Department of Integrative Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824,, Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824,
Department of Ecology and Evolution, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-5245,
Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521,
Advanced Science Research Center at the Graduate Center, City University of New York, New York, NY 10031,, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook, NY 12545,
School of Earth Environmental and Marine Science, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Edinburg, TX 78539,
Institute on the Environment, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108,, Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108,
Computational Earth Sciences Group, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831,, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996,
Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108,, Institut de Recherche en Biologie Végétale, Département de Sciences Biologiques, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada H1X 2B2,
Department of Environmental Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901-8551,
Atmospheric Chemistry, Observations, and Modeling Laboratory, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO 80301,
Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14850,
Division of Ecology and Biodiversity, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996,
As the effects of anthropogenic climate change become more severe, several approaches for deliberate climate intervention to reduce or stabilize Earth’s surface temperature have been proposed. Solar radiation modification (SRM) is one potential approach to partially counteract anthropogenic warming by reflecting a small proportion of the incoming solar radiation to increase Earth’s albedo. While climate science research has focused on the predicted climate effects of SRM, almost no studies have investigated the impacts that SRM would have on ecological systems. The impacts and risks posed by SRM would vary by implementation scenario, anthropogenic climate effects, geographic region, and by ecosystem, community, population, and organism. Complex interactions among Earth’s climate system and living systems would further affect SRM impacts and risks. We focus here on stratospheric aerosol intervention (SAI), a well-studied and relatively feasible SRM scheme that is likely to have a large impact on Earth’s surface temperature. We outline current gaps in knowledge about both helpful and harmful predicted effects of SAI on ecological systems. Desired ecological outcomes might also inform development of future SAI implementation scenarios. In addition to filling these knowledge gaps, increased collaboration between ecologists and climate scientists would identify a common set of SAI research goals and improve the communication about potential SAI impacts and risks with the public. Without this collaboration, forecasts of SAI impacts will overlook potential effects on biodiversity and ecosystem services for humanity.
Zarnetske, Phoebe L., et al. "Potential ecological impacts of climate intervention by reflecting sunlight to cool Earth." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 118, no. 15, Apr. 2021. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1921854118
Zarnetske, Phoebe L., Gurevitch, Jessica, Franklin, Janet, Groffman, Peter M., Harrison, Cheryl S., Hellmann, Jessica J., Hoffman, Forrest M., Kothari, Shan, Robock, Alan, Tilmes, Simone, Visioni, Daniele, Wu, Jin, Xia, Lili, & Yang, Cheng-En (2021). Potential ecological impacts of climate intervention by reflecting sunlight to cool Earth. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 118(15). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1921854118
Zarnetske, Phoebe L., Gurevitch, Jessica, Franklin, Janet, et al., "Potential ecological impacts of climate intervention by reflecting sunlight to cool Earth," Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 118, no. 15 (2021), https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1921854118
@article{osti_1773965,
author = {Zarnetske, Phoebe L. and Gurevitch, Jessica and Franklin, Janet and Groffman, Peter M. and Harrison, Cheryl S. and Hellmann, Jessica J. and Hoffman, Forrest M. and Kothari, Shan and Robock, Alan and Tilmes, Simone and others},
title = {Potential ecological impacts of climate intervention by reflecting sunlight to cool Earth},
annote = {As the effects of anthropogenic climate change become more severe, several approaches for deliberate climate intervention to reduce or stabilize Earth’s surface temperature have been proposed. Solar radiation modification (SRM) is one potential approach to partially counteract anthropogenic warming by reflecting a small proportion of the incoming solar radiation to increase Earth’s albedo. While climate science research has focused on the predicted climate effects of SRM, almost no studies have investigated the impacts that SRM would have on ecological systems. The impacts and risks posed by SRM would vary by implementation scenario, anthropogenic climate effects, geographic region, and by ecosystem, community, population, and organism. Complex interactions among Earth’s climate system and living systems would further affect SRM impacts and risks. We focus here on stratospheric aerosol intervention (SAI), a well-studied and relatively feasible SRM scheme that is likely to have a large impact on Earth’s surface temperature. We outline current gaps in knowledge about both helpful and harmful predicted effects of SAI on ecological systems. Desired ecological outcomes might also inform development of future SAI implementation scenarios. In addition to filling these knowledge gaps, increased collaboration between ecologists and climate scientists would identify a common set of SAI research goals and improve the communication about potential SAI impacts and risks with the public. Without this collaboration, forecasts of SAI impacts will overlook potential effects on biodiversity and ecosystem services for humanity.},
doi = {10.1073/pnas.1921854118},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1773965},
journal = {Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America},
issn = {ISSN 0027-8424},
number = {15},
volume = {118},
place = {United States},
publisher = {Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences},
year = {2021},
month = {04}}
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Journal Name: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Journal Issue: 15 Vol. 118; ISSN 0027-8424
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, Vol. 370, Issue 1974https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2012.0167