Stephen Salter of the University of Edinburgh is proposing a fleet of yachts that sprays water droplets into the clouds as the way to damp down global warming. According to the researcher, the droplets will boost the whiteness of low-altitude clouds so that they reflect more sunlight back into space.

Salter believes that chimneys mounted on a fleet of 500 sprayer yachts would cancel a year’s worth of global warming from carbon dioxide emissions over their 20-year lifetime.

The yachts will be propelled by spinning vertical cylinders known as Flettner rotors. The rotors will double as chimneys for the water droplets. As the remotely controlled vessels move through the water, the motion will drive turbines that will generate electricity to power the sprayers. Salter is investigating the use of a centrifuge or ultrasonic atomiser, like the nebulisers used for dispensing asthma drugs.

Via New Scientist.