A Framework for Minimizing Remote Effects of Regional Climate Interventions: Cooling the Great Barrier Reef Without Teleconnections

Abstract Climate interventions like Marine Cloud Brightening have gained attention for their potential to protect vulnerable marine ecosystems from the worst impacts of climate change. Early modeling studies raised concerns about potential harmful global side effects stemming from regional intervent...

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Main Authors: Will Krantz, J. David Neelin, Fiaz Ahmed
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2025-05-01
Series:Geophysical Research Letters
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL113191
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author Will Krantz
J. David Neelin
Fiaz Ahmed
author_facet Will Krantz
J. David Neelin
Fiaz Ahmed
author_sort Will Krantz
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Climate interventions like Marine Cloud Brightening have gained attention for their potential to protect vulnerable marine ecosystems from the worst impacts of climate change. Early modeling studies raised concerns about potential harmful global side effects stemming from regional interventions. Here we propose a modeling framework to evaluate these risks based on using maximal deployment scenarios in a global climate model to identify potential pathways of concern, combined with more realistic large intervention levels. We demonstrate this framework by modeling a cooling intervention over the Great Barrier Reef using the Community Earth System Model. We identify potential impacts on tropical convection that could produce remote impacts, and show that limiting intervention duration to deployment in the key season largely eliminates these risks. Overall we illustrate that the local ecological goals can be achieved at a level of cooling well below what poses a risk of significant remote effects.
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spelling doaj-art-0884cd3baf594d63818bae052f2ec9b32025-08-20T03:10:31ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072025-05-015210n/an/a10.1029/2024GL113191A Framework for Minimizing Remote Effects of Regional Climate Interventions: Cooling the Great Barrier Reef Without TeleconnectionsWill Krantz0J. David Neelin1Fiaz Ahmed2Institute of the Environment and Sustainability University of California Los Angeles CA USADepartment of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences University of California Los Angeles CA USADepartment of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences University of California Los Angeles CA USAAbstract Climate interventions like Marine Cloud Brightening have gained attention for their potential to protect vulnerable marine ecosystems from the worst impacts of climate change. Early modeling studies raised concerns about potential harmful global side effects stemming from regional interventions. Here we propose a modeling framework to evaluate these risks based on using maximal deployment scenarios in a global climate model to identify potential pathways of concern, combined with more realistic large intervention levels. We demonstrate this framework by modeling a cooling intervention over the Great Barrier Reef using the Community Earth System Model. We identify potential impacts on tropical convection that could produce remote impacts, and show that limiting intervention duration to deployment in the key season largely eliminates these risks. Overall we illustrate that the local ecological goals can be achieved at a level of cooling well below what poses a risk of significant remote effects.https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL113191climate interventionteleconnectionsclimate dynamicsmarine cloud brighteninggeoengineering
spellingShingle Will Krantz
J. David Neelin
Fiaz Ahmed
A Framework for Minimizing Remote Effects of Regional Climate Interventions: Cooling the Great Barrier Reef Without Teleconnections
Geophysical Research Letters
climate intervention
teleconnections
climate dynamics
marine cloud brightening
geoengineering
title A Framework for Minimizing Remote Effects of Regional Climate Interventions: Cooling the Great Barrier Reef Without Teleconnections
title_full A Framework for Minimizing Remote Effects of Regional Climate Interventions: Cooling the Great Barrier Reef Without Teleconnections
title_fullStr A Framework for Minimizing Remote Effects of Regional Climate Interventions: Cooling the Great Barrier Reef Without Teleconnections
title_full_unstemmed A Framework for Minimizing Remote Effects of Regional Climate Interventions: Cooling the Great Barrier Reef Without Teleconnections
title_short A Framework for Minimizing Remote Effects of Regional Climate Interventions: Cooling the Great Barrier Reef Without Teleconnections
title_sort framework for minimizing remote effects of regional climate interventions cooling the great barrier reef without teleconnections
topic climate intervention
teleconnections
climate dynamics
marine cloud brightening
geoengineering
url https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL113191
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