Survey and Comparison of In-Space and In-Atmosphere Geo-engineering Concepts for Climate Change Mitigation
- Paper number
GLOC-2023,T,IP,x75007
- Author
Prof. Marcello Romano, Politecnico di Torino, Italy
- Coauthor
Dr. Bruce Chesley, Teaching Science and Technology, Inc (TSTI), United States
- Coauthor
Mr. Catello Leonardo Matonti, Politecnico di Torino, Italy
- Coauthor
Ms. Sreelakshmi Sita Sonty, United States
- Coauthor
Dr. Magdalena Gutowska, Politecnico di Torino, Italy
- Year
2023
- Abstract
We believe reversible in-space approaches for geo-engineering provide promising answers for direct climate action from space. Our paper will survey, analyze, and compare previously proposed Geo-engineering concepts for possible Climate Change Mitigation endeavors that could be conducted from space-based or Earth-based systems and methods. The goal of our work is to foster discussions involving scientists, engineers, international law experts and decision makers, and to provide a baseline reference for further studies. According to recent scientific research efforts and studies, current extreme climate events are symptoms of a no-return point in absence of actions. The Earth’s change in climate is primarily due to increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which absorb and re-emit infrared radiation from the Earth’s surface. Possible Geo-engineering strategies for Climate Change Mitigation can be divided into In-space methods (having mostly reversible effects) and In-atmosphere methods (having mostly irreversible effects). Considered In-space methods will include a `planetary sunshade’ using artificial satellites positioned between the Sun and the Earth, to decrease Sun light that reaches our planet. Various sunshade strategies have been proposed, including a system of small flyers, like thin-film solar sails capable of active control, or a single occulting disk sunshade. Furthermore, other architectures have been designed from space resources, like diffuse and not actively controlled dust cloud or foil sunshades. An international planetary sunshade open-source development platform has also recently been proposed, to implement a sustainable sunshade design based on lunar resources that could significantly reduce the cost of constructing a sunshade constellation and the deployment time. Alternatively, In-atmosphere methods that are discussed will include several `in-atmosphere mirroring’ actions to increase the Sun light back-reflected to Space, such as stratospheric aerosol injection, marine cloud brightening and cirrus cloud thinning. These upper-atmospheric approaches may provide benefits of delivering aerosols or other compounds across large parts of the globe. One approach to this might be the use of non-ballistic atmospheric entry (using a combination of “skip” and “glide” profiles) to precisely deposit materials across a variety of regions to manage the cooling effects. The irreversible qualities of this approach will be contrasted with reversible “sunshade” concepts. A high-level analysis of each concept will be included from scientific and engineering perspectives. Furthermore, the different concepts will be compared as regards several critical metrics, such as sustainability and reversibility, scientific and engineering feasibility, cost, and time of execution.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
GLOC-2023,T,IP,x75007.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).
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