The impact of flying isn’t just about carbon emissions! Do you know that there are other footprints in the sky?
What are non-CO2 emissions?
When an airplane flies, the engine emits much more that just carbon dioxide.
- Soot particles
- Water vapour
- Nitrogen oxides
from exhaust plumes are also emitted and interact with the atmosphere.
Non-CO2 emissions interact with the atmosphere and also create:
- Contrails
- Contrails cirrus
The effects of these non-CO2 emissions
- Nitrogen oxides (NOx): alters the chemistry of the air, increases ozone (O3) and reduces methane (CH4)
- Sooth particultes: act as a nucleus for ice formation and promotes contrails
- Water vapour at high altitude: amplifies the greenhouse effect
The result: a global warming effect that is sometimes comparable to, or even greater than, that of CO2 emissions also amplified by contrails and contrail-cirrus that trap heat in the atmosphere.
What PACIFIC does to tackle this challenge?
PACIFIC studies how het fuel composition and aircraft engines influence non-Co2 emissions.
Objective: to better model, predict and reduce the climate impact of aviation