ISSN 0001-4338, Izvestiya, Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics, 2011, Vol. 47, No. 4, pp. 430–438. © Pleiades Publishing, Ltd., 2011.
Original Russian Text © E.M. Volodin, S.V. Kostrykin, A.G. Ryaboshapko, 2011, published in Izvestiya AN. Fizika Atmosfery i Okeana, 2011, Vol. 47, No. 4, pp. 467–476.
430
1. INTRODUCTION
In recent years there has been a resurgence of inter-
est in the development of unconventional measures to
stabilize the Earth’s climate (geoengineering), among
which the stratospheric injection of sulfur compounds
resulting in the formation of aerosol is considered to
be one of the most promising methods [1]. The con-
clusion about the benefits of using such methods can
certainly be made only on the basis of a complex
assessment of the consequences of geoengineering. A
number of papers are therefore devoted to mathemat-
ically modeling the consequences of geoengineering.
Models of intermediate complexity [2, 3], as well as
atmosphere–ocean general circulation models,
including atmosphere–ocean general circulation and
atmospheric chemistry [4, 5], are used for their assess-
ment. The results of studies on the simulation of
geongineering were summarized in [1]. The distinc-
tion of the given paper from those listed above is,
firstly, an investigation of the effectiveness of the
geoengineering approach depending on the latitude
and longitude of injection of sulfur compounds. Sec-
ondly, the given paper most fully treats the variety of
factors that influence or depend on the simulated
geoengineering, including the transport and chemical
conversions of sulfur compounds resulting in the for-
mation of aerosol, atmosphere–ocean general circu-
lation, the carbon cycle, and atmospheric chemistry.
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE MODEL
AND NUMERICAL EXPERIMENTS
A model of the Earth’s system that included the
atmospheric dynamics, the ocean dynamics, atmo-
spheric chemistry, and the carbon cycle was used to
perform a series of numerical experiments to investi-
gate the effectiveness of geoengineering depending on
the altitude and latitude of injection [6]. In the atmo-
sphere, the model has a resolution of 5° by 4° in longi-
tude and latitude and 39 levels extending to 90 km. In
the ocean the resolution is 1° by 0.5° in longitude and
latitude with 40 levels vertically.
The model includes a module of atmospheric
chemistry [7]. The influence that the geoengineered
sulfate aerosol has on atmospheric chemistry is taken
into account through a prescribed surface area of aero-
sol particles. It is assumed that the aerosol itself does
not participate in chemical reactions, but some reac-
tions of the chlorine and bromine cycles, which, in
particular, ultimately change the ozone concentra-
tion, can proceed on its surface.
The model also includes a calculation of compo-
nents of the carbon cycle in accordance with [8],
although the concentration of carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere was prescribed.
The atmospheric model is supplemented by a sulfur
scheme describing the transport and physicochemical
conversions of four substances: H
2
S, SO
2
, H
2
SO
4
, and
Simulation of Climate Change Induced by Injection
of Sulfur Compounds into the Stratosphere
E. M. Volodin
a
, S. V. Kostrykin
a
, and A. G. Ryaboshapko
b
a
Institute of Numerical Mathematics, Russian Academy of Sciences, ul. Gubkina 8, Moscow, 119991 Russia
e-mail: volodin@inm.ras.ru
b
Institute of Global Climate and Ecology, Roshydromet, Russian Academy of Sciences,
ul. Glebovskaya 20b, Moscow, 107258 Russia
e-mail: agryaboshapko@mail.ru
Received February 17, 2010; in final form, February 24, 2011
Abstract—An atmosphere–ocean general circulation model including the atmospheric chemistry and car-
bon cycle was used to perform numerical experiments to simulate the consequences of geoengineering. Out
of the five emission scenarios considered here, the scenario where the injection of sulfur compounds occurs
near the equator at an altitude between 22 and 24 km can be considered the most efficient in the sense of a
maximum decrease in globally averaged surface temperature. We consider the equilibrium distribution of the
sulfate aerosol and changes in temperature at the Earth’s surface and at different altitudes, in precipitation,
in ozone concentration, and in primary plant productivity caused by geoengineering.
Keywords: climate change, geoengineering, aerosol, stratosphere, precipitation, ozone.
DOI: 10.1134/S0001433811040116