Articles | Volume 23, issue 3
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-2251-2023
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-2251-2023
Research article
 | 
16 Feb 2023
Research article |  | 16 Feb 2023

Upper-tropospheric slightly ice-subsaturated regions: frequency of occurrence and statistical evidence for the appearance of contrail cirrus

Yun Li, Christoph Mahnke, Susanne Rohs, Ulrich Bundke, Nicole Spelten, Georgios Dekoutsidis, Silke Groß, Christiane Voigt, Ulrich Schumann, Andreas Petzold, and Martina Krämer

Data sets

IAGOS data portal D. Boulanger https://doi.org/10.25326/20

HALO database German Aerospace Center https://doi.org/10.17616/R39Q0T

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Short summary
The radiative effect of aviation-induced cirrus is closely related to ambient conditions and its microphysical properties. Our study investigated the occurrence of contrail and natural cirrus measured above central Europe in spring 2014. It finds that contrail cirrus appears frequently in the pressure range 200 to 245 hPa and occurs more often in slightly ice-subsaturated environments than expected. Avoiding slightly ice-subsaturated regions by aviation might help mitigate contrail cirrus.
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