Aerosols are particles like soot and desert dust
Aerosols are small particles like soot, ash and desert dust in the atmosphere, also known as particulate matter. They have a net cooling effect on climate, but to what extent is unclear. The range runs from 0.2 to even 0.9 degrees Celsius dampening influence on global warming. Fine dust affects climate both directly via reflection and absorption of sunlight, and indirectly by acting as a starting point for cloud formation. The lack of low-lying cloud cover, for example, is one of the causes of the record warm year 2024.
SRON uses space instruments
SRON uses space instruments to investigate exactly how aerosols affect climate. The SPEXone instrument aboard NASA’s climate satellite PACE measures the amount of particulate matter and their distribution in the atmosphere all over the Earth (LINK). SPEXone also provides information on the type of aerosol and their size. SPEX airborne delivers additional data from a high-altitude aircraft and verifies the satellite measurements.
Turning the knobs of climate models
To answer how aerosols affect climate, SRON scientists are comparing satellite data with climate models. They are turning the knobs of those models until they eventually produce the same picture as what satellites actually see of clouds and particulate matter. That will produce more accurate climate models with a significantly smaller ‘gap’ in our knowledge of the damping influence of aerosols than 0.7 degrees Celsius.
