Geoengineering of the climate system [vol. 38] / edited by R E Hester and R M Harrison.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

It is generally accepted within the scientific community that anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases are primarily responsible for a recent warming in global climate and that current trajectories of emissions may lead to potentially catastrophic changes in climate. While reduction in emissions of greenhouse gases, and particularly carbon dioxide, could lead to a stabilisation of global temperatures, this requires international agreements which have yet to be achieved. A possible alternative, which has been widely mooted is to use methods known as geoengineering as an alternative way of limiting increases in global temperature. Geoengineering techniques fall into two main categories of carbon dioxide removal and solar radiation management; within each of these there are a number of options.

Following on from "Carbon Capture" (volume 29 in this series), Geoengineering of the Climate System presents an overview of the technologies currently being considered as large scale solutions to climate change, and considers some of the possible benefits and disadvantages of each. Invited contributions have been received by many of the leading experts on these technologies, and the volume provides a comprehensive overview of both carbon dioxide reduction and solar radiation management methods. These give rise to important ethical and governance issues which are also explored.

Written with active researchers, postgraduate students and policy-makers in mind, the latest addition to the Issues in Environmental Science & Technology series presents a balanced and informed view of this important field of research and is an essential addition to any environmental science library.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Editors (p. xv)
• List of Contributors (p. xvii)
• Why do we need Solutions to Global Warming? (p. 1)
• 1 Introduction - Life and the Evolution of the Earth's Atmosphere (p. 2)
• 2 The Atmosphere - The Most Valuable Resource on the Planet (p. 3)
• 3 The Greenhouse Effect and Global Warming (p. 6)
• 4 What is Geoengineering? (p. 12)
• 4.1 Introduction (p. 12)
• 4.2 Are there Parallels to Climate Change and Geoengineering? (p. 15)
• 4.3 Scientific Respectability of Geoengineering (p. 16)
• 4.4 The Arguments for and against Geoengineering Research (p. 17)
• 5 Summary and Conclusions (p. 20)
• References (p. 20)
• Storing Carbon for Geologically Long Timescales to Engineer Climate (p. 22)
• 1 Why is Carbon Storage Necessary? (p. 23)
• 2 The Approach and Controlling Factors (p. 24)
• 3 Methods of Reduced Emission Rates (p. 26)
• 4 Principles of Carbon Dioxide Removal (Negative Emissions Technologies) (p. 27)
• 5 Life-cycle Assessments (p. 27)
• 6 Biomass Availability and Sustainability (p. 28)
• 7 Carbon Dioxide Storage Availability (p. 28)
• 8 Summary of Carbon Storage Methods (p. 32)
• 8.1 Increased Terrestrial Biomass: Afforestation (p. 32)
• 8.2 Increased Soil Biomass: Biochar (p. 33)
• 8.3 Biomass Energy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) (p. 34)
• 8.4 Biomass Burial, Carbon Dioxide Use and Algal Carbon Dioxide Capture (p. 35)
• 8.5 Direct Air Capture (p. 36)
• 8.6 Silicate Weathering (p. 38)
• 8.7 Chemical Feedstock (p. 39)
• 8.8 Carbon Dioxide for Enhanced Oil Recovery (CO2-EOR) (p. 39)
• 8.9 Deep Sea Sediments (p. 40)
• 9 Discussion (p. 41)
• 10 Conclusions (p. 45)
• Acknowledgements (p. 46)
• References (p. 46)
• The Global Potential for Carbon Dioxide Removal (p. 52)
• 1 Introduction (p. 53)
• 2 Plant-based CDR (p. 56)
• 2.1 Resource Supplies (p. 56)
• 2.2 Afforestation and Reforestation (p. 57)
• 2.3 Bioenergy Crop Supplies (p. 58)
• 2.4 Additional Biomass Supplies (p. 59)
• 2.5 Conversion Routes and Efficiencies (p. 59)
• 2.6 Combined CDR Potential (p. 60)
• 3 Algal-based CDR (p. 62)
• 3.1 Resource Supplies (p. 63)
• 3.2 Algal BECCS (p. 63)
• 3.3 Ocean Fertilisation (p. 64)
• 3.4 Combined CDR Potential (p. 67)
• 4 Alkalinity-based CDR (p. 68)
• 4.1 Enhanced Weathering - Land (p. 68)
• 4.2 Enhanced Weathering - Ocean (p. 69)
• 4.3 Direct Air Capture (DAC) (p. 69)
• 4.4 Combined CDR Potential (p. 70)
• 5 Overall CDR Flux Potential (p. 71)
• 6 Discussion (p. 72)
• References (p. 74)
• The Use of Artificial Trees (p. 80)
• 1 Introduction (p. 80)
• 2 Air Capture as an Engineering and Policy Challenge (p. 82)
• 3 An Example of an Air Capture Technology (p. 83)
• 4 Cost Issues (p. 88)
• 5 What Price can Air Capture Technology Deliver? (p. 89)
• 6 The Usefulness of Air Capture Technology (p. 92)
• 6.1 Carbon Capture from Air and Storage (p. 92)
• 6.2 Fugitive Emissions (p. 93)
• 6.3 Risk Management to Oil Resource Holders (p. 94)
• 6.4 Managing the Risks of Global Warming (p. 94)
• 6.5 Air Capture as a Tool for Geoengineering (p. 95)
• 6.6 Closing the Non-fossil Carbon Cycle (p. 95)
• 7 Discussion and Conclusion (p. 97)
• Acknowledgements (p. 101)
• References (p. 101)
• Cooling the Earth with Crops (p. 105)
• 1 Introduction (p. 105)
• 2 Mechanisms (p. 106)
• 2.1 Biogeophysical Mechanisms (p. 107)
• 2.1.1 Albedo (p. 107)
• 2.1.2 Evapotranspiration (p. 108)
• 2.1.3 Emissivity (p. 108)
• 2.1.4 The Aerodynamic Roughness (p. 108)
• 3 Geographical Differences (p. 109)
• 3.1 Tropics (p. 109)
• 3.2 Temperate and Boreal (p. 110)
• 4 Historical Land Cover Change (p. 111)
• 5 Future Land Cover Change (p. 113)
• 6 Increased Crop Albedo (p. 115)
• 6.1 Albedo Values of Crops (p. 115)
• 6.2 Determinants of Albedo (p. 116)
• 6.3 Leaf Level Albedo (p. 116)
• 6.4 Canopy Level Albedo (p. 118)
• 7 Simulations with Climate Models (p. 120)
• 7.1 Crops in Climate Models (p. 120)
• 7.2 Climate Impacts (p. 122)
• 8 Yields (p. 122)
• 9 Other Crop Cooling Potential (p. 124)
• 9.1 Soil Carbon Sequestration (p. 124)
• 9.2 Biofuels (p. 124)
• 10 Priorities for Future Work (p. 125)
• 11 Conclusions (p. 125)
• References (p. 126)
• Engineering Ideas for Brighter Clouds (p. 131)
• 1 Introduction (p. 132)
• 2 A Reminder of the Physics (p. 132)
• 3 The Main Engineering Problems (p. 134)
• 3.1 Spray Generation (p. 134)
• 4 The Wafer (p. 138)
• 5 Filtration (p. 140)
• 6 Vessel Design (p. 143)
• 7 Justification of the Trimaran Configuration (p. 146)
• 8 Digital Hydraulics (p. 151)
• 9 The Mathematics (p. 154)
• 10 Costs (p. 156)
• 11 Conclusions (p. 159)
• Acknowledgements (p. 159)
• References (p. 160)
• Stratospheric Aerosol Geoengineering (p. 162)
• 1 Introduction (p. 163)
• 2 How to Create a Stratospheric Cloud (p. 164)
• 2.1 Why the Stratosphere? (p. 164)
• 2.2 Means of Stratospheric Injection (p. 165)
• 2.3 Creating an Effective Sulfuric Acid Cloud (p. 167)
• 3 Climate Impacts of Stratospheric Gcoengineering (p. 168)
• 3.1 Climate Models (p. 168)
• 3.2 Scenarios of Geoengineering (p. 169)
• 3.3 Global and Regional Temperature Impacts (p. 171)
• 3.4 Global and Regional Precipitation and Monsoon Impacts (p. 173)
• 3.5 Impacts of Enhanced Diffuse Radiation (p. 176)
• 4 Ethics and Governance of Stratospheric Geocngineering (p. 177)
• 4.1 Ethics and Governance of Research (p. 177)
• 4.2 Ethics and Governance of Deployment (p. 179)
• 5 Benefits and Risks of Stratospheric Geoengineering (p. 180)
• Acknowledgments (p. 182)
• References (p. 182)
• Space-Based Geoengineering Solutions (p. 186)
• 1 Introduction (p. 186)
• 2 Space-based Geoengineering (p. 187)
• 3 Lagrange Point Occulting Disks (p. 190)
• 3.1 Occulting Solar Disks (p. 190)
• 3.2 Occulter Orbit (p. 190)
• 3.3 Occulter Sizing (p. 192)
• 4 Lagrange Point Dust Cloud (p. 195)
• 4.1 Dissipating Dust Cloud (p. 195)
• 4.1.1 Solar Radiation Pressure (p. 197)
• 4.1.2 Dust Cloud Attenuation (p. 198)
• 4.1.3 Insolation Reduction (p. 199)
• 4.2 Anchored Dust Cloud (p. 200)
• 4.2.1 Four-body Problem (p. 200)
• 4.2.2 Zero Velocity Curve (p. 201)
• 4.2.3 Effect on Solar Insolation (p. 203)
• 5 Optimal Configuration for Lagrange Point Occulting Disks (p. 204)
• 5.1 GREB Climate Models (p. 204)
• 5.2 Out-of-plane Occulter (p. 206)
• 5.3 Optimal Orbiting Disk (p. 208)
• 6 Conclusions (p. 210)
• References (p. 210)
• Solar Radiation Management and the Governance of Hubris (p. 212)
• 1 Introduction: Hubris, Piety and the Limits of Human Governance (p. 213)
• 2 SRM as Political Artefact (p. 219)
• 3 SRM Research and Attempts to Legitimate it as an Object of Governance (p. 221)
• 3.1 The Royal Society 2009 Report (p. 221)
• 3.2 Development of Normative Principles for Governing SRM Research (p. 225)
• 3.3 The Solar Radiation Management Governance Initiative [SRMGI] (p. 228)
• 3.4 Thresholds and 'Differentiated Governance" (p. 229)
• 4 From Saying to Doing: Governing SRM Research within a Framework for Responsible Innovation (p. 231)
• 5 A Social Licence to Operate? (p. 236)
• 5.1 Conditionality and Implausibility (p. 238)
• 6 Conclusions: Governing a New End of History? (p. 239)
• Appendix (p. 242)
• Acknowledgments (p. 243)
• References (p. 243)
• Subject Index (p. 249)

Author notes provided by Syndetics

The series has been edited by Professors Hester and Harrison since it began in 1994.

Professor Roy Harrison OBE is listed by ISI Thomson Scientific (on ISI Web of Knowledge) as a Highly Cited Researcher in the Environmental Science/Ecology category. He has an h-index of 54 (i.e. 54 of his papers have received 54 or more citations in the literature). In 2004 he was appointed OBE for services to environmental science in the New Year Honours List. He was profiled by the Journal of Environmental Monitoring (Vol 5, pp 39N-41N, 2003). Professor Harrison's research interests lie in the field of environment and human health. His main specialism is in air pollution, from emissions through atmospheric chemical and physical transformations to exposure and effects on human health. Much of this work is designed to inform the development of policy.

Now an emeritus professor, Professor Ron Hester's current activities in chemistry are mainly as an editor and as an external examiner and assessor. He also retains appointments as external examiner and assessor / adviser on courses, individual promotions, and departmental / subject area evaluations both in the UK and abroad.