Previous research had indicated that aerosol could create a cooling effect in the atmosphere by reflecting back the sun’s heat into the atmosphere and thus reduce global warming. However, a recent research is completely contradictory and states that they can help raise the average temperature of the Earth.
Soot-filled aerosol clouds also known as ‘Brown Clouds’ have been spotted over the Indian Ocean and researchers believe that they might be responsible for Himalayan Glacier melt. According to researchers, these brown clouds can cover the north Indian Ocean, an area close to that of the continental U.S. and their haze could be up to 2 miles thick.
These brown clouds are filled with dark colored soot that enables them to absorb sun’s energy and then release it to the surrounding air as heat, resulting in an increase in the average temperature. The rest is taken care of by us as we add more dark soot to the atmosphere making things worse.
Scientists have also stated that soot is mainly found in two colors – the darker soot leads to global warming and the lighter soot does not absorb the sun’s heat but reflects it back into space resulting in a cooling effect.
NASA is planning to launch a new satellite dubbed ‘Glory’ in 2008 that will be equipped with special sensors to determine the exact quantity of solar energy that is absorbed by the aerosols.
Via: National Geographic
