The scientists discovered that rather than higher up and around the tropics as usually believed, it could be feasible to chill the earth at just 8.1 miles near the polar areas.
Commercial jets can already reach this altitude.
Alistair Duffey, lead author and PHD student in UCL’s Department of Earth Sciences, said: “Solar geoengineering comes with substantial hazards and much more research is needed to understand its impacts.
“Our research, however, shows that this specific intervention makes it simpler than we first believed to cool the globe. This affects the speed at which stratospheric aerosol injection could be commenced as well as by whom.”
The catch is that three times the material would be required to generate the same impact if launching these particles from a lower altitude.
“At this lower altitude, stratospheric aerosol injection is about one third as effective,” Duffy remarked. This does, however, generate questions regarding a higher probability of adverse effects including acid rain.
