When Mount Pinatubo erupted in 1991, about a million tons of sulfur dioxide was pumped into the stratosphere, reacting with water to form a hazy layer that spread around the globe, and – by scattering and absorbing incoming sunlight – cooled the earth’s surface for almost two years. We could mimic this effect through stratospheric aerosol insertion – essentially launching material like sulfur dioxide or soot into the stratosphere.
当皮纳图博火山在1991年喷发的时候，大约100万吨二氧化硫被排放到大气的同温层当中，随后与水汽共同作用，形成了一个雾状的气层并散布到整个地球——这一气层散射和吸收了射进来的太阳光线——致使地球表面温度降低长达两年之久。而我们则可以通过在同温层注入悬浮粒气体来模拟这种效应&#45;&#45;&#45;&#45;实质上就是向同温层发射二氧化硫或煤灰等物质。