Page 20 - ATC Special Bulletin Series - Meteorology 2022-01

20
of ATM network planning and increases potentially the delays within air traffic operations,” says Angelo Ricco, CREATE project coordinator.
The project developed a climate and weather-aware concept of operations (ConOps) encompassing a multi-aircraft four- dimensional (in space and time) trajectory optimisation framework. It also built an environmental scoring module (ESM) to evaluate the “greenness” of aircraft trajectories. This considers CO2, non-CO2 emissions and contrail probability formation during the en-route phase of flight, in addition to NOx and particulate matter emissions (related to the impact on air quality) during the approach and departure phase. The algorithmic approach is fast enough to be easily implemented at different stages of the trajectory lifecycle; for example helping to resolve hotspots in the network due to weather hazards, or air quality sensitive regions, taking into account evolving traffic.
Non-CO2 emissions are also assessed in the FlyATM4E project; the climate impact of such emissions is strongly dependent on weather and varies considerably according to atmospheric conditions, such as air temperature and altitude. “Non-CO2 effects, such as contrail cirrus clouds (ice crystals that form behind an aircraft) and NOx-induced changes of ozone and methane, upset the radiative balance of the atmosphere. They can cause both warming and cooling effects and, unlike CO2, do not follow a linear pattern but contribute to both positive and negative effective radiative forcing (ERF),” explains Sigrun Matthes, coordinator of the FlyATM4E project.
The project modelled these climate impact metrics in multiple environments with a focus on intra-European flights, and explored the feasibility of a concept for aircraft avoiding the more sensitive areas, otherwise known as “big hits”. Their modelling found that in most cases it should be possible to apply effective re-routing strategies to support eco-efficient routes and climate-optimised aircraft trajectories.
| SPECIAL BULLETIN SERIES | 2022 |
|
If you like to know more about this SESAR project, visit:
CREATE: https://create-project.eu/