We are pleased to welcome Andy Parker who will be delivering this week's Hotstuff Seminar:-

Title: Do volcanoes show us how we might manage short-term impacts of global warming?

Abstract:

When Mount Pinatubo erupted in the Philippines in 1991, it blasted 15 million tonnes of sulphur dioxide into the stratosphere. The SO2 reacted with water to form a fine haze of sulphuric acid droplets, which encircled the planet on the stratospheric winds and reflected a small fraction of inbound sunlight back into space. Over the next 15 months, Earth cooled by over 0.5°C, prompting scientists to wonder: could replicate this cooling effect ourselves? The short answer is that we almost certainly could, and so now people across the world are engaged in researching and debating whether we should. This presentation will provide an overview of solar radiation modification geoengineering (SRM) as a potential response to the risks of global warming. It will introduce proposed SRM techniques and their potential impacts – both physical and sociopolitical – before making the case that greatly expanded research is needed if the world is to make informed and equitable decisions over whether to implement or reject this controversial technology.

All staff and students welcome.