Physics World July 1, 2019
Researchers in Germany used ECHAM5-CCMod, an atmospheric climate model, to investigate the climate impact of contrail cirrus for the year 2050. Contrails have the potential to linger and become artificial cirrus clouds which reflect infrared radiation coming up from the Earth’s surface far more than they reflect incoming solar radiation back into space. As a result, such clouds tend to trap heat in the Earth’s atmosphere and have an overall warming effect on climate. According to the researchers instead of rerouting flights to mitigate the effects of contrails, a better course of action may be to reduce soot emissions from aircraft engines to make ice nucleation less likely. This would enable international aviation to effectively support measures to achieve the Paris climate goals…read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE
High impact: contrail cirrus clouds created by a jet aircraft. (Courtesy: Joe Thomissen/CC BY-SA 3.0)