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Title: Physical science research needed to evaluate the viability and risks of marine cloud brightening

Journal Article · · Science Advances
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  1. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Boulder, CO (United States)
  2. Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
  3. University of California, San Diego, CA (United States). Scripps Inst. of Oceanography
  4. University of Washington, Seattle, WA (United States)
  5. Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI (United States)
  6. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
  7. Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL (United States)
  8. Delft University of Technology (Netherlands)
  9. Imperial College, London (United Kingdom)
  10. University of Exeter, Devon (United Kingdom)
  11. Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Munich (Germany)
  12. California Institute of Technology (CalTech), Pasadena, CA (United States)
  13. National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), Boulder, CO (United States)
  14. University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY (United States)
  15. Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA (United States)
  16. Goethe Univerity, Frankfurt (Germany)
  17. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Boulder, CO (United States). NOAA Chemical Sciences Laboratory (CSL); Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States). Cooperative Inst. for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES)
  18. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Seattle, WA (United States). Pacific Marine Environmental Lab. (PMEL)
  19. University of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States)
  20. University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ (United States)
  21. University of Tartu (Estonia)
  22. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
+ Show Author Affiliations

Marine cloud brightening (MCB) is the deliberate injection of aerosol particles into shallow marine clouds to increase their reflection of solar radiation and reduce the amount of energy absorbed by the climate system. From the physical science perspective, the consensus of a broad international group of scientists is that the viability of MCB will ultimately depend on whether observations and models can robustly assess the scale-up of local-to-global brightening in today’s climate and identify strategies that will ensure an equitable geographical distribution of the benefits and risks associated with projected regional changes in temperature and precipitation. To address the physical science knowledge gaps required to assess the societal implications of MCB, we propose a substantial and targeted program of research—field and laboratory experiments, monitoring, and numerical modeling across a range of scales.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER); National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); National Science Foundation (NSF); National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-06CH11357; SC0022227; SC0012704; SC0022958; AC06-76RL01830; AC52-07NA27344; SC0021045; AGS-2133229; AC05-76RL01830
OSTI ID:
2326934
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 2328494; OSTI ID: 2331522; OSTI ID: 2333673; OSTI ID: 2447749
Report Number(s):
LLNL-JRNL-853525; PNNL-SA-189954; BNL-225445-2024-JAAM
Journal Information:
Science Advances, Vol. 10, Issue 12; ISSN 2375-2548
Publisher:
AAASCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
marine cloud brightening
clouds and aerosols