On September 29 and 30 the Carlos III University of Madrid organized once again the 14th edition of the European Researchers’ Night. A scientific outreach event aimed at audiences of all ages that takes place on the same weekend across Europe.
Manuel Soler, from the Aircraft Operations Lab participated on Friday, September 29, from 11:15 to 12:45, with an engaging scientific outreach show took place at the UC3M Auditorium on the Leganés Campus, Madrid. The show was primarily designed for Secondary Education Centers and featured a combination of theatrical scenes and talks by UC3M researchers, focusing on scientific projects funded by the European Union. The aim of this event is to explore topics related to sustainability and the environment in Europe, delving into challenges such as reducing the environmental impact of aviation and livestock to face climate change, advancements in alternative energy research, and future communication technologies designed for lower energy consumption.
Specifically, Manuel Soler’s talk focused on the changes required by the aviation sector to mitigate its contribution to climate change (through CO2 and non-CO2 emissions, including water vapor, nitrogen oxides and condensation trails). This mitigation will require major transformations in the technological (new fuels, aircraft, engines) and operational domains, where one of the keys is to reduce the climate impact from the formation of high-altitude linear clouds, known as contrails, by redirecting aircraft away from regions of the atmosphere that are particularly susceptible to contrail formation. However, it is still necessary to understand under what conditions they form and what their impact is because, under certain conditions, they can produce cooling on the planet. This research is currently being carried out in the E-CONTRAIL project, which combines satellite data, cutting-edge AI techniques and climate science to understand and reduce aviation-induced climate impact.
Have a look at the image gallery about Manuel Soler’s talk:
You can also watch the full talk on uc3m’s YouTube channel: