Abstract
Sulfur aerosols and soot from supersonic aircraft may cause greater climate impacts than the emitted CO2. Both fuel composition and cruise altitude must be considered when evaluating the effects of supersonic aircraft on climate and the ozone layer.
Highlights
Environmental impacts associated with the operation of supersonic aircra in the stratosphere have been an object of scienti c interest since the 1970s when the rst commercial supersonic airliners, the Tupolev Tu-144 and the Concorde, entered service
Our survey of the literature shows a range of À0.003% loss per Tg Nitrogen oxide (NOx) to +0.035% loss per Tg NOx, with the highest values inferred from simulations by Dessens et al and in the results reported in Kawa et al for the GSFC 2-D model
We show that the sign of the net non-CO2, non-contrail radiative forcing due to potential supersonic aviation may be uncertain at current levels of scienti c understanding, and is subject to design choices such as the cruise altitude, and to operational choices such as fuel composition
Summary
Environmental impacts associated with the operation of supersonic aircra in the stratosphere have been an object of scienti c interest since the 1970s when the rst commercial supersonic airliners, the Tupolev Tu-144 and the Concorde, entered service.
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