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Impacts of marine cloud brightening scheme on climatic extremes in the Tibetan Plateau

  • Zhihua Zhang
    ,
  • Yuanzhuo Zhu
    ,
  • James Crabbe
  • Shandong University
    ,
  • University of Oxford
Research Output:
Contribution to journal
Article
 Peer-review

Open access

Sustainable Development Goals

  • SDG 13 - Climate Action
    SDG 13 Climate Action
  • SDG 14 - Life Below Water
    SDG 14 Life Below Water

Abstract

As an ecologically fragile plateau and major water source in Asia, the Tibetan Plateau (TP) has grown warmer over recent decades, contributing to frequent occurrence of extreme climate events. It is urgently needed to find a suitable option to mitigate climate change impacts in the TP. The marine cloud brightening (MCB) scheme is proposed to mitigate global warming through the increasing cloud droplet number concentration of low marine clouds to reflect some solar radiation back into space. Until now, impacts of MCB scheme on the TP have not been investigated. In this study, we utilized 13 Expert Team on Climate Change Detection and Indices to assess the evolution of climate extremes over the TP with/without MCB implementation. We found that although the MCB is implemented over ocean only, it would cause significant changes on climate extremes in the TP which is very far from oceans and much higher than sea level. During 2030–2059, MCB implementation can decrease warm temperature extremes, leading to a significant decrease in the TXx index by 6–18°C, the TX90p index by 15–45 days, and the TN90p index by 15–50 days. MCB implementation would also have some cooling effects on cold temperature extremes, leading to an increase in the ID index by 30–80 days, the TX10p index by 22–32 days, and the TN10p index by about 12 days and a decrease in the TNn index by 0.5–1.5°C. Although MCB implementation would not have much impacts on precipitation extremes, it would significantly increase the area of the region with <10% drought frequency, and increase the drought intensity in the west of Lhasa city.

Publication Information

Output type

Research Output:
Contribution to journal
Article
 Peer-review

Original language

English

Article number

20220500

Journal (Volume, Issue Number)

Central European Journal of Geosciences (Volume 15, Issue 1)

Publication milestones

  • Accepted/In press - 22/05/2023
  • Published - 29/09/2023

Publication status

Published - 29/09/2023

ISSN

2081-9900

Publication IDs

  • handle.net: 10547/626123
  • Scopus: 85173621266

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