Environmental Science · Global and Planetary Change
AeroMAPS modelling compared sustainable aviation fuels, hydrogen propulsion, electrification and carbon offsets across short-, medium- and long-range aircraft. The combined pathway produced deeper cumulative emissions reductions than any single technology, while a conventional-kerosene pathway depended most heavily on offsets.
A simulation study found that using geometric altitude instead of barometric altitude during cruise flight would, on average, increase fuel use. It also found a considerable risk of exceeding aircrafts’ maximum barometric altitude, potentially requiring more step descents.
A study of Boston Logan International Airport found that aircraft-related ultrafine particle pollution differed between winter and summer. Including aircraft-specific particle sizes in the analysis improved agreement between computer estimates and measurements from seven monitoring stations.
