Abstract
IT has been hypothesized that climate may be noticeably affected by changes in cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) concentrations, caused either by changes in the flux of dimethylsulphide (DMS) from the oceans1,2 and/or by man-made increases in the flux of sulphur dioxide (SO2) into the atmosphere3. When oxidized, the sulphur compounds produce non-sea-salt sulphate (n.s.s.-SO2−4,) aerosols, which may act as CCNs. The CCN changes affect climate by altering the number density and size distribution of droplets in clouds, and hence their albedo. Here I am concerned primarily with the possible effects of SO2. Because the increase in SO2 emissions has been largely in the Northern Hemisphere, this raises the possibility of a cooling of the Northern Hemisphere relative to the Southern3. By comparing observed differences in hemispheric-mean temperatures with results from a simple climate model, one can place limits on the possible magnitude of any SO2-derived forcing. The upper limit is sufficiently large that the effects of SO2 may have significantly offset the temperature changes that have resulted from the greenhouse effect.
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Wigley, T. Possible climate change due to SO2-derived cloud condensation nuclei. Nature 339, 365–367 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1038/339365a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/339365a0
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