klehner wrote:
monty wrote:
Funny I was just reading somewhere that one of the possible fixes for the recent heating of the planet would be to put some microscopic particles in jet fuel that would float up and create a reflective barrier. Basically replacing all the lost white snow that used to reflect and more to deflect some heat.
So basically what a volcano would do for a year or two, only as long as we keep flying we could adjust the mirrors intensity. Of course it sounds too simple, but in reality that is pretty much what an exploding volcano does, just puts up some small particles into the upper atmosphere, only those are quite temporary on a planets timeline. (As are we most likely))
There's that pesky detail of what reduced sunlight does to crops around the world...
If we're talking about sulfate aerosol injection for climate modification, there's not that much of a reduction in total insolation - way less than 1%.
But if we're talking volcanic eruptions, yeah. Tambora erupted in 1815, and so 1816 was the "Year Without A Summer". That's the biggest eruption in modern times. There are others that are well-documented in ice cores, like Samalas (1257) and Kuwae (1453).