GREGG: As the aviation sector evolved in the 1990s and 2000s, FAA realized
there was a need for a different capability--a capability to evaluate
aviation environmental interdependencies, to be able to look at tradeoffs across
the environmental domain. JONATHAN: In the past, there had been five separate tools to figure out the
environmental consequences of noise, emissions, and fuel burn on various scales.
LOURDES: But the reality is none of these effects are standalone; they're are all interrelated.
GREGG: AEDT, or the Aviation Environmental Design Tool, is the first software tool of its type.
LOURDES: AEDT is a Federal Aviation Administration NextGen software tool that we use to analyze the effects
OF environmental impacts. CHRISTOPHER: It's a single model capable of predicting fuel burn, noise
and emissions for aviation operations and it's scalable all the way from a
single runway all the way up to a global analysis. JONATHAN: From the beginning AEDT was a
collaborative process. It started with stakeholders getting together from a wide
range of expertise to understand and identify requirements. LOURDES: The FAA has relied
heavily on the Volpe Transportation Center to do a lot of the integration and development.
JONATHAN: AEDT is designed with the user in mind. It's arranged to help
efficiently answer questions about environmental consequences of aviation.
The consequences are evaluated through metrics in a familiar interface.
CHRISTOPHER: Once you're in the model, you put all your assumptions in, tweak various scenarios
depending on the types of things
specific output you're looking to get, then you run the tool and look at the results.
JONATHAN: You're able to look at information in the geospatial (or a map-based format),
and you're also look at information in a tabular format.
LOURDES: For example, you might look at number of people exposed to noise, or you might look at tons of a certain emission.
CHRISTOPHER: Throughout the development of AEDT, it's already been used for a number of analyses. LOURDES: We laid
out that releases in a phased approach and we actually released the global capability first.
That has been used within the International Civil Aviation
Organization to inform decisions on two standards. GREGG: These assessments--they have a multi-billion
dollar impact on the aviation enterprise. JONATHAN: Going forward,
AEDT will continue to inform policymakers and decision-makers regarding
environmental consequences. CHRISTOPHER: As the world evolves, other tools and other data
sources evolve, and the intention is to keep AEDT at the forefront and state-of-the-art.
JONATHAN: We're going to continue to listen to stakeholders to understand what's most
important to them in terms of ongoing improvements in the science and the data beneath AEDT.
LOURDES: To me, if I were to sum it up, it's the best example of transition from
research to use that I have seen. JONATHAN: AEDT is a significant accomplishment. It took a team
of experts working together, establishing and working against a diverse set of requirements.
GREGG: I'm very proud that we're seeing used and having such an impact on the industry, not only
nationally, but also internationally.
