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Global Climate Change Digest
A Guide to Information on Greenhouse Gases and Ozone Depletion
Published July 1988 through June 1999

FROM VOLUME 9, NUMBER 5, MAY 1996

PROFESSIONAL PUBLICATIONS...
OZONE DEPLETION: AIRCRAFT IMPACTS

Item #d96may59

"Potential Impact of SO2 Emissions from Stratospheric Aircraft on Ozone," D.K. Weisenstein (Atmos. & Environ. Res. Inc., 840 Memorial Dr., Cambridge MA 02139), M.K.W. Ko et al., Geophys. Res. Lett., 23(2), 161-164, Jan. 15, 1996.

Shows that enhancement of the sulfate aerosol layer by aircraft emissions could be a more significant impact than emissions of NOx, especially when NOx emissions are reduced in future engines. Calculations show that aerosol surface area in the stratosphere could be increased by factors of two to three.

Item #d96may60

"Subsonic Aircraft and Ozone Trends," A.E. Jones (Brit. Antarctic Survey, High Cross, Madingley Rd., Cambridge CB3 0ET, UK), K.S. Law, J.A. Pyle, J. Atmos. Chem., 23(1), 89-105, Jan. 1996.

Describes calculations of the impact that subsonic aircraft may already have had on the atmosphere during the 1980s, using a 2-D chemical-radiative transport model. Results show a significant increase in upper tropospheric ozone over the period. They do not show any contribution to lower stratospheric ozone loss, but they do highlight the sensitivity of the governing reactions at that altitude to NOx concentrations. With the projected increasing trend of subsonic, high altitude aircraft, the influence of their NOx emissions on lower stratospheric ozone must be considered seriously.