UK Govt Confirmed As Funding Geoengineering Projects; Sulfate Aerosol Injections, "Restoring" Vanishing Sea Ice

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Real-world geoengineering experiments spanning the globe from the Arctic to the Great Barrier Reef are being funded by the UK government. They will test sun-reflecting particles in the stratosphere, brightening reflective clouds using sprays of seawater and pumping water on to sea ice to thicken it.

Getting this “critical missing scientific data” is vital with the Earth nearing several catastrophic climate tipping points, said the Advanced Research and Invention Agency (Aria), the government agency backing the plan. If demonstrated to be safe, geoengineering could temporarily cool the planet and give more time to tackle the root cause of the climate crisis: the burning of fossil fuels.

The experiments will be small-scale and rigorously assessed before going ahead, Aria said. Other projects in the £56.8m programme will model the impacts of geoengineering on the climate and research how it could be governed internationally. Geoengineering is controversial, with some scientists calling it a “dangerous distraction” from cutting emissions and concerned about unintended climate impacts. Some previously planned outdoor experiments have been cancelled after strong opposition. However, given the failure of the world to stop emissions rising to date, and the recent run of record hot years, backers of solar geoengineering say researching the technology is vital in case an emergency brake is needed. The Aria programme, along with another £10m project, makes the UK one of the biggest funders of geoengineering research in the world.

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Another three experiments will test how seawater sprays or electrical charges delivered by drones can seed tiny water droplets, making clouds over the oceans reflect more sunlight. One will expand current work over the Great Barrier Reef, which is in crisis because of global heating, and may reach 100sq km in scale, while another will take place on the UK coast. A fifth experiment will involve pumping water on to sea ice in Canada in winter, reaching up to one 1 sq km in scale. The water will freeze and preserve the ice sheet for longer in summer. Bright white ice reflects far more sunlight than the dark ocean revealed when sea ice is lost to warming waters.

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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/may/07/real-world-geoengineering-experiments-revealed-by-uk-agency