Cleaner burning aviation fuels can reduce contrail cloudiness

Voigt, Christiane; Kleine, Jonas; Sauer, Daniel; Moore, Richard H.; Bräuer, Tiziana; Clercq, Patrick Le; Kaufmann, Stefan H. E.; Scheibe, Monika; Jurkat‐Witschas, Tina; Aigner, Manfred; Bauder, Uwe; Boose, Yvonne; Borrmann, Stephan; Crosbie, Ewan; Diskin, G. S.; DiGangi, J. P.; Hahn, Valerian; Kenntner, Mareike; Huber, Felix; Nowak, John B.; Rapp, Markus; Rauch, Bastian; Robinson, Claire; Schripp, Tobias; Shook, Michael A.; Winstead, Edward L.; Ziemba, L. D.; Schläger, Hans; Anderson, B. E.

doi:10.1038/s43247-021-00174-y

Cited by 118 publications

(112 citation statements)

References 55 publications

(103 reference statements)

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“…Moore et al (2017) used in situ data to show that biofuel blending reduces soot particle number and mass emissions by 50 to 70%. A reduction in contrail ice particle numbers of similar magnitude was reported by Voigt et al (2021) for semisynthetic and biofuel blends observed during the ECLIF I and ECLIF II/NDMAX experiments near 10 km altitude. Here, we give a more comprehensive overview of the ECLIF II/NDMAX contrail ice measurements and extend the study to a larger altitude range between 9.1 and 9.8 km.…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 81%

“…The ECLIF II/NDMAX flight experiment was part of the DLR project Emission and Climate Impact of Alternative Fuels and the NASA DLR Multidisciplinary Airborne Experiment. It aimed to quantify the impact of jet fuel aromatic content and molecular structure on soot emissions, ice crystals formation and contrail properties (Bräuer et al, 2021;Voigt et al, 2021).…”

Section: Eclif Ii/ndmaxmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Ice number concentrations were measured with the Fast Forward Scattering Spectrometer Probe (FFSSP) in a particle size range between 1 and 25 µm (Baumgardner and Gandrud, 1998). The data were corrected for small particles following Bräuer et al (2021) so that particle concentration between 0.5 and 1 µm can also be estimated. The instrument was mounted next to the CO 2 inlet on the upper side of the DC-8 fuselage.…”

Section: Particle and Trace Gas Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…HEFA is produced through transesterification and hydrogenation of bio-based oils (Kaltschmitt and Neuling, 2018). Due to the reduced aromatic content and varied hydrocarbon types in the fuels, they have the potential to change soot emissions and microphysical contrail properties (Voigt et al, 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We also add observations for higher altitudes between 11.4 and 11.6 km. The influence of ambient parameters on microphysical contrail properties is discussed by Bräuer et al (2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Reduced ice number concentrations in contrails from low aromatic biofuel blends

Bräuer

Voigt

Sauer

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Abstract. Sustainable aviation fuels can reduce contrail ice numbers and radiative forcing by contrail cirrus. We measured apparent ice emission indices for fuels with varying aromatic content at altitude ranges of 9.1–9.8 km and 11.4–11.6 km. Measurement data were collected during the ECLIF II/NDMAX flight experiment in January 2018. The fuels varied in both aromatic quantity and type. Between a sustainable aviation fuel blend and a reference fuel Jet A-1, a maximum reduction in apparent ice emission indices of 40 % was found. We show vertical ice number and extinction distributions for three different fuels and calculate representative contrail optical depths. Optical depths of contrails (0.5–3 minutes in age) were reduced by 40 to 52 % for a sustainable aviation fuel compared to the reference fuel. Our measurements suggest that sustainable aviation fuels result in reduced ice particle numbers, extinction coefficients, optical depth and climate impact from contrails.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 81%

Section: Eclif Ii/ndmaxmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Particle and Trace Gas Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We also add observations for higher altitudes between 11.4 and 11.6 km. The influence of ambient parameters on microphysical contrail properties is discussed by Bräuer et al (2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Reduced ice number concentrations in contrails from low aromatic biofuel blends

Bräuer

Voigt

Sauer

et al. 2021

Preprint

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A “greenhouse gas balance” for aviation in line with the Paris Agreement

Fuglestvedt

Lund

Kallbekken

et al. 2023

WIREs Climate Change

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The effects of aviation on climate pose unique policy challenges. A large fraction of the CO2 emissions (65%) is international and not (explicitly) included in the Paris Agreement. The interpretation of Article 4.1 on achieving a “balance between anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks of greenhouse gases” is ambiguous in the context of aviation because of the substantial non‐CO2 effects associated with the sector. For the achievement of the temperature goal in Article 2, both CO2 and non‐CO2 effects are important. The non‐CO2 effects contribute 66% of the sectoral total climate effect (in terms of Effective Radiative Forcing; ERF) at present, with significant uncertainties. The largest of these non‐CO2 effects, contrail‐cirrus and the net‐effect of NOx, are not caused by direct greenhouse gas emissions, representing another ambiguity as to whether they should be included in the balance concept. We discuss the role of aviation in the context of the Paris Agreement, and present illustrative calculations of a hypothetical aviation “greenhouse gas balance.” Several questions are addressed: Which components should be included? If an aggregate of components is adopted for the “balance,” which metric should be used? How can the large differences in timescales as well as the large intrinsic underlying ERF uncertainties be handled? We demonstrate that these choices result in very different requirements for CO2‐removal from the atmosphere and different temperature outcomes over time. The article provides policymakers with an overview of issues and choices that are important regarding which approach is most appropriate for defining and achieving a greenhouse gas balance for aviation in the context of the Paris Agreement.This article is categorized under: Policy and Governance > International Policy Framework Climate and Development > Knowledge and Action in Development Paleoclimates and Current Trends > Climate Forcing

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Near-term climate risks and sunlight reflection modification: a roadmap approach for physical sciences research

Wanser¹,

Doherty

Hurrell

et al. 2022

Climatic Change

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Current impacts and escalating risks of climate change require strong and decisive action to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. They also highlight the urgency of research to enhance safety for human and natural systems, especially for those most vulnerable. This is reflected in two recent US National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine studies that recommended a national focus on advancing our understanding of how to manage urgent current and future climate risks, and the study of approaches for increasing the reflection of sunlight from the atmosphere to reduce global warming, a process referred to as sunlight reflection modification (SRM). Here, we build on these recommendations by proposing a roadmap approach for the planning, coordination, and delivery of research to support a robust scientific assessment of SRM to reduce near-term climate risks in a defined timeframe. This approach is designed to support the evaluation of SRM as a possible rapid, temporary, additive measure to reduce catastrophic impacts from anthropogenic climate change, not as a substitute for aggressive GHG mitigation. Assessing SRM is proposed to be undertaken in the context of climate hazard risks through 2050, weighing the impacts associated with likely climate change trajectories against scenarios of possible SRM implementations. Provided that research is undertaken openly and that scientific resources are made widely available, the transparency of the process and the evidence generated would contribute to the democratization of information, participation by diverse stakeholders, more informed decision-making, and better opportunities for all people to weigh SRM options against climate change risks.

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Cleaner burning aviation fuels can reduce contrail cloudiness

Cited by 118 publications

References 55 publications

Reduced ice number concentrations in contrails from low aromatic biofuel blends

Reduced ice number concentrations in contrails from low aromatic biofuel blends

A “greenhouse gas balance” for aviation in line with the Paris Agreement

Near-term climate risks and sunlight reflection modification: a roadmap approach for physical sciences research

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