The climate impact of hydrogen-powered hypersonic transport

Abstract H 2 O), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and unburned hydrogen. If LH2 is produced in a climate- and carbon-neutral manner, carbon dioxide does not have to be included when calculating the climate footprint. H 2 O that is emitted near the surface has a very short residence time (hours) and thereby no considerable climate impact. Super- and hypersonic aviation emit at very high altitudes (15 to 35 km), and H 2 O residence times increase with altitude from months to several years, with large latitudinal variations. Therefore, emitted H 2 O has a substantial impact on climate via high altitude H 2 O changes. Since the (photo-) chemical lifetime of H 2 O largely decreases at altitudes above 30 km via the reaction with O (1 D) and via photolysis, the question is whether the H 2 O climate impact from hypersonics flying above 30 km becomes smaller with higher cruise altitude. Here, we use two state-of-the-art chemistry–climate models and a climate response model to investigate atmospheric changes and respective climate impacts as a result of two potential hypersonic fleets flying at 26 and 35 km, respectively. We show, for the first time, that the (photo-) chemical H 2 O depletion of H 2 O emissions at these altitudes is overcompensated by a recombination of hydroxyl radicals to H 2 O and an enhanced methane and nitric acid depletion. These processes lead to an increase in H 2 O concentrations compared to a case with no emissions from hypersonic aircraft. This results in a steady increase with altitude of the H 2 O perturbation lifetime of up to 4.4 ± 0.2  years at 35 km. We find a 18.2 ± 2.8 and 36.9 ± 3.4  mW m- 2 H 2 O.

Angaben zum Objekt

• Standort: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Frankfurt am Main
• Umfang: Online-Ressource
• Sprache: Englisch

Verweise und Beziehungen

• Erschienen in: The climate impact of hydrogen-powered hypersonic transport ; volume:22 ; number:21 ; year:2022 ; pages:14323-14354 ; extent:32 ; Atmospheric chemistry and physics ; 22, Heft 21 (2022), 14323-14354 (gesamt 32)

Beteiligte, Orts- und Zeitangaben

• Urheber: Pletzer, Johannes ; Hauglustaine, Didier ; Cohen, Yann ; Jöckel, Patrick ; Grewe, Volker

Weitere Informationen

• DOI: 10.5194/acp-22-14323-2022
• URN: urn:nbn:de:101:1-2022111004223654578485
• Rechteinformation: Open Access; Der Zugriff auf das Objekt ist unbeschränkt möglich.
• Letzte Aktualisierung: 15.08.2025, 07:27 MESZ