earth’s surface temperature?

In what is being described as a last-ditch effort to control the rapidly rising temperatures of the Earth’s surface, scientists will dry out the upper atmosphere, also known as geoengineering.

This branch has often been rejected due to its potential side effects. This branch is usually mentioned not as an alternative to reducing carbon pollution, but as an addition to cutting emissions.

How will scientists dehydrate the stratosphere?

Climate scientists plan to send high-tech aircraft to inject ice particles about 11 miles (17 kilometers) high, just below the stratosphere, where air slowly rises. The ice and cold air then rise where it is coldest and the water vapor turns into ice and falls, dehydrating the stratosphere.

However, no workable injection has been made yet.

How does dehydrating the atmosphere help?

At its maximum level, injecting 2 tons per week, it could extract enough water vapor to offset a small amount of the warming, about five percent of the total warming produced by carbon from burning fossil fuels. But the study says this is not much and should not be used as a substitute for reducing pollution.

What problems can arise from this?

Victoria University climate scientist Andrew Weaver, who was not part of the study, said deliberately tampering with Earth’s atmosphere to fix climate change was likely to create new problems. He said the engineering side of it makes sense, but he compared the concept to a children’s story where a king who loves cheese gets surrounded by rats, summons cats to deal with the rats, then the cats. Calls dogs to drive away, calls lions to get rid of. With the help of dogs and elephants to eliminate the lions and then goes back to the rats to scare away the elephants.

Milestone alert!
Livemint tops charts as fastest growing news website in the world Click here to find out more.

Unlock a world of benefits! From informative newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and personalized newsfeeds – it’s all here, just a click away! log in now!

Published: 01 March 2024, 09:51 PM IST