Cloud-Seeding Surprise Could Improve Climate Predictions

By Davide Castelvecchio | Scientific American | May 26, 2016

Molecules released by trees can seed clouds, two experiments have revealed. The findings, published on May 25 in Nature and Science, run contrary to an assumption that the pollutant sulphuric acid is required for a certain type of cloud formation—and suggest that climate predictions may have underestimated the role that clouds had in shaping the pre-industrial climate.

If the results of the experiments hold up, predictions of future climate change should take them into account, says Reto Knutti, a climate modeller at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich). For 20 or more years, clouds have been the largest source of uncertainty in understanding how manmade emissions affect the atmosphere, he says.

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