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DOE Pulse
  • Number 296  |
  • September 28, 2009

What's up with those ice clouds?

Airplane exhaust could lead to more of the high, wispy cirrus clouds, thus affecting radiant heat and contributing to climate change.

Airplane exhaust could lead to
more of the high, wispy cirrus
clouds, thus affecting radiant
heat and contributing to climate
change.

Constant air travel can do more than wear on your nerves, it can also create more thin, wispy ice clouds that contribute to climate change, according to a study by DOE’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, University of California, and University of Michigan. The team found that soot and metallic particles can serve as sources for making ice crystals, which give rise to cirrus clouds. This study was one of the first to model the effect of human-caused aerosols on cirrus clouds and to quantify the amount of energy that cirrus clouds reflect into space and absorb.  Data from this study was incorporated into the National Center for Atmospheric Research Community Atmospheric Model Version 3.

[Kristin Manke, 509.372.6011,
kristin.manke@pnl.gov]