Supercomputer Will Help Decide Whether to Block the Sun

A new supercomputer is helping climate scientists determine whether injecting human-made, sun-blocking aerosols into the stratosphere would also alter thunderstorms and rainfall

CLIMATEWIRE | A new supercomputer for climate research will help scientists study the effects of solar geoengineering, a controversial idea for cooling the planet by redirecting the sun’s rays.

The machine, named Derecho, began operating this month at the National Center for Atmospheric Research and will allow scientists to run more detailed weather models for research on solar geoengineering, said Kristen Rasmussen, a climate scientist at Colorado State University who is studying how human-made aerosols, which can be used to deflect sunlight, could affect rainfall patterns.

Because Derecho is 3 ½ times faster than the previous NCAR supercomputer, her team can run more detailed models to show how regional changes to rainfall can be caused by the release of aerosols, adding to scientists’ understanding of the risks from solar geoengineering, Rasmussen said. The machine will also be used to study other issues related to climate change.