by Shoshana Harlem, Terra Linda High School
http://marinscienceseminar.com/geoengineering-and-terraforming-the-manipulation-of-climate-on-earth-and-other-planets/
Geoengineering is used to change the climate at a global level in order to slow down the effects of climate change. The purpose of geoengineering is to lower the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which will in turn reduce the effects of climate change. There are different techniques of geoengineering. One technique is the Stratospheric Aerosol Injunction (SAI) that would, in order to block the sun, sulphites and other particles are sprayed into the atmosphere. Another technique is to clear forests that are snow-covered. Trees would be cut down and this would increase the light reflected back into space. A third technique is ocean fertilization. The purpose of ocean fertilization is to increase the number of planktons in the ocean. This is done by dumping iron pellets into the ocean.
There are two types of geoengineering: carbon geoengineering and solar geoengineering. Carbon geoengineering is when carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere. This is important because carbon dioxide build-up in the atmosphere is a cause of global warming. By removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, climate change may be less severe. Solar geoengineering is an attempt to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases by blocking solar radiation and increasing the reflectivity of clouds on the Earth's surface.
Geoengineering is a controversial topic. Although geoengineering can help slow down the effects of climate change, it can also have negative effects on the environment. For instance, geoengineering can cause ocean acidification to intensify. Ocean acidification is not good because it can cause species that live in the ocean to become sick and die. Another negative effect of geoengineering is that it can cause ozone depletion. Geoengineering may also have a negative affect on plants. It reduces the amount of total sunlight that reaches the Earth's surface. Plants need sunlight to photosynthesize, and so without as much sunlight, they won't be able to photosynthesize as easily. Having less sunlight on the Earth's surface does not only affect plants; it affects humans too because there will be less sun for solar power.
Unlike geoengineering, terraforming is when the temperature, atmosphere, surface topography, or ecology of a planet or moon is changed to be similar to the environment of Earth in order for Earth-like life to be able to use it as a habitat. For instance, when a planet is too cold, hot, and/or the atmosphere is unbreathable, people will attempt to terraform it so species can live on it. Different planets need different levels of effort to terraform them. For instance, habitable planets already have life so they are already terraformed. On the other hand, a biocompatible planet has the necessary physical parameters, such as energy and stability, that it could eventually hold an ecosystem, but it would require a lot of effort to be terraformed. Besides habitable planets and biocompatible planets, there are planets that can be easily terraformed.
A common goal that a lot of people have is to terraform Mars. Unfortunately, terraforming Mars is difficult. One reason is because in order for Mars to be terraformed, the atmospheric pressure on Mars would have to be increased. Currently, the atmospheric pressure on Mars is less than 1% that of Earth. Some people believe that the Martian polar ice caps, minerals, and soil could all provide carbon dioxide which would help thicken the atmosphere on Mars. But even doing this would only increase the pressure on Mars to about 7% of that on Earth, a lot less than what would be needed to be able to have enough atmospheric pressure to terraform Mars. Therefore, Mars does not have the right resources to terraform.
To learn more about geoengineering and terraforming, come to the Marin Science Seminar at Terra Linda High School in room 207 on Wednesday, January 29. Warren Wiscombe Ph.D of NASA Goddard will be speaking. Join us and learn!
Sources:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3596048/
https://geoengineering.environment.harvard.edu/geoengineering
https://nicholas.duke.edu/news/assessing-pros-and-cons-geoengineering-fight-climate-change
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3393062/
http://climate.envsci.rutgers.edu/pdf/20Reasons.pdf
http://large.stanford.edu/courses/2016/ph240/mclaughlin2/
https://www.astro.umd.edu/~miller/teaching/astr380f09/lecture27.pdf
https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/goddard/2018/mars-terraforming
http://www.geoengineeringmonitor.org/technologies/
https://climatepolicy.org/index.cfm/climatepolicy/the-basics/there-are-many-possible-policy-responses/geoengineering/
https://interestingengineering.com/terraforming-will-define-the-long-term-future-of-humanity
http://marinscienceseminar.com/geoengineering-and-terraforming-the-manipulation-of-climate-on-earth-and-other-planets/
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| There are different methods of geoengineering, such as carbon geoengineering and solar geoengineering. |
Geoengineering is used to change the climate at a global level in order to slow down the effects of climate change. The purpose of geoengineering is to lower the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which will in turn reduce the effects of climate change. There are different techniques of geoengineering. One technique is the Stratospheric Aerosol Injunction (SAI) that would, in order to block the sun, sulphites and other particles are sprayed into the atmosphere. Another technique is to clear forests that are snow-covered. Trees would be cut down and this would increase the light reflected back into space. A third technique is ocean fertilization. The purpose of ocean fertilization is to increase the number of planktons in the ocean. This is done by dumping iron pellets into the ocean.
There are two types of geoengineering: carbon geoengineering and solar geoengineering. Carbon geoengineering is when carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere. This is important because carbon dioxide build-up in the atmosphere is a cause of global warming. By removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, climate change may be less severe. Solar geoengineering is an attempt to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases by blocking solar radiation and increasing the reflectivity of clouds on the Earth's surface.
Geoengineering is a controversial topic. Although geoengineering can help slow down the effects of climate change, it can also have negative effects on the environment. For instance, geoengineering can cause ocean acidification to intensify. Ocean acidification is not good because it can cause species that live in the ocean to become sick and die. Another negative effect of geoengineering is that it can cause ozone depletion. Geoengineering may also have a negative affect on plants. It reduces the amount of total sunlight that reaches the Earth's surface. Plants need sunlight to photosynthesize, and so without as much sunlight, they won't be able to photosynthesize as easily. Having less sunlight on the Earth's surface does not only affect plants; it affects humans too because there will be less sun for solar power.
Unlike geoengineering, terraforming is when the temperature, atmosphere, surface topography, or ecology of a planet or moon is changed to be similar to the environment of Earth in order for Earth-like life to be able to use it as a habitat. For instance, when a planet is too cold, hot, and/or the atmosphere is unbreathable, people will attempt to terraform it so species can live on it. Different planets need different levels of effort to terraform them. For instance, habitable planets already have life so they are already terraformed. On the other hand, a biocompatible planet has the necessary physical parameters, such as energy and stability, that it could eventually hold an ecosystem, but it would require a lot of effort to be terraformed. Besides habitable planets and biocompatible planets, there are planets that can be easily terraformed.
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| The surface of Mars. People have a common goal to terraform Mars, which is very difficult to do. |
A common goal that a lot of people have is to terraform Mars. Unfortunately, terraforming Mars is difficult. One reason is because in order for Mars to be terraformed, the atmospheric pressure on Mars would have to be increased. Currently, the atmospheric pressure on Mars is less than 1% that of Earth. Some people believe that the Martian polar ice caps, minerals, and soil could all provide carbon dioxide which would help thicken the atmosphere on Mars. But even doing this would only increase the pressure on Mars to about 7% of that on Earth, a lot less than what would be needed to be able to have enough atmospheric pressure to terraform Mars. Therefore, Mars does not have the right resources to terraform.
To learn more about geoengineering and terraforming, come to the Marin Science Seminar at Terra Linda High School in room 207 on Wednesday, January 29. Warren Wiscombe Ph.D of NASA Goddard will be speaking. Join us and learn!
Sources:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3596048/
https://geoengineering.environment.harvard.edu/geoengineering
https://nicholas.duke.edu/news/assessing-pros-and-cons-geoengineering-fight-climate-change
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3393062/
http://climate.envsci.rutgers.edu/pdf/20Reasons.pdf
http://large.stanford.edu/courses/2016/ph240/mclaughlin2/
https://www.astro.umd.edu/~miller/teaching/astr380f09/lecture27.pdf
https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/goddard/2018/mars-terraforming
http://www.geoengineeringmonitor.org/technologies/
https://climatepolicy.org/index.cfm/climatepolicy/the-basics/there-are-many-possible-policy-responses/geoengineering/
https://interestingengineering.com/terraforming-will-define-the-long-term-future-of-humanity
