Can Diamond Dust Help Cool Earth? Exploring Costs and Geoengineering Risks

Injecting
diamond
dust
into
the

atmosphere
could
potentially
cool
the

planet
by
1.6ºC,
according
to
a
recent
study
published
in
Geophysical
Research
Letters.
Led
by
Sandro
Vattioni,
a
climate
scientist
at
ETH
Zürich,
the
research
explores
whether
diamonds,
as
opposed
to
commonly
used
materials
like
sulfur,
could
offer
a
safer
and
more
effective
method
for
stratospheric
aerosol
injection.
This
method
is
aimed
at
reflecting
sunlight
back
into
space
to
mitigate
global
warming.

Diamonds
Versus
Sulfur
for
Cooling

While
sulfur
has
been
studied
as
a
cooling
agent—largely
inspired
by
volcanic
eruptions
that
inject
sulfur
dioxide
into
the
atmosphere—the
material
poses
significant
risks,
including
ozone
depletion
and
acid
rain.
Diamonds,
on
the
other
hand,
are
chemically
inert
and
would
not
contribute
to
these
hazards.
Vattioni
and
his
team
ran
complex
climate
models
to
assess
the
impact
of
different
materials.
Diamonds
stood
out
for
their
reflective
properties
and
ability
to
remain
aloft
without
clumping
together.

The
Steep
Costs
of
Diamonds

Although
diamonds
could
offer
a
promising
solution,
their
cost
is
a
major
drawback.
With
synthetic
diamond
dust
estimated
to
cost
around
$500,000
per
ton,
scaling
up
production
to
inject
5
million
tons
annually
would
demand
an
enormous
financial
commitment.
According
to
Douglas
MacMartin,
an
engineer
at
Cornell
University,
the
cost
of
deploying
diamond
dust
from
2035
to
2100
could
reach
$175
trillion.
This
price
tag
far
exceeds
the
relatively
inexpensive
sulfur,
which
is
readily
available
and
much
easier
to
disperse.
MacMartin
suggests
that
sulfur
may
still
be
the
material
of
choice
due
to
its
lower
cost
and
ease
of
use.

Debate
Continues
on
Geoengineering

Geoengineering
research,
including
the

study
of
alternative
materials
like
diamonds,
remains
a
contentious
topic.
Critics
like
Daniel
Cziczo,
an
atmospheric
scientist
at
Purdue
University,
argue
that
the
risks
of
unintended
consequences
outweigh
the
potential
benefits.
However,
Shuchi
Talati,
executive
director
of
the
Alliance
for
Just
Deliberation
on

Solar
Geoengineering,
emphasises
that
research
is
essential
for
understanding
all
possible
options,
especially
for
nations
most
vulnerable
to
climate
change