Global Civil Aviation Black Carbon Particle Mass and Number Emissions

Abstract:

Black carbon (BC) is a product of incomplete combustion emitted by aircraft engines. In the atmosphere, BC particles strongly absorb incoming solar radiation and influence cloud formation processes leading to highly uncertain, but likely net positive warming of the earth’s atmosphere. At cruise altitude, BC particle number emissions can influence the concentration of ice nuclei that can lead to contrail formation, with significant and highly uncertainty climate impacts. BC particles emitted by aircraft engines also degrade air quality in the vicinity of airports and globally. A significant contribution to the uncertainty in environmental impacts of aviation BC emissions is the uncertainty in emissions inventories. Previous work has shown that global aviation BC mass emissions are likely to have been underestimated by a factor of three. In this study, we present an updated global BC particle number inventory and evaluate parameters that contribute to uncertainty using global sensitivity analysis techniques. The method of calculating particle number from mass utilises a description of the mobility of fractal aggregates and uses the geometric mean diameter, geometric standard deviation, mass-mobility exponent, primary particle diameter and material density to relate the particle number concentration to the total mass concentration. Model results show good agreement with existing measurements of aircraft BC emissions at ground level and at cruise altitude. It is hoped that the results of this study can be applied to estimate direct and indirect climate impacts of aviation BC emissions in future studies.