Contrails, formed by aircraft engines, are a major component of aviation’s impact on anthropogenic climate change. Contrail avoidance is a potential option to mitigate this warming effect, however, uncertainties surrounding operational constraints and accurate formation prediction make it unclear whether it is feasible. Here we address this gap with a feasibility test through a randomized controlled trial of contrail avoidance in commercial aviation at the per-flight level. Predictions for regions prone to contrail formation came from a physics-based simulation model and a machine learning model. Participating pilots made altitude adjustments based on contrail formation predictions for flights assigned to the treatment group. Using satellite-based imagery we observed 64% fewer contrails in these flights relative to the control group flights, a statistically significant reduction (p = 0.0331). Our targeted per-flight intervention allowed the airline to track their expected vs actual fuel usage, we found that there is a 2% increase in fuel per adjusted flight. This study demonstrates that per-flight detectable contrail avoidance is feasible in commercial aviation.

    Vapour trails (contrails) from aircraft make a substantial contribution to aviation’s climate impact. Here we execute a per-flight contrail avoidance feasibility test through altitude adjustments based on contrail formation predictions. The avoidance regime resulted in a 64% reduction in satellite-visible contrails at a 2% increase in fuel burn per adjusted flight.


    Zugriff

    Download


    Exportieren, teilen und zitieren



    Titel :

    Feasibility test of per-flight contrail avoidance in commercial aviation


    Weitere Titelangaben:

    Commun Eng


    Beteiligte:
    Sonabend-W, Aaron (Autor:in) / Elkin, Carl (Autor:in) / Dean, Thomas (Autor:in) / Dudley, John (Autor:in) / Ali, Noman (Autor:in) / Blickstein, Jill (Autor:in) / Brand, Erica (Autor:in) / Broshears, Brian (Autor:in) / Chen, Sixing (Autor:in) / Engberg, Zebediah (Autor:in)

    Erschienen in:

    Erscheinungsdatum :

    20.12.2024




    Medientyp :

    Aufsatz (Zeitschrift)


    Format :

    Elektronische Ressource


    Sprache :

    Englisch





    Feasibility test of per-flight contrail avoidance in commercial aviation

    Aaron Sonabend-W / Carl Elkin / Thomas Dean et al. | DOAJ | 2024

    Freier Zugriff

    Feasibility test of per-flight contrail avoidance in commercial aviation

    Sonabend-W, Aaron / Elkin, Carl / Dean, Thomas et al. | Springer Verlag | 2024

    Freier Zugriff

    Contrail Avoidance Project Summary

    Noppel, Frank / Singh, Riti | SAE Technical Papers | 2007


    Contrail Avoidance Project Summary

    Noppel, F. / Singh, R. / Society of Automotive Engineers | British Library Conference Proceedings | 2007