Delta Airlines working with Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to solve the problem of persistent contradictions. In recent years, passenger airlines have been making significant efforts to reduce their impact on the climate. For example, Delta entered a partnership to secure up to 385 million gallons of sustainable aviation fuel. However, it may take years until widely used commercial aircraft are certified to fly based only on sustainable fuel, instead of blending with conventional Jet A-1 fuel. Delta is looking to make a more immediate impact on its operations.
Steven Barrett, Director of MIT’s Aeronautics and Environmental Laboratory, speak:
“It is understandable that much of the climate focus in the aviation sector is on carbon dioxide, but avoiding contrast agents has the potential to dramatically reduce the environmental impact of air travel quickly. quickly and at low cost. This partnership will help us better understand, anticipate and ultimately avoid persistent conflicts. Working with aviation partners gives us access to the flights and operational expertise needed to conduct successful test flights.”
The contrast is formed by commercial airlines flying at cruising altitude 65% of the time. Most of those contrasts will disappear in a matter of minutes. Even so, ten percent of the contrast creates age-old clouds that amplify the greenhouse effect, trapping heat and warming the earth. With about 115,000 flights a day, the impact of persistent contrarianism is not negligible.
Pam Fletcher, Delta’s Chief Sustainability Officer, said:
“Although the decarbonization journey in the aviation industry has not started yet, we know that there will be short, medium and long term solutions to achieve the net zero goal. That’s why this work is both exciting and important – it has the potential to make a huge impact on our environmental footprint in just a few years. By making our data and solutions publicly available, we are encouraging creators, innovators, and industry cohorts everywhere to join our efforts to create rapid and lasting progress for our planet. “
Delta and MIT believe that “avoiding contrast can be one of the most immediate and cost-effective measures to reduce the aviation industry’s climate impact.” Their study will use an algorithm created by MIT to predict the atmospheric conditions that lead to the generation of contrast waves and then adjust flight operations to avoid them. The resulting tools and technology developed in their research will be open source to enable any airline to reduce its environmental impact.
