Is supersonic flight bad for the environment?

The sonic booms produced by supersonic aircraft, SST-2 in particular, are among the most serious environmental impacts. The sonic boom propagation beneath the sea surface make us think of its impact on the sea animals.

How was Concorde polluted?

Concorde, the world’s last commercial supersonic aircraft, generated three times more noise, NOx and CO2 than today’s subsonic planes and contributed five times more to global warming, due to the high altitudes at which it released its emissions.

What is Concorde sonic boom?

A sonic boom is a shock-wave, or pressure disturbance, caused by the movement of the plane through the air, much like the wave produced by the bow of a ship as it moves through water: just as the bow wave is produced for the entire journey of the ship, so the sonic shockwave occurs throughout the duration of a …

What environmental concern must be addressed related to supersonic flight?

Supersonic jets will also exceed the global limits for aircraft nitrogen dioxide emissions by 40\% and carbon dioxide emissions by 70\%, the study found.

How did Concorde damage ozone layer?

It was found that Concorde’s engines produced much more sulphuric acid particles than the exhausts of subsonic aircraft, and it was this sulphuric acid that damaged the ozone layer.

How do supersonic jets deplete the ozone layer?

Nitrogen oxide emitted from the exhausts of supersonic jet aeroplanes readily combine with ozone to form nitrogen dioxide and diatomic oxygen. Since supersonic jets fly in the stratosphere near the ozone layer, they are responsible for the depletion of ozone layer.

Which type of pollution is caused by supersonic planes?

The return of supersonic airplanes would result in 96 million metric tons of carbon pollution per year, according to a new study released Wednesday by the International Council on Clean Transportation.

What are the advantages of supersonic travel?

The major advantage of a modern supersonic commercial aircraft over the commercial subsonic aircraft is more passengers carried on overseas flights per day per aircraft. For example: A supersonic mach 3.4 aircraft is cruising at 2580 mph versus the subsonic aircraft cruising at 550 mph.