Phys.org  August 7, 2024 Contrails contribute over half of the positive radiative forcing from aviation, but the size of this warming effect is highly uncertain. In-situ observations have demonstrated an impact of aircraft and fuel type on contrail properties close to the aircraft, but there are few observational constraints at these longer timescales, despite these having a strong impact in high-resolution and global models. An international team of researchers (UK, Germany, USA – NASA Langley Research Center (VA)) found a relationship between aircraft type and contrail formation after investigating over 64 000 cases, with more efficient aircraft forming longer-lived satellite-detectable […]