Air Canada to collect climate and air quality data over the North Atlantic

Press/Media: Other

Period23 Jun 2023

Media contributions

1

Media contributions

  • TitleAir Canada to collect climate and air quality data over the North Atlantic
    Media name/outletNational Centre for Atmospheric Science/Leeds
    Country/TerritoryUnited Kingdom
    Date23/06/23
    DescriptionAir Canada has newly-installed a scientific instrument for air quality and climate monitoring on their Airbus A330 aircraft, with support from the National Centre for Atmospheric Science.

    The compact probe device, permanently fitted to the aircraft near the flight deck, will provide key data for the In-service Aircraft for a Global Observing System programme, known as IAGOS for short.

    The Air Canada Airbus A330 is set to provide observation data from the North Atlantic and Arctic region. On routine flights between Canada and Europe, the aircraft will measure a range of parameters including: ozone, water vapour, greenhouse gases, reactive gases, aerosols, and clouds – during take-off, cruising, and landing.

    The IAGOS programme combines the expertise of scientific institutions, including the National Centre for Atmospheric Science, with the infrastructure of civil aviation in order to provide essential data on climate change and air quality at a global scale.

    Commercial aircraft provide an ideal platform for climate and air quality observations, as they can efficiently collect samples at high altitudes where making measurements is otherwise challenging.

    The National Centre for Atmospheric Science supported specialist instrumentation onboard the commercial aircraft, drawing on expertise from our Atmospheric Measurement and Observation Facility and our partners at the University of Manchester.

    After each flight, the measurement data is automatically transmitted to the central database of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique research centre in France. In addition to IAGOS, the data collected by Air Canada will help inform the Government of Canada’s department of Environment and Climate Change Canada.
    Producer/AuthorNational Centre for Atmospheric Science
    URLhttps://ncas.ac.uk/air-canada-to-collect-climate-and-air-quality-data-over-the-north-atlantic/
    PersonsMartin Gallagher

Keywords

  • National Centre for Atmospheric Science
  • NCAS
  • AVIATION
  • GLOBAL MONITORING
  • AIR POLLUTION
  • CLIMATE CHANGE
  • AIRCRAFT EMISSIONS