Hypersonic aircraft flying at Mach 5 to 8 are a means for traveling very long distances in extremely short times and are even significantly faster than supersonic transport (Mach 1.5 to 2.5). Fueled with liquid hydrogen (LH2), their emissions consist of water vapor (H2O), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and unburned hydrogen. If LH2 is produced in a climate- and carbon-neutral manner, carbon dioxide does not have to be included when calculating the climate footprint. H2O that is emitted near the surface has a very short residence time (hours) and thereby no considerable climate impact. Super- and hypersonic aviation emit at very high altitudes (15 to 35 km), and H2O residence times increase with altitude from months to several years, with large latitudinal variations. Therefore, emitted H2O has a substantial impact on climate via high altitude H2O changes. Since the (photo-)chemical lifetime of H2O largely decreases at altitudes above 30 km via the reaction with O(1D) and via photolysis, the question is whether the H2O climate impact from hypersonics flying above 30 km becomes smaller with higher cruise altitude. Here, we use two state-of-the-art chemistry-climate models and a climate response model to investigate atmospheric changes and respective climate impacts as a result of two potential hypersonic fleets flying at 26 and 35 km, respectively. We show, for the first time, that the (photo-)chemical H2O depletion of H2O emissions at these altitudes is overcompensated by a recombination of hydroxyl radicals to H2O and an enhanced methane and nitric acid depletion. These processes lead to an increase in H2O concentrations compared to a case with no emissions from hypersonic aircraft. This results in a steady increase with altitude of the H2O perturbation lifetime of up to 4.4±0.2 years at 35 km. We find a 18.2±2.8 and 36.9±3.4 mW m-2 increase in stratosphere-adjusted radiative forcing due to the two hypersonic fleets flying at 26 and 35 km, respectively. On average, ozone changes contribute 8 %-22 %, and water vapor changes contribute 78 %-92 % to the warming. Our calculations show that the climate impact, i.e., mean surface temperature change derived from the stratosphere-adjusted radiative forcing, of hypersonic transport is estimated to be roughly 8-20 times larger than a subsonic reference aircraft with the same transport volume (revenue passenger kilometers) and that the main contribution stems from H2O. @en

At speeds roughly between five and ten thousand km/h, hypersonic aircraft offer the promise of an extremely fast means of transport. Growing concerns about climate warming, however, direct attention to sustainability. This thesis focuses on atmospheric composition and radiation changes by considering a range of individual hypersonic aircraft designs on trajectory and route network level. State-of-the-art Earth system models are used for simulations, and results calculated with the EMAC model are subsequently compared with simulations performed elsewhere with the LMDZ-INCA model. The comparison to a third model, i.e. WACCM, with a very similar – but independent – model setup allows even further clarification. For model validation satellite measurements (ozone, water vapor) and aircraft measurements (ozone, water vapor, temperature) are taken into account. After the introduction in the first chapter, the second chapter is a general description of the Earth system including anthropogenic perturbations, in particular perturbations from subsonic, supersonic and hypersonic aircraft emissions followed by a detailed explanation of methods and the EMAC model setup in the third chapter. A new research finding in the context of middle atmospheric chemistry is the increased methane and nitric acid oxidation following hypersonic emissions. This effect results in a (photo-)chemical net production of water vapor and eventually increases water vapor perturbations further, which is described in detail in chapter 4. In chapter 5 an analysis of atmospheric dynamics and transport of emitted trace gases in the middle atmosphere underlines the importance of the Brewer-Dobson circulation and shows the impact of polar stratospheric clouds on water vapor perturbations during polar winter. The evaluation of multiple hypersonic aircraft designed for different cruise altitudes shows that their climate impact increases with cruise altitude and can be approximately 10-20 times as much as a conventional aircraft (chapter 6). Emissions at different hypersonic cruise altitude and latitude regions show that the climate impact can vary more with latitude of emission than with altitude of emission (chapter 7). With rf_of_hypersonic_trajectories() a software was developed to estimate the climate impact of aircraft design and flight trajectory/network options in seconds based on robust results from Earth system modelling. Using the software it is shown that a cruise altitude optimization loop can reduce the overall climate impact of a state-of-the-art aircraft design (chapter 8). There are two methodological highlights to mention in the context of the EMAC model. The first is a new MESSy submodel H2OEMIS, which was created as part of this thesis. H2OEMIS is an interface to include water vapor emissions in EMAC model simulations, which was not possible before. This submodel will generally be of interest for future evaluations of e.g. any vehicles emitting water vapor and the impact of volcanic eruptions with EMAC. The secondmethodological highlight is the application of a novel speed-up technique during simulation runs, which reduces the simulated years by twothirds. To conclude the summary, the four following points are important to take away. This thesis brought • A new research finding on middle atmospheric chemistry: The identification of a chemical feedback that enhances the water vapor perturbation lifetime albeit an increasing chemical water vapor destruction • A robust estimate of the climate impact of hypersonic aircraft for both specific aircraft designs and general atmospheric and radiative sensitivities showing a large altitude and latitude dependence • An easily accessible tool for researchers and companies to estimate the climate impact of new hypersonic aircraft designs with low cost and low time • An estimate how the development of hypersonic aircraft would contribute to a road map to a climate optimal aircraft industry compared to conventional aircraft @en

Hydrogen-powered hypersonic aircraft are designed to travel in the middle stratosphere at approximately 30–40 km. These aircraft can have a considerable impact on climate-relevant species like stratospheric water vapor, ozone, and methane and thus would contribute to climate warming. The impact of hypersonic aircraft emissions on atmospheric composition and, in turn, on radiation fluxes differs strongly depending on cruise altitude. However, in contrast to variations in the altitude of emission, differences from variations in the latitude of emission are currently unknown. Using an atmospheric chemistry general circulation model, we show that a variation in the latitude of emission can have a larger effect on perturbations and stratospheric-adjusted radiative forcing than a variation in the altitude of emission. Our results include the individual impacts of water vapor and nitrogen oxide emissions, as well as unburned hydrogen, on middle-atmospheric water vapor, ozone, and methane and the resulting radiative forcing. Water vapor perturbation lifetime continues the known tropospheric increase with altitude and reaches almost 6 years in the middle stratosphere. Our results demonstrate how atmospheric composition changes caused by emissions of hypersonic aircraft are controlled by large-scale processes like the Brewer–Dobson circulation and, depending on the latitude of emission, local phenomena like polar stratospheric clouds. The analysis includes a model evaluation of ozone and water vapor with satellite data and a novel approach to reduce simulated years by one-third. A prospect for future hypersonic research is the analysis of seasonal sensitivities and simulations with emissions from combustion of liquefied natural gas instead of liquid hydrogen.@en