A group of scientists at the University of Nicosia in Cyprus looked into how soot and carbon dioxide traveled through the air as a rocket rose into the Earth's atmosphere.
The scientists discovered that after each launch, concentrations of a number of contaminants in the mesosphere—the layer of the atmosphere between 30 and 50 miles (50 and 80 kilometers)—remain alarmingly high for protracted periods of time. The primary greenhouse gas carbon dioxide is one of these pollutants, which worries scientists since localized warming of the upper atmosphere may have long-term effects on the climate of Earth.
The study's researchers used emissions from one of today's most well-known rockets, SpaceX's Falcon 9, which uses liquid oxygen and RP1, a fossil-based rocket fuel. Such rockets emit exhaust that contains various concentrations of soot, nitrous oxides, sulfur, carbon dioxide, and water vapor. Three greenhouse gases that absorb heat and warm our world are carbon dioxide, water vapor, and nitrous oxide.
According to the Environmental and Energy Study Institute, rocket launches contribute very little to greenhouse gas emissions, making up only 1% of aviation's carbon footprint, which accounts for only 2.4% of yearly worldwide carbon emissions.