Sulfur dioxide being spewed into the stratosphere by coal-fired power plants and volcanic eruptions has blunted the impact of global warming over the past decade, offsetting roughly one third of the increased heat caused by greenhouse gas emissions, according to a new study. Researchers at the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) found that stratospheric aerosols formed by sulfur dioxide have nearly doubled in the past decade, and that those aerosols have been reflecting a significant amount of heat back into space. “Aerosols acted to keep warming from being as big as it would have been,” said NOAA atmospheric scientist John Daniel, a co-author of the study published online in Science. Much of the sulfur dioxide that rose into the stratosphere six miles above the Earth came from coal-fired power plants, the study said. The aerosol finding, along with a weaker sun due to the most recent solar cycle, may help explain why global warming has not accelerated as rapidly in the past decade as it did in the 1990s. But scientists say that if major polluters such as China add better scrubbing technology to their power plants, then aerosols in the stratosphere are likely to decrease, which could accelerate warming.
Stratospheric Pollution Is Slowing Global Warming, Study Says
More From E360
-
Energy
Why U.S. Geothermal May Advance, Despite Political Headwinds
-
Food & Agriculture
In War Zones, a Race to Save Key Seeds Needed to Feed the World
-
Climate
Lightning Strikes the Arctic: What Will It Mean for the Far North?
-
RIVERS
A Win for Farmers and Tribes Brings New Hope to the Klamath
-
Solutions
Deconstructing Buildings: The Quest for New Life for Old Wood
-
NATURAL DEFENSES
How Restored Wetlands Can Protect Europe from Russian Invasion
-
Solutions
Birds vs. Wind Turbines: New Research Aims to Prevent Deaths
-
FORESTS
Cambodian Forest Defenders at Risk for Exposing Illegal Logging
-
OPINION
The ‘Green’ Aviation Fuel That Would Increase Carbon Emissions
-
CONSERVATION
Out of the Wild: How A.I. Is Transforming Conservation Science
-
Energy
China’s Mega Dam Project Poses Big Risks for Asia’s Grand Canyon
-
Solutions
How Natural Solutions Can Help Islands Survive Sea Level Rise