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Brief communication: Understanding solar geoengineering's potential to limit sea level rise requires attention from cryosphere experts

Irvine, PJ; Keith, DW; Moore, J; (2018) Brief communication: Understanding solar geoengineering's potential to limit sea level rise requires attention from cryosphere experts. The Cryosphere , 12 (7) pp. 2501-2513. 10.5194/tc-12-2501-2018. Green open access

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Abstract

Stratospheric aerosol geoengineering, a form of solar geoengineering, is a proposal to add a reflective layer of aerosol to the stratosphere to reduce net radiative forcing and so to reduce the risks of climate change. The efficacy of solar geoengineering at reducing changes to the cryosphere is uncertain; solar geoengineering could reduce temperatures and so slow melt, but its ability to reverse ice sheet collapse once initiated may be limited. Here we review the literature on solar geoengineering and the cryosphere and identify the key uncertainties that research could address. Solar geoengineering may be more effective at reducing surface melt than a reduction in greenhouse forcing that produces the same global-average temperature response. Studies of natural analogues and model simulations support this conclusion. However, changes below the surfaces of the ocean and ice sheets may strongly limit the potential of solar geoengineering to reduce the retreat of marine glaciers. High-quality process model studies may illuminate these issues. Solar geoengineering is a contentious emerging issue in climate policy and it is critical that the potential, limits, and risks of these proposals are made clear for policy makers.

Type: Article
Title: Brief communication: Understanding solar geoengineering's potential to limit sea level rise requires attention from cryosphere experts
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.5194/tc-12-2501-2018
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2501-2018
Language: English
Additional information: Copyright © Author(s) 2018. This work is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Earth Sciences
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10091184
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