Global warming has been a cause for major concern in the world of today and the world to come. Global warming is caused by various emissions of greenhouse gases commencing from cars, airplanes, industrial buildings, and more thus, raising the Earth's surface temperature. It is a common misunderstanding that airplanes would omit more emissions than compared to cars or buildings. However, that is not the scenario, airplanes actually produces the least amount of gases in almost every category. Aircrafts, airports, and the entire aviation industry have done and are doing their parts to reduce/maintain the levels of Carbon dioxide, Nitrogen Oxide, and Water vapors originating from their aircrafts. This is being established by the continuous development in aircraft advancements, the usage of smaller aircrafts, and as well as research in bio-fuel technology.
Carbon dioxide emissions often abbreviated as CO2, is generated while the airplane is in flight and is the most common greenhouse gas omitted from a powered aircraft. Statistics demonstrate that since the existence of the aviation industry around fifty years ago, not much has change in terms of CO2 emissions. (Figure 1) Study indicates that only a one percent increase since then resulting in a total of two percent by 1992. [1] CO2 is produced by aircrafts through the process of burning fuel. Many researches are trying to find alternative methods such as bio-fuel for aircrafts, as a result trying to maintain the damage done already by carbon dioxide emissions. “Bio-fuel is considered a means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing energy security by providing an alternative to fossil fuels.”[2]
Oxides of nitrogen have a very negative effect in the air by large jet airliners around the troposphere because the emission resulting from an aircraft at such a high altitude produces more Oxides, having a greater effect on global warming. Nitrogen Oxide emissions are quiet resourceful as they reduce another greenhouse gas by the name of methane, therefore providing a cooling effect in the climate. The emission omitted in the troposphere forms ozone, which is a deadly poisonous gas , however not much of Nitrogen oxides are produce since only a small quantity of aircrafts fly at such high altitudes (mainly airliners). Engineers are trying to come up with more efficient equipment to facilitate the aircraft with so it can generate less of nitrogen oxides in the air and help to keep it clean.
Lastly, water vapors are the constructed by large jets, flying at high altitudes emit a greenhouse gas known as water vapor. Water vapor itself alone is not as harmful as when it is formed into contrails due to the atmosphere around the aircraft. (Figure 2) Contrails can be seen in the sky from the ground as a result of air coming out from the exhaust of an aircraft (usually a jet) at high altitudes forming into a greenhouse gas in humid or cold atmosphere. The effect of this greenhouse gas is very insignificant compared to the two mentioned above. As technology progresses, so will the aircrafts systems eventually reducing water vapors in the sky as well.
In conclusion, all three greenhouse gases omitted from an aircraft are potentially harmful to the world; however action is being taken by the proper authorities to once and for all reduce the effects of global warming in this world. Aviation is only a small cause of global warming yet so much attention is being diverted to. Therefore, in order to reduce/maintain the levels of global warming one should not point/solve one cause, but all there is to it.
- IPCC, Aviation and the Global Atmosphere: A Special Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (1999), Cambridge University Press
- P. J. Crutzen, A. R. Mosier, K. A. Smith. N2O release from agro-bio fuel production negates global warming reduction by replacing fossil fuels.(2007) http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/7/11191/2007/acpd-7-11191-2007.html
Overall Great job!