CANADA: A Queensland scientist says blasting aerosols into the atmosphere could save the world’s coral reefs from the effects of climate change.
It is an idea which scientists have previously dismissed as “irrational and irresponsible”, but University of Queensland professor Peter Mumby said shooting sulphur dioxide into the sky was an option that should be considered if political agreements failed to stop global warming.
Scientists call it stratospheric aerosol-based solar radiation management — using aerosols to scatter sunlight high above the Earth.
“Some of the methods involve shooting artillery up into the upper atmosphere, taking things up there with aircraft,” Professor Mumby said.
“This is still an active area of research, but in principle it’s feasible to do it.”
Professor Mumby said rising sea temperatures meant annual coral bleaching effects were expected by midway through this century.
“The consequences to reefs are pretty dire.”
He said the challenge was to reduce temperature rise in the oceans and that an “aggressive decarbonisation scenario” being considered by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was one option.
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