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Vennam LP, Vizuete W, Talgo K, Omary M, Binkowski FS, Xing J, Mathur R, Arunachalam S. Modeled Full-Flight Aircraft Emissions Impacts on Air Quality and Their Sensitivity to Grid Resolution. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH. ATMOSPHERES : JGR 2017; 122:13472-13494. [PMID: 29707471 PMCID: PMC5920554 DOI: 10.1002/2017jd026598] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Aviation is a unique anthropogenic source with four-dimensional varying emissions, peaking at cruise altitudes (9-12 km). Aircraft emission budgets in the upper troposphere lower stratosphere region and their potential impacts on upper troposphere and surface air quality are not well understood. Our key objective is to use chemical transport models (with prescribed meteorology) to predict aircraft emissions impacts on the troposphere and surface air quality. We quantified the importance of including full-flight intercontinental emissions and increased horizontal grid resolution. The full-flight aviation emissions in the Northern Hemisphere contributed ~1.3% (mean, min-max: 0.46, 0.3-0.5 ppbv) and 0.2% (0.013, 0.004-0.02 μg/m3) of total O3 and PM2.5 concentrations at the surface, with Europe showing slightly higher impacts (1.9% (O3 0.69, 0.5-0.85 ppbv) and 0.5% (PM2.5 0.03, 0.01-0.05 μg/m3)) than North America (NA) and East Asia. We computed seasonal aviation-attributable mass flux vertical profiles and aviation perturbations along isentropic surfaces to quantify the transport of cruise altitude emissions at the hemispheric scale. The comparison of coarse (108 × 108 km2) and fine (36 × 36 km2) grid resolutions in NA showed ~70 times and ~13 times higher aviation impacts for O3 and PM2.5 in coarser domain. These differences are mainly due to the inability of the coarse resolution simulation to capture nonlinearities in chemical processes near airport locations and other urban areas. Future global studies quantifying aircraft contributions should consider model resolution and perhaps use finer scales near major aviation source regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- L. P. Vennam
- Institute for the Environment, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - W. Vizuete
- Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - K. Talgo
- Institute for the Environment, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - M. Omary
- Institute for the Environment, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - F. S. Binkowski
- Institute for the Environment, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - J. Xing
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, Durham, NC, USA
| | - R. Mathur
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, Durham, NC, USA
| | - S. Arunachalam
- Institute for the Environment, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
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Lee D, Pitari G, Grewe V, Gierens K, Penner J, Petzold A, Prather M, Schumann U, Bais A, Berntsen T, Iachetti D, Lim L, Sausen R. Transport impacts on atmosphere and climate: Aviation. ATMOSPHERIC ENVIRONMENT (OXFORD, ENGLAND : 1994) 2010; 44:4678-4734. [PMID: 32288556 PMCID: PMC7110594 DOI: 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2009.06.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 97] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2008] [Revised: 05/30/2009] [Accepted: 06/02/2009] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
Aviation alters the composition of the atmosphere globally and can thus drive climate change and ozone depletion. The last major international assessment of these impacts was made by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 1999. Here, a comprehensive updated assessment of aviation is provided. Scientific advances since the 1999 assessment have reduced key uncertainties, sharpening the quantitative evaluation, yet the basic conclusions remain the same. The climate impact of aviation is driven by long-term impacts from CO2 emissions and shorter-term impacts from non-CO2 emissions and effects, which include the emissions of water vapour, particles and nitrogen oxides (NO x ). The present-day radiative forcing from aviation (2005) is estimated to be 55 mW m-2 (excluding cirrus cloud enhancement), which represents some 3.5% (range 1.3-10%, 90% likelihood range) of current anthropogenic forcing, or 78 mW m-2 including cirrus cloud enhancement, representing 4.9% of current forcing (range 2-14%, 90% likelihood range). According to two SRES-compatible scenarios, future forcings may increase by factors of 3-4 over 2000 levels, in 2050. The effects of aviation emissions of CO2 on global mean surface temperature last for many hundreds of years (in common with other sources), whilst its non-CO2 effects on temperature last for decades. Much progress has been made in the last ten years on characterizing emissions, although major uncertainties remain over the nature of particles. Emissions of NO x result in production of ozone, a climate warming gas, and the reduction of ambient methane (a cooling effect) although the overall balance is warming, based upon current understanding. These NO x emissions from current subsonic aviation do not appear to deplete stratospheric ozone. Despite the progress made on modelling aviation's impacts on tropospheric chemistry, there remains a significant spread in model results. The knowledge of aviation's impacts on cloudiness has also improved: a limited number of studies have demonstrated an increase in cirrus cloud attributable to aviation although the magnitude varies: however, these trend analyses may be impacted by satellite artefacts. The effect of aviation particles on clouds (with and without contrails) may give rise to either a positive forcing or a negative forcing: the modelling and the underlying processes are highly uncertain, although the overall effect of contrails and enhanced cloudiness is considered to be a positive forcing and could be substantial, compared with other effects. The debate over quantification of aviation impacts has also progressed towards studying potential mitigation and the technological and atmospheric tradeoffs. Current studies are still relatively immature and more work is required to determine optimal technological development paths, which is an aspect that atmospheric science has much to contribute. In terms of alternative fuels, liquid hydrogen represents a possibility and may reduce some of aviation's impacts on climate if the fuel is produced in a carbon-neutral way: such fuel is unlikely to be utilized until a 'hydrogen economy' develops. The introduction of biofuels as a means of reducing CO2 impacts represents a future possibility. However, even over and above land-use concerns and greenhouse gas budget issues, aviation fuels require strict adherence to safety standards and thus require extra processing compared with biofuels destined for other sectors, where the uptake of such fuel may be more beneficial in the first instance.
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Affiliation(s)
- D.S. Lee
- Dalton Research Institute, Department of Environmental and Geographical Sciences, Manchester Metropolitan University, Chester Street, Manchester M1 5GD, UK
- Corresponding author. Tel.: +44 161 247 3663.
| | - G. Pitari
- Dipartimento di Fisica, University of L'Aquila, Vio Vetoio Località Coppito, 67100 l'Aquila, Italy
| | - V. Grewe
- Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre, Oberpfaffenhofen, D-82234 Wessling, Germany
| | - K. Gierens
- Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre, Oberpfaffenhofen, D-82234 Wessling, Germany
| | - J.E. Penner
- Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences, University of Michigan, 2455 Hayward St., Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2143, USA
| | - A. Petzold
- Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre, Oberpfaffenhofen, D-82234 Wessling, Germany
| | - M.J. Prather
- Department of Earth System Science, University of California, Irvine, 3329 Croull Hall, CA 92697-3100, USA
| | - U. Schumann
- Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre, Oberpfaffenhofen, D-82234 Wessling, Germany
| | - A. Bais
- Laboratory of Atmospheric Physics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - T. Berntsen
- Department of Geosciences, University of Oslo, PO Box 1022 Blindern, 0315, Oslo, Norway
| | - D. Iachetti
- Dipartimento di Fisica, University of L'Aquila, Vio Vetoio Località Coppito, 67100 l'Aquila, Italy
| | - L.L. Lim
- Dalton Research Institute, Department of Environmental and Geographical Sciences, Manchester Metropolitan University, Chester Street, Manchester M1 5GD, UK
| | - R. Sausen
- Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre, Oberpfaffenhofen, D-82234 Wessling, Germany
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Amato F, Moreno T, Pandolfi M, Querol X, Alastuey A, Delgado A, Pedrero M, Cots N. Concentrations, sources and geochemistry of airborne particulate matter at a major European airport. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2010; 12:854-62. [DOI: 10.1039/b925439k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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