On the Application of Optimal Control Theory to Climate Engineering

TL;DR

This paper applies optimal control theory to climate engineering, using a simplified climate model to identify optimal aerosol injection strategies for temperature regulation under different greenhouse gas scenarios.

Contribution

It introduces a novel application of optimal control theory to climate engineering, demonstrating its use with a zero-dimensional climate model and various emission scenarios.

Findings

Optimal control strategies vary across different greenhouse gas scenarios.

Analytical and numerical methods effectively identify optimal aerosol injection plans.

The approach provides a systematic framework for climate intervention planning.

Abstract

The new method is considered for identifying the perfect (optimal) scenario of climate engineering operations based on the optimal control theory. The application of this approach is demonstrated using zero-dimensional energy-balance climate model. The global average surface temperature represents the state variable and the reflective power of aerosols injected into the stratosphere is designated as the control variable. Maximum principle is used to find the best possible control and the associated climate system trajectory for a specific objective function (performance measure). Discussed illustrative results were analytically and numerically calculated using the four greenhouse gas concentration scenarios based on the Representative Concentration Pathways.