Study blazing new trails into effects of aviation and rocket exhaust in the atmosphere

A new study may help resolve uncertainties in the impact of aviation and rocket exhaust on the atmosphere. Results of the project are expected to serve the aviation and rocket communities in their propulsion system choices and fleet operations in the 21st century. The study, known as the Atmospheric Chemistry of Combustion Emissions near the Tropopause (ACCENT) project, follows the lead of two other programs motivated by continuing concern over the impact such emissions are having on upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UT/LS) ozone and climate. ACCENT in effect combines those two programs, one of which concerns aviation, the other rockets.