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Geoengineering as a design problem.
- Source :
- Earth System Dynamics Discussions; 2015, Vol. 6 Issue 2, p1635-1710, 76p
- Publication Year :
- 2015
-
Abstract
- Understanding the climate impacts of solar geoengineering is essential for evaluating its benefits and risks. Most previous simulations have prescribed a particular strategy and evaluated its modeled effects. Here we turn this approach around by first choosing example climate objectives and then designing a strategy to meet those objectives in climate models. There are four essential criteria for designing a strategy: (i) an explicit specification of the objectives, (ii) defining what climate forcing agents to modify so the objectives are met, (iii) a method for managing uncertainties, and (iv) independent verification of the strategy in an evaluation model. We demonstrate this design perspective through two multi-objective examples. First, changes in Arctic temperature and the position of tropical precipitation due to CO<subscript>2</subscript> increases are offset by adjusting high latitude insolation in each hemisphere independently. Second, three different latitude-dependent patterns of insolation are modified to offset CO<subscript>2</subscript>-induced changes in global mean temperature, interhemispheric temperature asymmetry, and the equator-to-pole temperature gradient. In both examples, the "design" and "evaluation" models are state-of-the-art fully coupled atmosphere–ocean general circulation models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Subjects :
- ENVIRONMENTAL engineering
CLIMATE change
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 21904995
- Volume :
- 6
- Issue :
- 2
- Database :
- Complementary Index
- Journal :
- Earth System Dynamics Discussions
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 111574208
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.5194/esdd-6-1635-2015