"Could Changing the Aircraft Altitude Help with Flight's Impact on the Climate? : by Angel D.
It is said that Aviation affects the climate in a number of ways and because that any carbon dioxide that is emitted into the air stays there for over a hundred years, the effects last. When any type of aircraft burns fuel it is emitting short lived gases like nitrogen oxides. These nitrogen oxides can react to other gases into the air within a day. When these gases are released at altitude they can react with oxygen in the air and put more ozone in the air and remove methane. Both of these gases are greenhouse gases and contribute to warming because of the chemical reactions of this whole process. Emissions from flying are said to be tripled by the year 2050 if demand for air travel continues to grow and most likely it will. So these issues involving the climate can potentially worsen as time goes on. Many scientists have been thinking of ways they can fix this particular issue. At Imperial College London, a group of scientists did a study and have come to the conclusion that the damage caused by one consequence (altitude) of aircraft can be reduced as much as 59%
These scientists want to eradicate airplane contrails. Airplane contrails are those white streaks that you see following an airplane. NASA defines contrails as “a type of ice cloud formed by aircraft as water vapor condenses around small dust particles.” Apparently these contrails can block outgoing heat and essentially created a covering around earth, trapping the heat and heating up earth’s surface. In November of last year, a group of scientists concluded that contrails are responsible for 14% of air damages and climate. Contrails also don’t last long and approximately only last for around 18 hours. Marc Stettler, a scientist who worked on this study, spoke to CNN and stated “If we were to stop producing contrails the effects would go away the next day.” These scientists believe that we should fly aircraft lower or higher to help rid the world of contrails because these ice clouds only form in thinner atmospheres with high humidity. They admit that changing flight altitude it would consume more fuel but only at a 0.1% rise. Do you guys believe this is a good idea? Should we really consider messing with aircraft altitude? These scientists are in contact with aviation authorities and believe that everyone should take this seriously. Do you think this is as big a deal to our world as these scientists say it is?
Works Cited
http://theconversation.com/climate-explained-how-much-does-flying-contribute-to-climate-change-127707
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/airplane-contrails-climate-change-science-study/index.html
I think the idea of changing altitudes is good, but i don't see how it is realistic. Different airplanes fly at different altitudes based off of their engines and fuel capacity and many other factors. I would assume that raising altitude and lowering altitude would completely change everything in aviation and that would not be beneficial. I think that some people are trying to help with this air pollution by traveling by efficient boats and sail boats, which is something more people could start doing. I think that this is a good idea, but not very realistic.
ReplyDeleteI think that it is definitely a good idea, but I don't really think it will actually come into action. Because that 0.1% gas increase can build up and eventually cost a lot of money. Plus changing the altitude would be very hard to do. It could cause accidents because air traffic control would have to get used to everyone flying at a new level. They would change almost everything about air travel ,and I don't think that this idea will ever be put into action.
ReplyDeleteI think that it is a great idea. Just like everyone else I do not think it will ever happen. I also think that it could be really dangerous to mess with the height of aircrafts. I also think that airplane contrails look pretty cool even if they are bad for the environment.
ReplyDeleteChanging altitudes would be beneficial yet challenging to do. Most commercial flights have always flown around 30,000 feet. Many of the aircraft are built for that altitude and work best for it. Even if we raise cruising altitude to 40,000 feet it will cause more stress on the aircraft and will push the limits of them. I think if we do change the cruising altitude to higher we need to do it slowly so that aircraft companies can build for that requirement.
ReplyDeleteThis is definitely a new idea that I haven't heard. Aircraft can fly higher, but they must have the proper engines capable of producing enough thrust and lift to carry them to those altitudes. In addition, it is hard for larger planes to fly at higher altitudes where the air is thinner. Aircraft probably wouldn't be able to fly lower to noise pollution. However, I think a new generation of air travel could come forth from this idea. High altitude passenger planes could be on the cutting edge within the next few decades. definitely think this is a proposition that should be considered.
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