A new form of solar geoengineering
A research team at MIT is working on a radical approach to combating the effects of climate change, according to a press statement.
They suggest using a "space bubble" to reflect sunlight away from the Earth.
It’s no secret that this crazy idea wouldn’t even be on the table if humanity had drastically limited its use of fossil fuels years ago – but here we are.
While some scientists warn that geoengineering will distract from the real work needed to reduce emissions, others say we need to evaluate all options. That's where the MIT team's "space bubble" comes in.
'Space bubbles' are a safer form of solar geoengineering
The MIT team's approach is a novel form of solar geoengineering that aims to reflect sunlight away from the Earth, cooling our planet and preventing climate change The worst effects of change. The most widely studied solar geoengineering technique involves injecting reflective aerosol particles into the upper atmosphere. However, the potential negative impacts of this approach are not fully understood, meaning it is far from being considered a viable option.
The MIT scientists' approach would be different. Rather than injecting particles into Earth's atmosphere, their method reflects the sun's heat from space, meaning potentially harmful particles don't have to be injected into our atmosphere.
Researchers are studying the possibility of placing a shield made of a " space bubble" at Lagrangian Point 1, a relatively stable orbital point in space between the Earth and the Sun Gravity is balanced here. For example, the James Webb Space Telescope is located at Lagrange point 1.
MIT's 'space bubble' solution could be deployed from space
The biggest obstacle to this approach is undoubtedly logistics. MIT scientists believe the "space bubble" must be roughly the size of Earth. However, they believe these bubbles could be created in space, reducing any launch costs. They are currently conducting experiments in the laboratory with "space bubbles" made of silicon.
In the press release, they explain "In preliminary experiments, we succeeded in inflating film bubbles at a pressure of 0.0028 atm and maintaining them at around -50°C (near-zero pressure and near-zero space conditions ) temperature).”
Can solar geoengineering be a life raft for humanity?
Crucially, the MIT researchers also wrote that their solar geoengineering solution would be "fully reversible," which could mean if we find that the bubbles are having an unwelcome impact on our planet impact, they may break quickly.
This is important because we don’t yet fully grasp the full complexity of climate change itself, let alone geoengineering approaches. Speaking to Discover Magazine, Linda Schneider, an expert on international climate policy, said: “Even now we still have limitations in our understanding of the climate change we have unintentionally caused, especially when it comes to further impacts into the future. We have no idea what we would have done if we had done it intentionally. What would happen if we manipulated the climate on a global scale, less so."
Of course, more research is needed, although "space bubbles" are on paper a safer form of solar geoengineering. However, if the worst effects of climate change do materialize, as they are now being seen, this proposal could serve as an important life raft for humanity.
