Take-off engine particle emission indices for in-service aircraft at Los Angeles International Airport.

We present ground-based, advected aircraft engine emissions from flights taking off at Los Angeles International Airport. 275 discrete engine take-off plumes were observed on 18 and 25 May 2014 at a distance of 400 m downwind of the runway. CO measurements are used to convert the aerosol data into plume-average emissions indices that are suitable for modelling aircraft emissions.

Biofuel blending reduces particle emissions from aircraft engines at cruise conditions.

Aviation-related aerosol emissions contribute to the formation of contrail cirrus clouds that can alter upper tropospheric radiation and water budgets, and therefore climate. The magnitude of air-traffic-related aerosol-cloud interactions and the ways in which these interactions might change in the future remain uncertain. Modelling studies of the present and future effects of aviation on climate require detailed information about the number of aerosol particles emitted per kilogram of fuel burned and the microphysical properties of those aerosols that are relevant for cloud formation.