An international team of scientists from Switzerland and the United States has found evidence that dropping diamond dust from airplanes into the atmosphere can cool the Earth.
Oku.Az reports that the study was published in the scientific journal “Geophysical Research Letters.”
The team built a 3D model to determine which material is best suited for climate control. The program also considered the effects of different aerosols, such as light and heat reflection.
The researchers then simulated the impact on Earth of dispersed particles of seven materials: calcite, diamond, aluminum, silicon carbide, rutile, sulfur dioxide and anatase (a variation of titanium dioxide).
The results showed that diamond dust will reflect the most light and heat. In addition, diamond particles can remain in the air for a long time without sticking to each other.
Scientists noted that diamond is chemically inert, so it does not react with other compounds in the atmosphere and does not cause acid rain (unlike sulfur dioxide).
According to the model, spraying 5 million tons of synthetic diamond dust into the atmosphere would cool the Earth by 1.6°C in 45 years. However, the cost of such a project will amount to around $200 billion.
