Is a mass increase of surface albedo a viable mitigator of global warming?

#1

Post by djordjije » Wed, Apr 24, 2024, 4:10 PM UTC

I have seen a lot of posts here in regards to new technologies that create renewable energy, sequester carbon dioxide and make current use of energy more efficient.

I am not a professional in this field by any means. But I remember learning once that whiter colors reflect more light back to space. It seems like a pretty simple way to help with the cool down. But I am not sure if it's just something that is simply not feasible because of how much of the global surface would need to be altered. I have not seen a lot of research on this.

Is this something that is just not worth the effort?

Re: Is a mass increase of surface albedo a viable mitigator of global warming?

#2

Post by subject4056 » Wed, Apr 24, 2024, 4:12 PM UTC

https://makesunsets.com/

Re: Is a mass increase of surface albedo a viable mitigator of global warming?

#3

Post by PaulHoule » Wed, Apr 24, 2024, 4:16 PM UTC

The most developed idea like this is

https://csl.noaa.gov/news/2024/400_0320.html

There is definitely research on how vegetation cover affects albedo

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7641169/

It is also widely known you can reduce the urban heat island effect by using whiter colored roofs. I haven't seen any paper that makes a conclusive effort that things like spreading out light colored sand or tarps isn't worth it.

Re: Is a mass increase of surface albedo a viable mitigator of global warming?

#4

Post by dave4420 » Wed, Apr 24, 2024, 4:32 PM UTC

Part of climate change is that the Earth’s albedo is heading in the opposite direction — as the ice caps melt, less light gets reflected into space, more gets absorbed.

It feels like you’d need to lighten the Earth’s surface a lot just to counter that effect, let alone mitigate warming from other causes.

On a local level, this can work well to keep a town/city cooler. I’d plant greenery as well rather than just paint roads white though.