Climate Change Impact
Research Theme #1: Combating Climate Change
In order to respond to climate change in a way that will make a difference, we need to be able to predict how climate will continue to change if we do nothing, and how it will change if we actually do something. To do that, we need good computer models of the climate. But our current climate models are very crude. One of the areas in which they are very crude is that our models assume that there is little interaction between the troposphere (the lowest layer of the atmosphere, the air we breathe) and the stratosphere (the layer above it). But we know that that is false, they do interact. They exchange heat, air masses and chemicals. But we don’t know how or how much they do that. Without knowing that, our models are guaranteed to be wrong, and therefore, our climate change actions may also be wrong.
With Airbus Perlan Mission II, we will be flying through the troposphere and high into the stratosphere, running experiments to gather data about heat, mass and chemical exchange between the two. We will make that data available to atmospheric scientists worldwide, who can use it to improve our climate models. Improved climate models will tell us:
- How much the Earth will heat up and climate will change (a) even if humans were not contributing to climate change at all
- How much the Earth will heat up and climate will change if we do continue using gasoline, kerosene and other fossil fuels and make no change
- How much will we can slow down the Earth heating up and reduce climate change if we could convert to all clean fuels, such as solar, wind and hydro
- Can we slow down or even stop the melting of the polar ice caps?
Without improved climate models, we will be guessing at what we need to do, and risking that we don’t do enough or do the wrong things.
Research Theme #2: Combating the Ozone Depletion
Ozone in the stratosphere filters out UV rays, protecting us from its harmful effects – which include premature skin aging, skin cancer and cataracts. Ozone is most concentrated at 80,000 – 100,000 feet in altitude, exactly where we will fly. Where the ozone is depleted, we see the effects. There is a large ozone hole over the Antarctic region, including Australia. As a result, Australians suffer the highest rates of skin cancer in the world. Each year, around 1,200 Australians die from what is an almost totally preventable disease. But, to a lesser extent, the ozone is depleted around the world, and we see the effects in North America and Europe.
Human industrial activity is responsible for the vast majority of stratospheric ozone depletion. In response to this, nations agreed to actions to reduce our impact on the ozone, notably the Montreal Protocol of 1987. Among other things, certain chemicals known to cause ozone depletion, such as chlorofluorocarbons used in aerosols at the time, were banned. As a result, current research suggests that we may have succeeded in stopping and possibly reversing ozone depletion.
But to know for sure, we need to measure how much chorine-based chemicals and ozone are actually in the stratosphere at those high altitudes. By flying into the stratosphere, we can take direct air samples to find this out. This will tell us how much more we need to do, and if in fact, ozone is replenishing.