A California research team, earlier in the news for a brief cloud-generating experiment on a retired aircraft carrier, had larger plans to conduct a much larger geoengineering experiment, documents released by Politico show. The planned experiment was intended to generate clouds over an oceanic expanse larger than Puerto Rico, and questions had been raised regarding transparency and environmental hazards.
The experiment, spearheaded by the University of Washington's Marine Cloud Brightening Program, was first tested in Alameda, California in 2024. It was supposed to last several months but was suddenly stopped after only 20 minutes when local authorities said they weren't told. The test involved spraying saltwater into the air to make clouds whiter and more reflective, a technique of solar radiation management (SRM) that aims to cool the Earth by bouncing sunlight back into space.
Based on internal emails, funding proposals, and text messages, the researchers were already getting some federal funding and seeking additional support, including government ship and plane access. The team also suggested expanding the program to coastal areas off North America, Chile, and a portion of Africa. Environmental experts criticized the absence of community outreach. "Alameda was just a stepping stone to something much bigger, and there wasn't any interaction with local communities," said Sikina Jinnah, professor of environmental studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
University administrators later minimized the scope of the larger project. Program director Sarah Doherty explained that the project is only concerned with assessing the technical feasibility of cloud-brightening technology and does not endorse deploying geoengineering measures for climate intervention.
Solar geoengineering is very much a contentious field of climate science. Methods like stratospheric aerosol injection and marine cloud brightening are widely controversial for their ability to destabilize global weather patterns and agriculture. Opponents also mention the danger of "termination shock," which would be created if these interventions were abruptly discontinued. Geoengineering conspiracies have also charged political opposition. US Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene recently proposed a bill that criminalizes such technology, associating it with weather-related catastrophes. Similarly, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law a ban on chemical releases intended to change the climate.
The project has not wavered under criticism, however, as it attracts heavy private funding. Prominent investors include cryptocurrency mogul Chris Larsen, heiress Rachel Pritzker, and venture capitalist Chris Sacca. Larsen stood behind the research, highlighting the need to investigate all avenues of possible climate fixes in the face of political opposition and reduced budgets.
The Quadrature Climate Foundation in London has donated close to $17 million toward the effort, making its contributions via advocacy organization SilverLining and directly to the University of Washington. SilverLining, which had more than $3.6 million in revenue for 2023, has also made donations that have come from foundations that belong to former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer and Intel co-founder Gordon Moore.
