Abstract

This introductory talk will review the greenhouse effect and the contribution that aviation makes to it.  It will outline the distinctive nature of the impacts of the three main contributors from aviation, the emission of the long lived greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, of the short lived oxides of nitrogen which are not greenhouse gases but greenhouse gas precursors and the creation of long-lived contrails and the cirrus clouds which develop from them.  It will then consider the technological, design and operational measures that can reduce these impacts, what incentives will be needed to promote these measures and what are the most urgent questions for the research community. Finally, it will offer a conjectural view of the potential effect of adopting these measures on the climate impact of aviation in 2050.

Biography

An aerodynamicist trained at Cambridge and the RAE, his primary field of research was turbulent boundary layers. His research at RAE was cut short by appointment as Head of the Subsonic/Supersonic Wind Tunnels Division, then Propulsion Division, then Noise Division, before becoming Head of Aerodynamics Department. Subsequent appointments were: Director Project Time and Cost Analysis, MOD(PE); Deputy Head of British Defence Staff, Washington; Deputy Director (Aircraft), RAE; Chief Executive of the Aircraft Research Association. He retired in 1995 and since then has worked part-time as ARA consultant Chief Scientist.  He is a Past President of the Royal Aeronautical Society and the International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences.  Since the launch of Air Travel – Greener by Design in March 2000 he has been Chairman of its Science and Technology Sub Group.