The SPICE (Stratospheric Particle Injection for Climate Engineering) project team will perform a development test this October from an abandoned airfield in Sculthorpe, Norfolk, using a large helium balloon that will lift a 1km long hosepipe high into the sky to test the theory, and determine the best size particles to make and how to distribute them. Over 100 liters of water will be pumped per minute in the testing, using a pressure washer compressor.
The idea is to replicate the effect of a volcano, which spews dust particles high into the atmosphere and help seed cloud formation that reflects sunlight back into space, thereby preventing Earth from heating up. The 1991 Mount Pinatubo eruption launched ash and gas that spread worldwide and decreased average global temperature by 0.5°C.
Other geo-engineering ideas mimic the ocean-cloud natural process. As the ocean surface water evaporates, sulphate aerosol particles are released into the atmosphere that help seed cloud formation, and is the basis of the Bill Gates' backed project to use giant balloons and water siphoned from the ocean.
The British team propose that 10 or 20 giant balloons could lower the average global temperature by 2°C, with a cost estimate ranging from £5-50 billion (US$7.9-79 billion, €5.7-57 billion).
Via Bristol University & BBC
Trevor Williams is a University of Victoria Mechanical Engineering PhD candidate specializing in renewable energy, power grid modeling and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. He has a bachelors in Aeronautical Engineering, a Masters in Management Science and over 23 years international experience in the space industry, having worked on Earth observation and telecommunications satellites. He is the author of the Eco-Geek blog.
written by Edlet , September 20, 2011
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written by Mom , September 19, 2011