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Assessing the regional disparities in geoengineering impacts
Author(s) -
Irvine Peter J.,
Ridgwell Andy,
Lunt Daniel J.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2010gl044447
Subject(s) - geoengineering , environmental science , precipitation , greenhouse gas , climatology , global warming , climate model , climate change , atmospheric sciences , meteorology , geology , geography , oceanography
Solar Radiation Management (SRM) Geoengineering may ameliorate many consequences of global warming but also has the potential to drive regional climates outside the envelope of greenhouse‐gas induced warming, creating ‘novel’ conditions, and could affect precipitation in some regions disproportionably. Here, using a fully coupled climate model we explore some new methodologies for assessing regional disparities in geoengineering impacts. Taking a 4 × CO 2 climate and an idealized ‘sunshade’ SRM strategy, we consider different fractions of the maximum theoretical, 4 × CO 2 ‐cancelling global mean cooling. Whilst regional predictions in particularly relatively low resolution global climate models must be treated with caution, our simulations indicate that it might be possible to identify a level of SRM geoengineering capable of meeting multiple targets, such as maintaining a stable mass balance of the Greenland ice sheet and cooling global climate, but without reducing global precipitation below pre‐industrial or exposing significant fractions of the Earth to ‘novel’ climate conditions.