loading page

Reduced Poleward Transport Due to Stratospheric Heating Under Stratospheric Aerosols Geoengineering
  • +3
  • Daniele Visioni,
  • Isla Ruth Simpson,
  • Douglas G MacMartin,
  • Jadwiga H. Richter,
  • Ben Kravitz,
  • Walker Lee
Daniele Visioni
Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Cornell University, Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Cornell University

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

Author Profile
Isla Ruth Simpson
National Center for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), National Center for Atmospheric Research (UCAR)
Author Profile
Douglas G MacMartin
Cornell University, Cornell University
Author Profile
Jadwiga H. Richter
National Center for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), National Center for Atmospheric Research (UCAR)
Author Profile
Ben Kravitz
Indiana University, Indiana University
Author Profile
Walker Lee
Cornell University, Cornell University
Author Profile

Abstract

By injecting SO2 into the stratosphere at four latitudes (30°, 15° N/S), it might be possible not only to reduce global mean surface temperature but also to minimize changes in the equator-to-pole and inter-hemispheric gradients of temperature, further reducing some of the impacts arising from climate change relative to equatorial injection. This can happen only if the aerosols are transported to higher latitudes by the stratospheric circulation, ensuring that a greater part of the solar radiation is reflected back to space at higher latitudes, compensating for the reduced sunlight. However, the stratospheric heating produced by these aerosols modifies the circulation and strengthens the stratospheric polar vortex which acts as a barrier to the transport of air toward the poles. We show how the heating results in a feedback where increasing injection rates lead to stronger high-latitudinal transport barriers. This implies a potential limitation in the high-latitude aerosol burden and subsequent cooling.
16 Sep 2020Published in Geophysical Research Letters volume 47 issue 17. 10.1029/2020GL089470