[LINK] Surging heat may limit aircrafts globally

[Stephen Loosley]

Surging heat may limit aircrafts globally

Study sees widespread effects on aviation

Date:  July 13, 2017
Source:  The Earth Institute at Columbia University
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/07/170713081534.htm


Rising temperatures due to global warming will make it harder for many aircraft around the world to take off in coming decades, says a new study.

"Our results suggest that weight restriction may impose a non-trivial cost on airline and impact aviation operations around the world," said lead author Ethan Coffel, a Columbia University PhD. student.

As air warms, it spreads out, and its density declines. In thinner air, wings generate less lift as a plane accelerates down a runway.

Average global temperatures have gone up nearly 1 degree Centigrade since about 1980, and this may already be having an effect.

In late June, American Airlines canceled more than 40 flights out of Phoenix, Ariz., when daytime highs made it too hot for smaller regional jets to take off.

Worldwide, average temperatures are expected to go up as much as another 3 degrees C by 2100.

But that is only part of the story; heat waves will probably become more prevalent, with annual maximum daily temperatures at airports worldwide projected to go up 4 to 8 degrees C by 2080, according to the study.

It is these heat waves that may produce the most problems.

"This points to the unexplored risks of changing climate on aviation," said coauthor Radley Horton, a climatologist at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. "As the world gets more connected and aviation grows, there may be substantial potential for cascading effects, economic and otherwise."

Most studies so far have focused on how aviation may affect global warming (aircraft comprise about 2 percent of global greenhouse-gas emissions), not vice versa.

Coffel and Horton may be the only ones so far to look at takeoffs. "The sooner climate can be incorporated into mid- and long-range plans, the more effective adaptation efforts can be," said Coffel.

Cheers,
Stephen