A system for dehydrating the atmosphere aimed at mitigating global warming and weakening weather events.

Abstract

A system for mitigating global warming and weakening weather events comprises a device located in the stratosphere, a structure connecting the stratospheric device, and a launch mechanism linking the stratospheric device and the structure to the Earth's surface. The structure will locally lower the humidity level in the environment along its trajectory thanks to the properties of the materials used, which are preferentially hydrophobic and hydrophilic. The reduction in humidity in the troposphere will mitigate the energy of weather events, and the decrease in humidity up to the top of the stratosphere will reduce the Earth's greenhouse effect.

Description

Title of the invention: Atmospheric dehydration system for mitigating global warming and weakening weather events. Technical field of the invention

[0001] The invention aims to reduce humidity in the atmosphere in order to decrease the overall greenhouse effect on Earth. More specifically, the invention aims to weaken meteorological events in general, and in particular tropical events, the most violent of which are cyclones. State of the art

[0002] The terms typhoon, cyclone, and hurricane refer to the same meteorological phenomenon, namely a swirling phenomenon in tropical regions accompanied by winds with speeds of 120 km / h or greater. Hereafter, the term cyclone will be used to describe this phenomenon.

[0003] Climate change has multiple consequences for living organisms and infrastructure. While specialists cannot definitively state that cyclones and other extreme weather events will become more frequent, the majority agree that their severity and the damage they cause will increase significantly. Regarding cyclones, not only are increasingly violent winds observed and predicted (for example, Hurricane Irma in 2017), but the affected areas will also become increasingly large. To give a sense of scale, Katrina in 2015 resulted in 1,836 confirmed deaths, 80% of New Orleans flooded, and more than one million Louisianans displaced by the disaster, at a cost of over $180 billion. This should be put into perspective by the fact that approximately 80 cyclones form each year!

[0004] Numerous meteorological studies are being conducted which are leading to an increasingly detailed knowledge of cyclones and, among other things, to an increasingly reliable prediction of their trajectory and intensity, which makes it possible to warn populations in advance.

[0005] The conditions for the formation of a cyclone include:

[0006] - a surface temperature of ocean waters greater than 26°C on a depth of about fifty meters - an absence of wind at altitude so as not to disperse convective clouds, or steady winds - a pressure gradient to allow the movement of humid air masses and cause a depression - a geographical location of the formation site a few degrees of latitude away from the equator so that the Coriolis force is not zero, thus promoting the creation of a circular movement of air masses - an influx of warm, humid air resulting from gas exchange between the ocean and the atmosphere.

[0007] - a humidity level above 70% in the troposphere to promote formation cumulonimbus cloud masses

[0008] Regarding global warming, lowering the humidity level in the stratosphere promotes the global radiative balance by reducing the greenhouse effect linked to the presence of water molecules in the stratosphere.

[0009] Intertropical Convergence Zones are areas of moisture supply from the stratosphere and therefore tackling the dehumidification of these areas contributes both to combating global warming and to combating the creation of tropical weather phenomena.

[0010] Regarding cyclones, about a hundred patents have been filed to weaken cyclones or prevent their formation without any concrete results to date.

[0011] The majority of patents will focus on the drop in ocean temperature which is the main driver of the cyclone.

[0012] Some patents propose to act on solar radiation either through reflective surfaces or through injections of substances in order to influence the global radiative balance or, more futuristically, through a network of microwave beam satellites to stifle cyclones.

[0013] Others will tackle humidity and this is not recent because already in 1891 US462795 proposed to produce rain with dry ice.

[0014] Or again, US2007114298, which proposes using oat flour that will absorb a large quantity of water. The use of dry ice is also mentioned in the claims.

[0015] US6315213 also proposes to disperse super moisture-absorbing polymers using aircraft.

[0016] US5441200 proposes to introduce agents into the wall of the eye of the cyclone hydrated, for example, copper sulfate, in order to disrupt the cyclone.

[0017] Regarding the stratosphere, several patents relate to radiative forcing in order to improve the global radiative balance of the earth and to gradually decrease the earth's temperature.

[0018] RU2012133493 proposes to use aerosols in the stratosphere comprising by Examples include mixtures of polyethers, nitroglycerin, and metal oxides to create artificial nebulosity that limits solar radiation reaching the Earth's surface.

[0019] GB2487289 proposes to inject 500,000 tonnes of particles over a period of one year Submicron particles are being sent into the stratosphere using an airship supplied from the Earth's surface via a conduit connected to the airship. The aim here, too, is to limit the amount of solar radiation reaching the airship with particles having high refractive indices.

[0020] Still with the same idea of ​​radiative forcing several patents propose to inject SO2, this is the case of GB2448595 via a balloon or of US8152091 from an airplane.

[0021] US5003186 proposes an injection of aluminium or thorium oxide.

[0022] Seeding the eye walls of hurricanes with silver iodide was attempted as part of a United States government project called Storm Fury. The results were inconclusive, and silver iodide is not necessarily a chemical harmless to the environment.

[0023] These are probably the reasons why all these patents have not led to concrete achievements, i.e. the possible and uncontrolled consequences of injecting substance into the atmosphere and perhaps of interaction between different substances.

[0024] Therefore, the present invention proposes another approach without injecting any substance into the atmosphere. Description of the invention

[0025] The idea is to have a structure between the Earth's surface (whether on land or at sea) and the stratosphere, which will reduce the humidity level in the atmosphere, thereby reducing the Earth's greenhouse effect and mitigating weather phenomena.

[0026] The system comprises a launch device, a structure and a device in the stratosphere.

[0027] To simplify, the simplest structure that can be imagined is a wire connecting, for example, a boat or a buoy, or generally any floating object at sea level, to a weather balloon, a dirigible, or a larger platform located in the stratosphere (see [Fig. 1]). Similarly, the wire can connect land from a fixed or mobile device to a balloon, a dirigible, or a platform located in the stratosphere.

[0028] The device, fixed or mobile, located on the Earth's surface (on land or at sea), must allow the probe or blimp and the structure to be launched. The length of the structure should preferably be adjusted from this launching device for reasons of ease and weight. To give simple examples, we can imagine devices similar to fishing reels that allow the length of the structure to be adjusted according to the constraints of movement at the Earth's surface, at the troposphere, and at the stratosphere. Other factors are considered between day and night, all to avoid excessive mechanical stress on the wire (the structure). For safety reasons, the launch device and the probe, airship, or platform must have means of detection. This device is preferably located outside of air traffic zones and bird migration areas. It is beneficial to have humidity sensors, ideally on the probe, airship, or platform, and possibly on the launch device, to monitor humidity levels in the system's immediate environment.

[0029] The idea is to have this system in place permanently throughout the year and over a number of years. The greater the number of systems and the larger the system, the more easily the effects can be measured and the more positively impactful the system will be.

[0030] To maintain the simplest structure of the wire, the wire should advantageously be composed of materials preferably with hydrophobic or even superhydrophobic properties and hydrophilic materials. To simplify the complex phenomenon of raindrop formation, the idea is to use both hydrophilic properties to facilitate coalescence (the formation of large drops from smaller ones) and hydrophobic or even superhydrophobic properties to facilitate the sliding of the drops.

[0031] The yarn is preferably made of polymers that can withstand mechanical stresses, thermal stresses with temperatures of about -60°C at the tropopause (boundary between the troposphere and the stratosphere), UV, and sea salt in the environment of the ocean surface.

[0032] To give an order of magnitude, considering a weather balloon with a 60 kg payload and a polymer filament 50,000 m long, with a density of 1500 kg / m³ and a diameter of 1 mm, the mass of the filament corresponds to the 60 kg payload. It is partly for this reason that it will be preferable to use an airship, which has a larger payload and, unlike the probe, is also steerable. Airships can also have flight durations in the stratosphere on the order of a year. The platform is an idea, but it will require the use of airships.

[0033] If the focus is on tropical events, the idea of ​​the invention aims, therefore, to reduce the energy of tropical phenomena by preferentially targeting the hottest areas where tropical events originate, by dehydrating columns of the troposphere (the zone of the atmosphere between the Earth's surface and an altitude of approximately 12,000 m). For tropical phenomena in the North Atlantic, the areas to be targeted are preferentially fairly large areas around the Cape Verde Islands or certain areas of the Caribbean Sea. Indeed, the moisture content in the The troposphere is one of the conditions for the formation of tropical events. One idea is therefore to try to dehumidify this column of air in the troposphere first.

[0034] Dehumidifying the stratosphere (the zone of the atmosphere between the troposphere and an altitude of approximately 50,000 m) will also reduce the greenhouse effect linked to the presence of humidity in the stratosphere and, more broadly, in the atmosphere from the Earth's surface to the top of the stratosphere. It should be noted that a significant portion of humid air enters the stratosphere in the tropics, and therefore, it is important to act in the tropics to mitigate the overall greenhouse effect. Reducing the greenhouse effect also means reducing the temperature, which is also one of the driving forces behind the formation of tropical events.

[0035] Dehumidification will also create a flow of water cooler than that present at the ocean surface, which will provide additional cooling. This is not the essential point, but we can imagine, if necessary, a freshwater recovery system.

[0036] The system is unique and depending on its terrestrial positioning it will target more the reduction of the greenhouse effect or more the mitigation of meteorological events or more globally both at the same time.

[0037] In summary, in the fight against tropical phenomena, the launching device is preferentially positioned at sea, and the aim is to target humidity in the troposphere. When the target is to reduce the terrestrial greenhouse effect, the device is not necessarily at sea, and the target is preferentially humidity in the stratosphere. Brief description of the figures

[0038] The purpose of these figures is to illustrate the idea in order to make it better understood. Figure 1 is an example of an embodiment of the invention, using a boat (10) to launch the structure (20) and the airship (30). The airship will position itself in the stratosphere. The airship (30) and the boat (10) are mobile. The length of the structure (20) is preferably controlled from the boat (10) in this embodiment. It should be understood that even though a certain form of the invention is illustrated, it should not be limited to the specific shape or arrangement shown here. It will be clear to those skilled in the art that various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention, and the invention should not be considered limited to what is shown and described in the description and drawings. Figure 2 represents 150 years of cyclone path history in the North Atlantic, and it shows that many cyclones originate around the Cape Verde Islands (orange oval and marker 1). Therefore, this area of ​​the North Atlantic is the primary focus for positioning the system or group of systems. Cyclones may also originate in the Caribbean Sea (orange oval and marker 2). Figure 3 is an example of a temperature map in the North Atlantic with two notable areas of very high temperature shown in dark red: the Horn of Africa on one hand and the Caribbean Sea on the other. These areas also correspond to the cyclone formation zones seen in Figure 2. Therefore, it is once again these areas that must be targeted for dehumidification of the entire column extending to the top of the stratosphere. - Fig. 4 is a very simplified diagram of the Earth's radiative balance to explain that the purpose of the invention for the global warming part is to increase the outgoing radiative flux through the stratosphere by decreasing the humidity level in the stratosphere in order to reduce the greenhouse effect potential of the stratosphere. - Fig. 5 is another example of a more complex realization than that of Fig. 1. In the case of Fig. 5 there is a mesh structure positioned above the sea and comprising 2 airships and 2 boats.

[0039] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF AN EMBODIMENT METHOD

[0040] Fig. 1 illustrates in a simple way the idea of ​​the invention which consists of dehydrating the troposphere and stratosphere near the structure connecting the Earth's surface to the stratosphere.

[0041] To elaborate a little more on an example of an embodiment, [Fig.5] shows a more complex system composed of 2 airships DI and D2 in the context of a maritime launch with 2 boats B1 and B2.

[0042] The structure is composed - A cable (1) connecting B1 to DI respectively - A cable (2) connecting B2 to D2 respectively - Cables (3) connecting (1) to (2) - From a cable (4) passing through the middle of the cables (3)

[0043] The order of magnitude of the length of cables 1, 2 and 3 is 60 km.

[0044] The distance between 2 cables 3 is on the order of 1 km.

[0045] The cables are composed of materials preferably with hydrophobic or even superhydrophobic properties and hydrophilic materials. Advantageously made by alternating materials preferably with hydrophobic (or superhydrophobic) properties. hydrophobic) and hydrophilic materials. Depending on altitude and temperature, the percentage of hydrophobic and hydrophilic materials may vary.

[0046] In this example, the launching of DI and D2 is carried out from Bl. In this embodiment, the lengths of cables 1, 2, and 3 are chosen to facilitate the launching of DI and then D2. Another vessel, B2, subsequently handles D2. The entire system of D1, Bl, D2, and B2 is coordinated to avoid applying stress to the structure and to position the structure for the most efficient dehumidification.

[0047] The length of cables 1 and 2 can be managed by fishing reel type systems. These “reels” are preferably located on B1 and B2 but can also be positioned on D1 and D2 in order to give more flexibility to the use of the system.

[0048] As stated previously, it will be clear to the person skilled in the art that various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention and the invention should not be considered as limited to what is described in this example of embodiment.

Claims

Demands

1. A system for mitigating global warming and weakening weather events, comprising: - A device capable of reaching and remaining in the stratosphere for as long as possible, a probe or preferably an airship or platform; - A device made of hydrophobic and / or superhydrophobic and hydrophilic material, called a structure, which connects the device positioned in the stratosphere to the launch device for the structure and the probe or airship; - A launch device for the probe or airship and for launching the structure linked to the probe or airship, located at the Earth or sea surface. Characterized in that the structure will locally lower the humidity level in the environment of the structure's trajectory in the troposphere and stratosphere due to the properties of the materials used.Hydrophilic materials will facilitate coalescence and hydrophobic materials will facilitate the sliding of water drops.

2. System according to the preceding claim, characterized in that 2 systems are connected by cables(3).

3. System according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the length of the structure is managed at the level of the launch device and / or at the level of the device in the stratosphere.

4. System according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the dimensions of the deployed structure are about 50 km in the height direction and also about 50 km in the width direction.

5. System according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a rainwater recovery device.

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