Gold cars can be found on the streets of Dubai and it’s where you will find the world’s tallest building, the Burj. The biggest, best and greatest architectural achievements is an ambition for the United Arab Emirates which has announced it will be building the world’s biggest airport – five times the size of the current Dubai International. We wonder how Saudi Arabia, building the giant mega project NEOM, will react to the news.

Dubai is already an important hub for westerners en route to the Far East. The new announcement of building the new Al Maktoum Airport will make Dubai the new Atlanta. More pilgrims already visit the Dubai Mall than Mecca, Jerusalem and Rome combined. We are hoping future travelers will take in important nature sites as well in the UAE.

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The project kicked off Monday with an endorsement from His Highness Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

Construction will start by this year and complete in 2022 but unless they break ground by the end of the year, “…we probably won’t achieve the aggressive deadline we’ve set,” Paul Griffiths, Dubai Airports chief executive, told Gulf News.

Expanding a state-of-the-art airport in largely underdeveloped desert terrain – one able to accommodate new super-sized aircraft and equipped with the latest technologies for baggage handling and security – is a logical next step in the emirate’s aviation master plan.

Expansion at this scale can be an environmental shape-shifter, an incredible opportunity to emerge as a world leader in sustainable transportation. But media is stunningly silent as to the environmental impacts resulting from the physical expansion, increased air traffic, and associated bump-up to ground operations and road traffic.  These have far-reaching effects that can’t be mitigated by a green building award.

Are there green aspects to the project that are hiding in the dunes?  If so, it’s unthinkable that they are not being trumpeted by the airport operator, airlines, and cast of consultants involved in the project. Where are the environmental agencies? (In the US and UK, as example, planning permissions typically include obligations for developers to underwrite environmental projects in connection with base scope.)

It’s good to have the backing of the Sheikh.

In 2010, the airport opened for cargo operations with commercial passenger traffic commencing in October, quickly reaching capacity of seven million annual passengers (PAX) largely due to increased traffic from regional carriers, Gulf Air and Qatar Airways.

Dubai boasts two major airports both operated by Dubai Airports. Passenger traffic at the larger facility – Dubai International (DXB) – is expected to approach 100 million in 2020, triggering the need for rapid expansion at DWC. Expansion of the newer, smaller airport will allow for radical modification of DXB with minimal disruption to overall Dubai air traffic.

The expansion is based on a modular design and will be achieved in two phases, ultimately creating a facility capable of handling up to 120 million PAX and 100 Airbus A380 aircraft at any one time.  (To put that into perspective, that’s room for Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal al-Saud’s private Airbus A380 – plus those of his 99 closest friends.) Subsequent expansions will respond to future increases in aeronautical and passenger demand. 

Work will take place over an area covering 56 square kilometers and will include construction of three new runways, and up to five parallel runways which will allow up to four aircraft to land simultaneously. Two satellite buildings will also be constructed specifically to cater to the Airbus A380 fleet.

Emirates, Dubai’s flagship airline, and the largest carrier in the Middle East, boasts over 50 Airbus A380s with another 140 on order. The airline may ultimately switch hubs from Dubai International to the new-large-aircraft-friendly airport, but a decision is pending. “Either Emirates will need to move as soon as the airport opens or other airlines will need to relocate,” said Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths.

Griffiths continued, “Our future lies at DWC. With limited options for further growth at Dubai International, we are taking that next step to securing our future by building a brand new airport that will not only create the capacity we will need in the coming decades, but also provide state of the art facilities that revolutionize the airport experience on an unprecedented scale.”

Dubai Airports forecasts that passenger demand could exceed 190 million PAX by 2030, and climb to over 260 million by 2040 and 309 million by 2050, blowing past both London’s Heathrow and Istanbul’s Atatürk airports.

The aviation sector is projected to remain a cornerstone of Dubai’s economy, supporting more than 322,000 jobs and contributing 28% of Dubai’s GDP by 2020. If only the stats for green performance were as well-broadcast, and robust.

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Turkey’s Taksim square protest flared up last week when police took drastic measures to clear activists from Gezi Park- slated for destruction to make way for yet another shopping center. But that’s not the only unsustainable project the government is pursuing in the name of economic growth. We list 5 of the major ones. These five put money before the well being of both people and nature.

1. Turkey Opens up Property Laws to Foreigners

Turkey has plans to clear 4.1 million acres of forest and demolish 6.5 million buildings throughout the country in order to make space for more commercial buildings, shopping centers, residential complexes, luxury hotels and other development projects. But outside investment is essential to such rapid growth, which is why the Turkish government reformed their property laws (we report here) to make it easier for foreigners to purchase and develop land. This change has opened Turkey to an explosion of new development projects that put whole communities at risk.

2. Taksim Square to Become Lifeless

It’s impossible to talk about a list of unsustainable development projects in Turkey without taking a quick look at Taksim Square (read our report here)– one of the last remaining green spaces left in Istanbul. Despite great opposition from the local populace, the government established plans to replace this precious urban park with a new shopping mall, roadways and tunnels, a courtyard and a tiny patch of grass.

3. The Ilısu Dam

The Ilısu Dam for hydro-electric power and currently under construction in Turkey is expected to vastly transform life along the Tigris River and not in a good way. Green Prophet writer Julia Harte is currently tracking those impacts as part of a trip funded by a National Geographic Young Explorer Grant. The Ilısu Dam is the biggest hydroelectric dam currently under construction in Turkey, Julia wrote in an earlier post, though it is not the only one — “18 have so far been built under the scope of the Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP), a massive development program approved by the Turkish government in 1982,” she says.

Meanwhile, the UN issued a report condemning Turkey’s Tigris and Euphrates River hydroelectric dams for violating the human rights of downstream countries, including Iraq.

4. Istanbul’s LEED Renaissance Tower

Green Prophet writer Laurie said that the only thing sustainable about the 44 story LEED Renaissance Tower slated for construction in Istanbul is its zip code. Under the guise of LEED certification, the 606 foot tower soars above its surrounding neighborhood, potentially destroying the very fabric of this ancient city.

Not only will it require “a river to clean” due to all the glass, but a lot of interior lighting will create light pollution and consume a great deal of energy. IE. This building is not sustainable at all.

 5. Istanbul Airport to Kill 658,000 Trees

Turkey’s transportation ministry is planning to build “the world’s largest airport,” (as we report here) but in order to do so, they must first clear cut nearly a square kilometer of pristine forest on Lake Terkos near the Black Sea. In other words, 658,000 trees representing ten different species will be sacrificed to build the new airport, is expected to serve up to 1.5 million passengers annually.

These five ongoing projects in Turkey demonstrate a sort of governmental divorce from the people whose lives depend on healthy natural resources.

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There has been talk for a couple of years already that Tel Aviv’s international airport will move to the sea, literally. A proposal has been submitted to create an artificial island off the city’s coast to replace the Ben Gurion Airport, one that services local, domestic and international flights. A couple months ago I interviewed a geologist helping to develop feasibility studies for such a structure. And according to media reports it looks like the crazy plan is going ahead despite environmental risks to the fragile Mediterranean Sea, and security risks of sabotage.

A new committee from the Ministry of Science and Technology in Israel developed a feasibility report for this artificial airport island to be built off the coast of the Tel Aviv suburb Rishon LeZion. Goodovitch Architects have drafted some sketches (above) of how the airport could look.

Among the parties involved in the far-flung idea is Elie Schalit, 92, a chairman and founder of the Colbert Group, which builds giant cruise ships. He was the man who built the first ships for Ted Arison and his Carnival Cruise Lines.

According to Haaretz the plan for the airport would include a large artificial island on top of poles, 15 meters above sea level. Located two kilometers out in the Mediterranean Sea, the 250 acre landing surface would connect to terminals and cargo docks onshore. Passengers would be shuttled to and from the runways by a fast train or by buses traveling along a long pier. The project cost is an estimated NIS 50 billion, about $12 billion USD, and would take more than a decade to build.

Land grab for the rich, at the Sea’s expense?

“Former Tel Aviv municipal engineer Israel Goodovitch, the driving force behind the idea, is not concerned by the inevitable doubts. He makes use of his connections and acquaintances, and rushes through every door, loaded down with data and models of the plan that will he claims, make it possible to shut down Ben-Gurion International Airport altogether and transform its site into lands worth their weight in gold for residential construction in the center of the country.”

Doesn’t anyone see a conflict of interest in that the city engineer is also drafting plans for the airport under his private name?

With the growth of Israel outpacing its space, real estate developers no doubt have their eye on the land surrounding the Ben Gurion Airport in central Israel about 20 minutes from Tel Aviv. The conveniently located airport has become a drag for nearby residents who suffer from airplane emissions and exhaust. Goes to show why you shouldn’t buy your home near an airport and then complain later.

At any rate, this massive artificial island will far exceed the size and scope of the artificial islands in the Persian Gulf – ones that have have severe ramifications for coastal erosion and sea life. Since it will be built on poles, perhaps the environmental effects will be less pronounced than they are in the gulf?

I have to say that after flying in the air for 10 or 12 hours getting to Israel, or any location for that matter, I am happy to land on, well, land. I am not so sure about how I feel landing on an artificial island, especially in a land that has seen its fair share of earthquakes and tsunamis. And terror attacks.

My overall feeling is that this new airport scheme is a bad idea. Want to usurp the valuable land on the not-long ago revamped Tel Aviv airport? Then move it to a periphery and have travellers move about on high speed trains. Or move the people to the periphery. Where to live is all about perceptions. Create a great city and the people will move there. No need to engineer new land at sea.

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Continuous Descent Arrival (CDA) is an aircraft operating technique in which arriving planes descend in a relatively straight line to the runway. In conventional descent, an aircraft drops in a stair-step manner, requesting control tower permission to descend to each new lower altitude, with portions of level flight in-between altitude changes.

CDA skips the stairs and takes the slide, aiming to avoid level flight to the extent permitted by safe operating procedures.  The aircraft operates with minimal thrust, which significantly reduces power demand.  In Europe, the procedure is called Continuous Descent Operation (CDO) and in the US it’s named Optimized Profile Descent (OPD).

By allowing arriving aircraft to maintain their high cruising altitude for longer periods before starting a continuous descent to the runway, CDAs nearly absolves the three environmental sins of aviation: fuel burn, emissions and noise. Keeping aircraft as high as possible for as long as possible is a very effective method of reducing noise impact on the ground.

Aircraft on a CDA flight path will begin a final descent from an altitude near 4,000 feet and a distance of about 12 nautical miles from final touch-down. They’ll maintain a steady descent angle of 3°+/- during approach.

Since aircraft approach speeds vary widely, CDAs require longer intervals between arriving flights, so they’re usually conducted in low traffic conditions, and typically at night. CDAs are not possible for all arriving flights and often not for the whole descent profile, but the technique is quickly being adopted at more airports and for an increasing number of flights.

For many airports, the opportunity to implement CDA is limited by high volume of air traffic. When approaching traffic is heavy, a pilot may need to adjust throttles, flap settings, and extend landing gear to maintain safe and consistent spacing with other aircraft in the terminal’s airspace, all of which requires the application of additional thrust to keep flying at the same speed.

Safety is paramount, and before CDA trials or operations commence, a rigorous safety assessment in undertaken.

At PAN-European level a Joint Industry CDA Action Plan has been adopted, which mapped out specific actions to be undertaken by the European aviation industry to ensure rapid and maximal deployment of CDA.

That plan seeks CDA roll-out at up to 100  European airports by the end of 2013; and CDA start-up at an additional 20 airports per year.  Subsequently, the target’s been raised to at least 200 airports by end 2014, as industry support has been so strong.

CDA is now used at over 80 European airports.

Given the estimated 49,000 commercial airports worldwide, that statistic is a fly on an elephant’s bum.  But CDA is growing exponentially, and the resultant savings in jet fuel is no drop in the bucket.

In the USA, the Federal Aviation Administration authorized development of arrival procedures to facilitate CDAs (again, known stateside as OPDs).  While not as numerous as the European converts, the American airports coming aboard are among the nation’s Big Boys. Two OPD procedures were designed and successfully instituted at Los Angeles International Airport, and procedures have been extensively evaluated  at Louisville-Standiford International Airport.  Trials were also completed at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and Miami International Airport.

Estimated fuel savings for CDA in Europe will potentially cut 150,000 tons of fuel per year, with associated savings around $123 million.  Those same flights will reduce ground level noise impact in the range of 1-5 dB per flight, and cut CO2 emissions by almost 500,000 tons annually.

Environmental restrictions are in place at most European and American airports.   The rapid deployment of CDA, even on a limited basis (as in limited hours of operation and height of descent commencement), provides airlines and airports with positive “currency” to offset other negative environmental impacts inherent in this industry.

CDA practices deliver major environmental and economic benefits.  Adverse safety affects are mitigated by changes to the airspace architecture and now widespread availability of navigational support tools for air traffic controllers. An extending pool of CDA experience is accelerating system improvements: new airports can tap into “lessons learned” from around the world as they seek to develop their own protocols.

Currently, Middle Eastern airports lack an overarching aviation authority with jurisdiction over regional airspace, so adoption of continuous descent operations is left to specific countries and civil aviation agencies. As existing airports in this region balloon, and new ones come online, perhaps the MENA nations and Gulf Cooperation Council will give serious consideration to CDAs as they seek to standardize industry and regulations in the Arab region.

Image of plane landing from Shutterstock

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Airports are like Desperate Housewives. Unpopular neighbors, but crazy sensual. You can see them, feel them, smell them, and you absolutely hear them. Ask anyone living or working near an airport and they’ll tell tales of noise pollution so extreme it wakes babies, rattles windows, and sets off car security alarms (of course, if a plane’s overhead, you won’t hear a word).

Beyond being an public audio menace, there’s a technical downside.  The powerful sound waves generated by jet engine combustion can violently shake engine components, accelerating mechanical failure. Researchers at the University of Alabama quiet combustion at its source. 

“Experimenting with combustion can be quite noisy and unstable, shaking the whole building, but when you put the foam in place, you can talk to the person next to you. It’s a night and day difference,” said Dr. Ajay K. Agrawal, professor of engineering at University of Alabama in a statement on the school’s blog.

Agrawal tested a sponge-like ring made of hafnium carbide and silicon carbide, placing it around the engine flame point to dampen sound before it escapes.  Highly porous, the ring allows gases to flow and the composite material tolerates extreme conditions of combustion.  It cuts noise without interfering with engine process.

By reducing noise at the source, there’s minimal need for pricey silencing equipment on the engine exterior. The ring is adaptable, inexpensive, and easy to install.

Agrawal, who worked with California’s Ultramet Corporation on this US Navy-funded project, has received a patent for the technology.  The invention might also reduce noise generated by other industrial combustion devices.

Dr. Ajay Agrawal, right, with graduate students Justin Williams, left, and Joseph Meadows, center, examine the noise reduction device, or noise sponge.

What’s all this noise about?

Noise is produced by aircraft components any time an airplane operates on its own power. Different aircraft generate different noise levels. Engine noise is maximal at takeoff, during climb and at landing. Our perception of noise can be affected by weather and geography.

Elevated sound levels do more than cause aggravation and disrupt sleep (both proven factors in causing stress, decreasing our performance, and increasing accidents).  Noise can damage hearing and cause hypertension and heart disease.

In 2007, Germany’s central environmental office, Umweltbundesamt, correlated aircraft noise with health data from 800,000 people living near Cologne Airport. The study was prompted by local doctors who suspected that an observable concentration of medical cases might be traceable to nighttime air traffic.

Their research concluded that aircraft noise significantly impairs health, citing alarming statistics associated with “normal” airport sound levels. Daytime average sound level of 60 decibel (dB) increased coronary heart disease by 61% in men and 80% in women. Nighttime average level of 55 dB increased the risk of heart attacks by 66% in men and 139% in women.

Commercial aircraft on take-off generate in the range of 100 to 120 dB.  For comparison, consider:

• Threshold of hearing – 0 dB
• Whispering – 20 dB
• Normal conversation – 60 dB
• Center stage at a rock concert – 110 dB
• Pain threshold – 130 dB

Shut up, already.

Aviation noise pollution grabbed headlines in the late 1960s, primarily as a problem at larger urban airports, where flight paths by necessity transversed dense residential neighborhoods.  Affluent homeowners began the battle.

In the 1980’s, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) devised ways to insulate American residences from aircraft noise. California’s San Francisco and San Jose International Airports were among the first to use computer modeling to simulate the effects of aircraft noise on buildings. Retrofit strategies were evaluated and employed; results tracked and new strategies tested.

Four dozen homes near Florida’s Fort Lauderdale airport were soundproofed in advance of a runway expansion. Simple home improvements proved most successful: the airport paid to upgrade roof insulation and replace windows and doors.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PA) operates and maintains that region’s three major international airports: LaGuardia, John F. Kennedy and Newark Liberty. In 1983, the PA, in partnership with the FAA,  undertook a program to soundproof schools located in federally defined aircraft “noise-affected areas”.

To date, 77 schools have been retrofitted by installation of  accoustic windows, roof and wall insulation, and new ventilation and air conditioning systems.  I worked on these projects and can attest to radically improved acoustical and energy preformance. Would be interesting to follow-up, check if the kids’ school performance also changed. When I last checked, that program’s price tag exceeded $180 million.

Aviation industry efforts to be good neighbors are not created equal.

Noise reduction tactics vary in effectiveness, and in cost. Earlier attempts have focused on muffling sound outside of the engine. More costly remedies involve soundproofing homes and schools in affected areas.  Aircraft designers, manufacturers, and operators develop quieter airplanes and improve operating procedures.

Some airports restrict night flying, like all London airports and Germany’s Frankfurt Airport. Others strategically route flights over non-residential pathways.  The approach to Dublin Airport is largely over seafront and coastal farms. Amman’s Queen Alia International is ringed by sparsely inhabited desert plains. But even if plunked in a remote location, the very nature of an airport will attract development and increased density.

Agrawal’s discovery may be the simplest and most economical solution to reducing aviation noise pollution, extending equipment life, and improving quality of life for all of us who live and work near airports.

Press images by Zach Higgins, University of Alabama

The post Jet Engine Sponge Makes Airports Less Sensual appeared first on Green Prophet.

Read more about our adventures in Morocco:
Staying at the Exclusive Kasbah du Toubkal
Riad Dar One in Marrakesh
Staying at Dar des Cigognes
Chasing Berbers in the Atlas Mountains
10 Tips for Traveling Like a Millionaire Without Stuff
Morocco and Egypt Eye Eco-Tourism Markets
Dare Eat Nuts Broken by a Goat’s Butt?

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