@timrichards this was described in Red Mars/Blue Mars/ Green Mars as a way to cool the surface of Venus and to heat the surface of Mars.
IIRC, the Corporate Authorities repurposed it to attack the Eco-Terrorists, so it was blown up, causing huge loss of life and further ecological damage.
The Science in Kim Stanley-Robinsons Mars Trilogy was accurate to what we knew in the 1990s, but is very out of date and inaccurate to what we know 30 years later.
It will be interesting to see how the science in Andy Weir’s books holds up in 20 years time.