Subsidence of aircraft engine exhaust in the stratosphere: Implications for calculated ozone depletions
- Atmospheric Environmental Research, Inc., Cambridge, MA (United States)
- Aerodyne Research, Inc., Billerica, MA (United States)
The deposition altitude of nitrogen oxides and other exhaust species emitted by stratospheric aircraft is a crucial parameter in determining the impact of these emissions on stratospheric ozone. The authors have utilized a model for the wake of a High-Speed Civil Transport (HSCT) to estimate the enhancements in water and reductions in ozone in these wakes as a function of time. Radiative calculations indicate differential cooling rates as large as -5K/day at the beginning of the far-wake regime, mostly due to the enhanced water abundance. These cooling rates would imply a net sinking of the wakes of about 1.2 km after three days in the limit of no mixing. Calculated mid-latitude column ozone reductions due to emissions from a Mach 2.4 HSCT would then change from about-1% to -0.6%. However, more realistic calculations adopting moderate mixing for the wake reduce the net sinking to less than 0.2 km, making the impact of radiative subsidence negligible. 15 refs., 3 figs., 1 tab.
- OSTI ID:
- 5050005
- Journal Information:
- Geophysical Research Letters (American Geophysical Union); (United States), Vol. 21:1; ISSN 0094-8276
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
EXHAUST GASES
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
NITROGEN OXIDES
AIRCRAFT
ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY
OZONE
STRATOSPHERE
CHALCOGENIDES
CHEMISTRY
EARTH ATMOSPHERE
FLUIDS
GASEOUS WASTES
GASES
NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
WASTES
540120* - Environment
Atmospheric- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport- (1990-)