Exploring the Impacts of Absorbing and Scattering Stratospheric Aerosols with Planetary Cooling (April 24, 2025)

Explore a 23-minute lecture by Gabriel Vecchi that delves into the comparative impacts of absorbing and scattering stratospheric aerosols on planetary cooling. The presentation builds upon research showing that absorbing aerosols positioned high in the stratosphere are more efficient at cooling the planet per unit mass than scattering aerosols. Discover how these different cooling agents affect stratospheric ozone through offline calculations from climate model data, which helps identify key mechanisms for interpreting complex interactive models and field data. Learn how tropical cyclones respond differently to stratospheric aerosols based on altitude and whether the aerosols are strongly scattering or absorbing. The lecture also examines impacts on regional temperature extremes and precipitation patterns, analyzing the extent to which regional and extreme responses correlate with temperature changes. This talk is part of the Solar Radiation Management Annual Meeting 2025 hosted by the Simons Foundation.