Phys.org November 1, 2024
Aircraft contrails are important for aviation’s non-CO2 climate impact. An international team of researchers ( USA – Atmospheric Sciences Research Center, University at Albany, NASA Langley Research Center, Virginia, Germany) showed that the range of conditions for volatile plume particles to contribute significantly to the contrail ice number budget was likely determined by the sizes of primary soot particles rather than the effective sizes of soot aggregates. The smaller soot primary sizes compared to aggregate sizes delay the onset of contrail ice formation, increased the maximum plume supersaturation reached in the contrail plume, and thus increased the probability of small volatile particles contributing to the total contrail ice particle number. As the aviation industry is moving toward sustainable aviation fuel and/or lean-burning engine technology, which is expected to reduce not only the emission index of nonvolatile soot particles but also the sizes of primary soot particles. According to the researchers their study highlights the need to better understand how the combined changes may affect contrail formation, contribution of volatile particles, and climate impacts… read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLEÂ
Graphical abstract. Credit: Environ. Sci. Technol. 2024, 58, 40, 17650–17660