Sustainability

Airports are complex social, technical, and environmental systems. Understanding their complexity is fundamental for advancing transformative climate adaptation policy. For airports to adapt, climate science must be incorporated not only into standards of specific equipment and facilities, but also into the air traffic network and its interconnected infrastructure systems (e.g., road access, ground-based communications, navigation, and surveillance systems). In addition, airport adaptation requires a shift in the way policy is designed, reinforced, and updated, which in turn relies on an...

The transportation industry is one of the largest sources of emissions in the United States, accounting for 29% of all emissions. Air transportation contributes a certain portion of these emissions with its reliance on jet fuel. Aircraft emissions occur at different rates, depending on the phase of flight. Some phases constitute the shortest amount of operational time but still account for a significant amount of greenhouse gas and criteria air pollutant emissions. Additionally, some phases of flight are more difficult to decarbonize due to the current limitations in battery and hydrogen...

The use of airport gate electrification infrastructure in the form of ground power (GP) and preconditioned air (PCA) systems can reduce energy and maintenance costs, emissions, and health risks by limiting the use of aircraft auxiliary power unit (APU) engines at the gate. However, their benefits can only be gained when they are actually being used; otherwise, pilots keep APUs on to fulfill their aircraft’s demands for electrical power and air conditioning. GP and PCA systems require a large initial infrastructure investment to increase energy efficiency, and they are installed with the...

Sea level rise (SLR) will pose the greatest threat to coastal airports in the near future. Finding effective ways to mitigate or adapt to the impact of SLR is a challenge that many engineers and city planners have been addressing for a long time. The purpose of this study is to explore the potential of seaplane bases and seaplanes as future modes of transportation. Although seaplanes were most popular in the early twentieth century and were eventually phased out with new land-based aircraft, they can potentially be of great use in future climate scenarios. In this study, we propose a...