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Potential impact of SO 2 emissions from stratospheric aircraft on ozone
Author(s) -
Weisenstein Debra K.,
Ko Malcolm K. W.,
Sze NienDak,
Rodriguez Jose M.
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/95gl03781
Subject(s) - stratosphere , ozone , plume , aerosol , environmental science , atmospheric sciences , ozone layer , nox , nitrogen oxides , ozone depletion , sulfur , sulfate aerosol , meteorology , sulfate , nitrogen oxide , nucleation , materials science , combustion , chemistry , geology , physics , metallurgy , organic chemistry , engineering , waste management
Renewed interest in the potential impact of stratospheric aircraft on atmospheric ozone has focused on emissions of nitrogen oxides (NO x ). This work shows that enhancement of the sulfate aerosol layer by aircraft emissions of sulfur could be more significant to the ozone impact than emission of NO x , especially when emissions of NO x in future engines are reduced by a factor of three from present engine designs. Our calculations show that increases in the aerosol surface area of the stratosphere by factors of two to three are expected if significant amounts of aircraft‐emitted sulfur are converted to sulfuric acid and undergo homogeneous nucleation in the aircraft plume. This possibility is supported by both in situ stratospheric observations and plume/wake modeling.