Optimal Sunshade Configurations for Space-Based Geoengineering near the Sun-Earth L1 Point.

ABSTRACT: Within the context of anthropogenic climate change, but also considering the Earth's natural climate variability, this paper explores the speculative possibility of large-scale active control of the Earth's radiative forcing. In particular, the paper revisits the concept of deploying a large sunshade or occulting disk at a static position near the Sun-Earth L1 Lagrange equilibrium point. Among the solar radiation management methods that have been proposed thus far, space-based concepts are generally seen as the least timely, albeit also as one of the most efficient. Large occulting structures could potentially offset all of the global mean temperature increase due to greenhouse gas emissions. This paper investigates optimal configurations of orbiting occulting disks that not only offset a

SUBMITTER: Sanchez JP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4550401 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature