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6th Meeting of the 190th Session (2010-2011)
In the Augustine United Church
41 George IV Bridge
Edinburgh,
EH1 1EL
On Monday 28th March 2011, at 7pm
The planet is rapidly warming. The Artic Ice Sheet is shrinking: some scientists and models suggest that by 2030 the North West Passage will be navigable in the summer, others say by 2013. Concomitant methane releases from melting permafrost will produce further greenhouse gas emissions and speed up the rate of temperature rise.
A stop-gap option, recommended by a recent Royal Society report, is to use "Solar Radiation Management" techniques until longer term solutions can be implemented. One such scheme, "Cloud Brightening" could provide a 50-year respite.
This talk will discuss the observed climate change, give an explanation of current theories as to why this change is occurring, discuss briefly some of the current options under discussion, and specifically discuss the cloud brightening proposal.
Alan Gadian is a senior scientist in the Weather division of the National Centre for Atmospheric Science (NCAS) and is based in the University of Leeds, School of Earth and Environment. Current research includes the COPS (Convective and Orographically induced Precipitation study), VOCALS a stratocumulus experiment, and an Antarctic Funding Initiative programme in a study of atmospheric waves over the Antarctic peninsula. He is editor of the Royal Meteorological Society Journal, Atmospheric Science Letters.
Members of the Public are welcome to attend
Jane Ridder-Patrick, Secretary
secretary@rssa.org.uk
The Royal Scottish Society of Arts is Registered Scottish Charity SC015549