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No Emergency Brake: Slow Ocean Response to Abrupt Stratospheric Aerosol Injection
  • +2
  • Daniel Pflüger,
  • Claudia Elisabeth Wieners,
  • Leo van Kampenhout,
  • René Wijngaard,
  • Henk A. Dijkstra
Daniel Pflüger
Utrecht University

Corresponding Author:d.pfluger@uu.nl

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Claudia Elisabeth Wieners
Utrecht University
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Leo van Kampenhout
Utrecht University
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René Wijngaard
Utrecht University
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Henk A. Dijkstra
Institute for Marine and Atmospheric research Utrecht
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Abstract

Given the possibility of irreversible changes to the Earth system, technological interventions such as solar radiation management (SRM) are sometimes framed as possible climate emergency brakes. However, little knowledge exists on the efficacy of such disruptive interventions. To fill in this gap, we perform Community Earth System Model 2 (CESM 2) simulations of a SSP5-8.5 scenario on which we impose either gradual early-century SRM to stabilise surface temperatures or a rapid late-century cooling, both realised via stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI). While both scenarios cool Earth’s surface, we find that ocean conditions differ drastically. The rapid-cooling scenario fails to dissipate sub-surface ocean heat content (OHC), ends up in a weaker AMOC state and does not restore an ailing North Atlantic deep convection. Furthermore, the weakened AMOC state mediates the climate response to rapid SAI, thus inducing an interhemispheric temperature asymmetry. Our results advise caution when considering SAI as an emergency intervention.
01 Sep 2023Submitted to ESS Open Archive
11 Sep 2023Published in ESS Open Archive