11-21-2017, 03:15 AM
(11-09-2017, 04:42 AM)iancampbell Wrote: There are greenhouse gases stronger than either CO2 or methane; CFCs come to mind, but they are undesirable for other reasons. I suppose something like HCFCs (hydrochlorofluorocarbons) which are rather more stable might work. Apparently, sulfur hexafluoride SF6 is very good at absorbing IR light but it's such a heavy gas that mixing it into the atmosphere would be problematic.
Of course, large amounts of any of these in the atmosphere would be a mammoth, and continuing, industrial project. Nothing in Earthly life metabolises them, so one would be stuck with factories.
Sulfur hexafluoride (produced in factories designed for that purpose) was used to warm up the Martian atmosphere in Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy. It has the advantage of being non-toxic, though if I remember correctly the Mars trilogy raised the issue of UV light breaking down SF6 in Mars's upper atmosphere.
I wonder how useful SF6 would be for terraforming in real life.