Changes in cirrus cloud properties and occurrence over Europe during the COVID-19-caused air traffic reduction

Li, Qiang; Groß, Silke

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-14573-2021

Articles | Volume 21, issue 19

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-14573-2021

© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-14573-2021

© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 21, issue 19

Research article

|

04 Oct 2021

Research article |

| 04 Oct 2021

Changes in cirrus cloud properties and occurrence over Europe during the COVID-19-caused air traffic reduction

Qiang Li and Silke Groß

Model code and software

CALIPSO: Data User's Guide - Data Product Descriptions – Lidar Level 2 5 km Vertical Feature Mask (VFM) Version 3.x Product NASA https://www-calipso.larc.nasa.gov/resources/calipso_users_guide/data_summaries/vfm/

Short summary

Aircraft emit exhaust gases and particles directly into the atmosphere, which may contribute to climate change. We present a significant reduction in the occurrence rate and particle linear depolarization ratio of cirrus clouds based on the analysis of measurements with the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) satellite during COVID-19 when air traffic was significantly reduced. The findings imply that these clouds formed with less influence from aviation.