00:00What if scientists could make clouds brighter to weaken the impacts of the Super El Nino by slightly cooling the
00:07Pacific?
00:08It sounds like science fiction, but it's a real concept that some scientists are discussing, sparking some major debate.
00:14The concept of marine cloud brightening is proposed, spraying a mist of seawater or tiny sea salt particles into low
00:21ocean clouds.
00:22Tiny salt crystals act as cloud condensation nuclei, producing bright, highly reflective clouds that would bounce more sunlight back into
00:31space.
00:31In computer simulations, researchers found the technique could reduce the intensity of powerful El Nino events
00:38and potentially lessen the extreme heat, floods, droughts, and wildfires associated with weather events like El Nino around the world.
00:46But here's the catch. This would be geoengineering, and it's highly controversial.
00:50Scientists warned there could be unintended consequences for weather patterns elsewhere, and no one knows all the long-term risks.
00:58Most researchers also stress this would not be a replacement for cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
01:03It's simply a concept that deserves more study.
01:05In the meantime, the idea recently explored in the journal Science Advances is not being used, just discussed.
01:11One of the authors of the study who works with Scripps Oceanography says the study is not advocating for it,
01:17just exploring the concept.
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