Could diamond dust help address the issue of climate change? The precious stone may not be the first thing that comes to mind when we think about climate change, but researchers have proposed an innovative way to combat global warming, at least in theory.
The plan involves releasing 5 million tons of diamond particles into the atmosphere. If everything goes according to plan, this could lower the global temperature by 1.6°C — a significant figure, especially considering that the world may have already surpassed the 1.5°C warming threshold set by the Paris Agreement.
Geoengineering is a controversial field of research that aims to mitigate the effects of climate change and global warming by manipulating natural processes. This study examines a specific type of geoengineering known as "stratospheric aerosol injection."
Stratospheric aerosol injection involves dispersing vast amounts of tiny particles or aerosols into the stratosphere — the second layer of the atmosphere — with the goal of deflecting sunlight and creating a cooling effect that either slows down or reverses global warming. Typically, stratospheric aerosols contain sulfur particles. However, this may present its own set of climate-related risks. Indeed, injecting sulfur particles into the air could have the opposite effect and trigger warming in the stratosphere.
So, if sulfur particles are problematic, are there any acceptable alternatives? To find out, researchers developed a 3D climate model to simulate how aerosols made from different materials react in the atmosphere. This included aerosols made from aluminum, calcite, silicon carbide, anatase, and rutile, as well as diamond and sulfur dioxide.