Can oceanic foams limit global warming?

Abstract

When the diverse methods proposed for solar radiation management are surveyed, a relatively simple, environmentally acceptable, double-acting mechanism for increasing the earth's albedo emerges. It is a low-level environmental intervention that enhances a mechanism already active in nature by increasing the foam fraction of the ocean surface. Bubble rafts increase the optical reflectivity of the ocean and when bubbles burst, they launch seasalt particles that loft and increase the number concentration of cloud droplets in the marine boundary layer, thus increasing the reflectivity of stratocumulus. A strategy based on recent research for producing microbubbles appears to be the best option for large-scale use.