Cloud-making ships to tackle climate change

The idea of using ‘geo-engineering’ projects to tackle climate change is not new, but amongst the various proposals to either reduce sunlight levels or take CO2 out of the air by man-made means, one in particular is gaining increasing support from the scientific community.

A study by the think-tank, the Copenhagen Consensus Centre has suggested that the idea of autonomous cloud-making ships could be a cost-effective way of cancelling out the effect of man-made CO2 emissions. Dr Stephen Salter of Edinburgh University promoted the idea last year and the Royal Society is expected to voice its support next month.

The idea would cost £5.3bn and could be in operation within twenty-five years.

What is a cloud-making ship?

Unmanned sailing ships would patrol the oceans, spraying tiny droplets of seawater into existing clouds in order to enlarge and thereby whiten them – bouncing more radiation back into space and cooling the atmosphere in the process.

It is claimed that a change in the brightness of marine clouds could cool the earth enough to compensate for the increase in man-made carbon dioxide over the last century.

The ships would operate in a 1900-strong fleet and rotary-sail technology would ensure not only that the vessels received all the power they needed from wind and seawater, but that they could easily be operated remotely by computer.

A spokesperson for the Environmental Transport Association (ETA) said: “Cloud ships are a fascinating idea, but at present there is no substitute for a dramatic reduction in the amount of fossil fuel we consume.”

What is a rotor ship?

A rotor-powered ship replaces conventional sails with spinning rotors. It works because a spinning body in a moving airstream experiences a force perpendicular to the direction of the airstream. In the case of the Dr Slater’s design, propeller-like turbines in the water beneath the ship power both the spinning rotors and the droplet-generator.

In 1926, a rotor-ship crossed the Atlantic, and whilst the technology did not catch on at the time, the high price of oil has prompted German energy company, Enercon to develop and this month launch the first rotor-powered cargo ship (pictured right).

How are clouds made artificially?

In this case, seawater is forced through an incredibly fine mesh to produce a mist of droplets less than one micron wide, known as cloud condensation nuclei. These ‘seeds’ are the particles around which water vapour coalesces to form rain.

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What is the ETA?

The ETA provides motorists and cyclists with carbon-neutral breakdown cover and insurance products

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