Scientists Devise A $200 Trillion Diamond Dust Earth Umbrella To Fight Climate Change

Proposals to combat climate change have ranged from placing data centers in space, to a lunar missions designed to dim the Sun with Moon dust. Now, a new study suggests using $200 trillion worth of diamond dust to create an umbrella over Earth to fight climate change. The group of scientists using 3D models to compare aerosols believe dropping diamond dust from an airplane into the atmosphere could cool help the planet.

Researchers involved in the study indicate other recent studies have shown that stratospheric warming could be reduced by injecting solid particles into Earth’s atmosphere, instead of gaseous sulfur dioxide, which is the current frontrunner for the strategy of injecting aerosols into the atmosphere to reflect sunlight and excess heat back into space. The researchers, however, also note that most of these studies only looked at the stratospheric particle mass required for a given radiative force, while not accounting for gravitational settling of particles, or the effect of particles sticking together after collision. Potential side effects from using a gas such as sulfur dioxide could instigate worldwide acid rain, lead to more damage to the ozone layer, and possibly produce more catastrophic weather changes in the lower atmosphere.

These possibilities led the researchers of the new study to look at other aerosol candidates that might prove safer. The team created a 3D climate model in order to assess the impacts of these different aerosols, which were conducted at the Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science at ETH Zurich. The candidates included calcite, diamond, aluminum, silicon carbide, anatase, rutile, and sulfur dioxide.

To the surprise of the team, diamond dust prevailed as the winner. They concluded that diamond dust particles would reflect the most light and heat, while remaining aloft for reasonable time periods, and are less likely to clump together and retain heat. Another bonus is that diamond dust is chemically inert, reducing the potential to produce acid rain, which is a large concern with sulfur dioxide.

While diamond dust might be the best candidate, it clearly would not be the cheapest. The recommended model includes injecting about 5 million tons of synthetic diamond dust into the atmosphere each year to cool the Earth by around 1.6 degrees Celsius in about 45 years’ time. After doing the math, that would come out to a total price tag of roughly $200 trillion.

There are also technical and logistical issues that would have to be overcome with using diamond dust. For one, creating and synthesizing diamond dust on such a grand scale would require advancements in current technology. Another issue would include the development of aircraft capable of carrying out the mission on a global scale.

So, while diamond dust may be a planet’s best friend in terms of helping with climate change, it is not something that could be carried out anytime soon. Therefore, the hunt for an alternative goes on.