Sustainability In The Air The perils of ignoring contrails in aviation’s race to net-zero
In this episode, we talk to Dr Florian Allroggen, Executive Director, Aerospace Climate & Sustainability, and a Research Scientist in MIT’s Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, who shares insights into the science of contrails and their impact on aviation’s climate footprint.
Allroggen discusses his role, focusing on understanding aviation’s environmental impact and developing solutions for a net-zero pathway. He highlights several key issues:
- The formation of contrails as ice clouds when aircraft exhaust meets cold atmospheric conditions, and their dual role in both warming and cooling the atmosphere.
- The comparable magnitude of contrail warming effects to CO2 emissions, with varying impacts depending on the timeframe considered – contrails having larger short-term effects while CO2’s impact accumulates over centuries.
- The potential for contrail avoidance through flight path adjustments, particularly by changing aircraft altitude rather than horizontal routing, due to the “pancake-like” nature of contrail-forming regions.
- The development of real-time contrail detection technology using NASA satellite imagery and machine learning, currently being tested with Delta Air Lines.
- The challenges of implementing contrail avoidance strategies, including the need for air traffic control coordination and the balance between fuel efficiency and contrail reduction.
- The need for a holistic approach to aviation sustainability, addressing both CO2 and non-CO2 impacts while maintaining safety.
Throughout the conversation, Allroggen advocates for practical experimentation and implementation of contrail mitigation strategies, while acknowledging the uncertainties and challenges involved. He emphasises the importance of making robust decisions despite uncertainties, drawing parallels with everyday decision-making under uncertain conditions.
If you LOVED this episode, you’ll also love the conversation we had with Maxime Meijers and Nicolas Meijers, co-founders of Estuaire. Check it out here.
Learn more about the innovators who are navigating the industry’s challenges to make sustainable aviation a reality, in our new book ‘Sustainability in the Air’. Click here to learn more.
Feel free to reach out via email to podcast@simpliflying.com. For more content on sustainable aviation, visit our website green.simpliflying.com and join the movement. It’s about time.
Links & More:
Impacts of multi-layer overlap on contrail radiative forcing - DOAJ
Delta to work with MIT to study impact of airplane contrails on climate - CEHS
How rerouting planes to produce fewer contrails could help cool the planet - MIT Technology Review