Tony brought up the topic of ocean acidification yesterday. It is a topic we have covered a few times in the blog and is something worth monitoring year after year. Even if some method – such as solar shading - is developed to keep the planet cool (while humans keep using fossil fuels) the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere could still cause problems for marine life. No doubt the plants and animals will adapt to some degree but it would be beneficial to have some solutions in case they are needed.
Here is one engineering solution that could help, combining the effluent from natural gas power plants with limestone and releasing the final mixture into the ocean. Not only would this process sequester carbon dioxide it could reduce the acidity of the ocean’s. Is it cost effective – almost certainly not, but then you have to factor in potential future problems as well. Is the threat great enough to justify the cost?
Similar to the situation with carbon dioxide in the air having a secondary effect in the ocean, airplane traffic also has some secondary effects. Climate scientists have quantified the amount of carbon dioxide coming from airplanes in order to help plan for the future should those emissions need to be curtailed, but what about the jet contrails? Contrails are nothing more than artificial cirrus clouds created by the exhaust of airplanes. Cirrus clouds tend to trap more heat (or radiation) than they reflect so they can keep the atmosphere warmer. The question is, how much do contrails contribute to warming the atmosphere? Researchers recently found that the effect from the contrails might be more than the effect from carbon dioxide emissions.
If it seems unrealistic that something as small as a jet contrail could change the temperature in the atmosphere, take a look at this visualization of daily flights across the U.S. The video is cool and amazing. It is phenomenal that all the air traffic can continue each day without many disruptions or accidents.
Have a good Tuesday! Meteorologist Justin Loew.