Ocean mirror is a less well-known method for limiting the effects of sunlight to reduce global temperature. This method uses long-lasting foams made from materials—such as latex, polystyrene, and ethyl cellulose—to reflect and direct sunlight elsewhere (like a mirror). Ocean mirror involves utilizing a fleet of vessels to create millions of microbubbles on the ocean, creating the foam mentioned earlier. Normally, ocean reflectance is around 5% globally, but ocean mirrors manage to reflect about 50–54% of sunlight.
To be more specific on the positive impacts ocean mirrors may bring, the microbubbles formed not only reduce the amount of sunlight reaching the ocean but also—in doing so—help reduce global temperature by cooling down the world (as sunlight is a major source of heat). Furthermore, a cooler ocean will absorb CO2 more efficiently, which can also help in reducing the greenhouse effect by absorbing the gases that trap the heat inside of the earth (especially underwater, where the most heat is trapped). The good thing is, that these bubbles can last up to three weeks. Overall, his method further pushes forward efforts to combat global warming and climate change.
However, many negative impacts also come with ocean mirrors. First off, marine plants will wither as they don’t receive enough sunlight to perform adequate photosynthesis. As a result, the food chain of the entire ecosystem in the ocean will be disturbed as plants (a major food source for many organisms) diminish in their population. Moreover, there will be less oxygen in the upper part of the ocean because of the decrease in marine plants that produce oxygen. As a result, organisms in shallow waters will not be able to survive. In addition, ocean mirrors require an exponential amount of energy and fuel in order to be able to function properly.
Through modeling exercises, it is found that geoengineering with ocean microbubbles could affect 2 billion people through regional weather changes and extreme events such as floods and droughts. Harvard physicist Russell Seitz suggested that brightening the ocean (using foam) could have advantages over using aerosols in the atmosphere. However, while there may be benefits, the consequences may still be far too detrimental for this method to be reliable.
Work Cited:
“Explainer: Six Ideas to Limit Global Warming with Solar Geoengineering.” Carbon Brief, 27 Feb. 2019, https://www.carbonbrief.org/explainer-six-ideas-to-limit-global-warming-with-solar-geoengineering/
Whittaker2014-10-30T00:00:00 00:00, Dannielle. “Mirror Mirror on the Ocean.” Chemistry World, 30 Oct. 2014, https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/mirror-mirror-on-the-ocean/7914.article
This is really cool