What impact do aerosols have on the earth’s climate?
Aerosols can influence the earth’s climate by reflecting radiation and affecting cloud formation. Aerosols may scatter electromagnetic radiation due to the wide range of particle sizes present. The sun’s incident radiation may be reflected back into space, or the earth’s secondary radiation may be reflected back towards the earth (as in the Greenhouse Effect).[ix] Clouds play a vital role in the earth’s climate, and aerosols play a vital role in cloud formation. Normally, water condenses out of very humid air onto atmospheric aerosols to form aggregations of water droplets – clouds. Changing the concentration of atmospheric aerosols changes the number and size of the water droplets that make up the cloud. This changes the optical properties and lifetime of the cloud, which in turn changes the amount of radiation reflected by the cloud (the “indirect effect”).[x]The details and consequences of these effects are not well documented. The effects of aerosols on climate are one of the major
