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. 2025 May 16;11(20):eadu4038.
doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adu4038. Epub 2025 May 14.

How marine cloud brightening could also affect stratospheric ozone

Ewa M Bednarz  1   2 , James M Haywood  3   4 , Daniele Visioni  5 , Amy H Butler  2 , Andy Jones  3
Affiliations

How marine cloud brightening could also affect stratospheric ozone

Ewa M Bednarz et al. Sci Adv. .

Abstract

Stratospheric ozone plays a crucial role in life and ecosystems on Earth, with a vast amount of research focused on the effects of human activities on ozone. Yet, impacts of tropospheric climate intervention methods like marine cloud brightening (MCB) have not previously been considered to reach the stratosphere. In this study, we demonstrate that MCB can also have a significant impact on both stratospheric and tropospheric ozone, and discuss the processes via which such an influence could occur. Our results demonstrate the inherent coupling between the troposphere and the stratosphere and underscore the need to assess not just the potential surface climate impacts of MCB, or any other climate intervention, but also their holistic interaction with the whole Earth system, including the middle atmosphere.

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Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.. Simulated ozone changes under different climate intervention scenarios.
Top: time series of yearly mean ensemble mean (A) tropical and (B) NH midlatitude total ozone columns in the greenhouse gas–only SSP5-8.5 simulation and the three climate intervention scenarios (G6mcb, G6sulfur, and G6solar). Bottom: changes in the late 21st century (2070 to 2089) (C) yearly mean zonal mean ozone mixing ratios (%) and (D) monthly mean total ozone column (DU) between G6mcb and SSP5-8.5 (shading). Contours show the corresponding values in SSP5-8.5 (2070 to 2089) for reference. Hatching marks areas where the response is not statistically significant (defined here as smaller than ± 2 standard errors in the difference in means). See figs. S1 and S2 for the corresponding changes in G6solar and G6sulfur.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.. Dynamic drivers of the simulated ozone response to MCB.
Shading: yearly mean late 21st century (2070 to 2089) changes in (A) zonal mean temperature (K), (B) near-surface air temperature (K), (C) zonal mean zonal wind (m/s), (D) eddy geopotential height at 500 hPa, (E) zonal mean age of air (days), and (F) zonal mean N2O mixing ratios [parts per billion (ppb)] between G6mcb and SSP5-8.5. Contours show the corresponding values in SSP5-8.5 for reference [for (E), these are in the units of years]. Hatching as in Fig. 1. See figs. S4 to S9 for the corresponding changes in G6solar and G6sulfur.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 3.. Chemical drivers of the simulated ozone response to MCB.
Shading: yearly mean late 21st century (2070 to 2089) changes in zonal mean (A) NO2 mixing ratios (ppb), (B) lightning NOx production rate (10−15 mol/m3/s), (C) water vapor (%), and (D) ClO [parts per trillion (ppt)] between G6mcb and SSP5-8.5. Contours show the corresponding values in SSP5-8.5 for reference [in units of ppm for (C)]. Hatching as in Fig. 1. See figs. S14 to S17 for the corresponding changes in G6solar and G6sulfur.
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